Claiming local VAT on holiday purchases

Pipe & Slippers

Pipe & Slippers

Pipe & Slippers

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Thought this was better off here than in GD…
Was in Madrid last week and bought some shoes for EUR 85.00, and noticed there was a sign saying claim your VAT back, so I thought why not?
Asked at the counter and they printed me off a form and said claim it back at the airport
After doing the requisite fannying around, I got a refund of GBP 4.65
Actually I received GB 4.00 because they didn’t have any small change
Anyone know how the EUR 14.75 morphed into GBP 4.65?
I’m not annoyed, just curious
(Actually had 2 other purchases as well, so all 3 were ~EUR 250, but the other 2 were claimed back in a slightly different way, and this was the one I still have the original receipt for)
 
No idea how they gibbed you on the exchange rate. Likely some BS admin fee included too.

I did it with a pair of sunglasses I bought in France last month. Girl in the shop entered a few extra details including my passport number and printed me off a form. Told me I'd get 40 euro back. Used a machine / console thingy in the airport on leaving, all I had to do was scan the barcode on the form. It was so quick and easy I just presumed it didn't work as all I got was a completed thanks type message on screen. 5 days later checked my account and noticed the 40.63 euro had been credited. Pretty chuffed.
 
In Japan they charge you the "pre-tax" price at the point of sale, so there's nothing to claim back. You need to show your passport and I think not so shops can do it though.
 
Are VAT refunds available from all foreign shops? When I was in Paris I noticed that only a few seemed to offer it and even then it wasn’t clear what the process was. I certainly never saw any machines at the airport for VAT refunds, not that I was looking
 
Bluecube said:
Are VAT refunds available from all foreign shops? When I was in Paris I noticed that only a few seemed to offer it and even then it wasn’t clear what the process was. I certainly never saw any machines at the airport for VAT refunds, not that I was looking
Click to expand...

I'm sure it should be, although i think only some offer it as an easy process, others you have to do it more manually. It's usually only on larger purchases (might even be a threshold)
 
There wasn't like a line of machines. Just a single one next to the tourist refund desk. It wasn't France either :D , well physically anyway. It was the French section of Geneva airport.
 
Just found the receipt in my junk mail - EUR 6.12 was the refunded VAT amount, and the exchange rate applied was..

0.7598

which rounded to 0.6537 when they did have the GBP 0.65 in coins! Ouch

Today's rate is ~0.84

There's no mention of a transaction fee, so I've no idea how the Euros transformed from 14.75 to 6.12
 
Pipe & Slippers said:
Thought this was better off here than in GD…
Was in Madrid last week and bought some shoes for EUR 85.00, and noticed there was a sign saying claim your VAT back, so I thought why not?
Asked at the counter and they printed me off a form and said claim it back at the airport
After doing the requisite fannying around, I got a refund of GBP 4.65
Actually I received GB 4.00 because they didn’t have any small change
Anyone know how the EUR 14.75 morphed into GBP 4.65?
I’m not annoyed, just curious
(Actually had 2 other purchases as well, so all 3 were ~EUR 250, but the other 2 were claimed back in a slightly different way, and this was the one I still have the original receipt for)
Click to expand...


You usually only get back the difference in VAT rates
 
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