Claiming A Tax Refund

Category:

By Liam McGulliver Fletcher

In the UK and a few surrounding countries, there are many tax free shops and anyone who is visiting from outside the EU is entitled to shop there. Some shops display the tax free goods logo outside to let you know that they take part in this scheme. To be eligible for this tax discount you must be a resident of a country outside the EU. And that is basically the reason why people from outside the European Union love coming to the UK to save money on shopping.

One can claim for the VAT only after having spent a bare minimum amount on the purchase. The minimum amount varies from country to country. And once the purchase is over and you are waiting for a refund, you will have to show proof of exportation by getting it stamped at the Customs office. Once your tax free cheque is stamped you may get the refund from various refund offices and you can choose a way that is convenient for you. Frequently, the tax refund is credited to the credit card or in certain cases the money is sent to the bank account.

Shopping in the UK has never been so interesting for people from outside the EU and next time you visit UK or London, make sure you carry a separate provision to store all the things that you have purchased in the tax free shops.

Claiming your tax back is very simple, when in the tax free shop in the UK, you should ask the shop assistant for a tax free cheque (after having spent the minimum amount of course) and then when you go through customs before leaving the UK, you should get the cheque stamped by the customs officer for approval, and then upon arriving at your destination airport, you should show your stamped refund cheque along with your passport and credit card to get the full amount of tax you paid credited back to your card or to your bank account.

The tax free shopping facility is available at many stores for tourists from various countries so that they can shop across the world in a store of their liking and interest. You may not enjoy the same benefit if you are a resident of the place. This tax free shopping is a facility or a privilege only the visitors to the countries can enjoy and save a lot of money on goods when they are travelling abroad.

About the Author: