25% tax in Brazilian waters?

A passenger off the Regatta Amazon cruise said their was a 25% tax on anything purchased on board when they were in Brazilian waters.

Can anyone enlighten me about this.....I couldn't find anything about it.

Quote below:

Now that I am thinking of it there was one surprise that we encountered that you should all be aware of and that has to do with a TAX that Brazil imposed on all purchases on board the ship while we were in Brazilian waters. It apparently is very new and it is a doozy...25% so you should all plan to make on board purchases before arriving in Brazilian waters! Some of our wine drinkers bought several bottles before we were subject to the tax and I can tell you that the on board shops were deserted while we were in Brazilian waters.

that they have just put on. There was not one when we were there, but in Italy there is the same HUGE tax. It certainly is staggering.

Seems a lot of Countries are jumping on this TAX bandwagon :eek:

Spain Italy & now Brazil ...

maybe the cruise lines should just stop going to those Countries...then what will they do

Yep. Now listed in rules and regulations. We were advised on our Lisbon/Rio cruise that once we entered Brazilian waters there would be a 25% VAT added to all purchases, including liquor, for the balance of the cruise.

That made a $10.00 glass of wine $12.50 + 18% gratuity. You could avoid the surcharge if you bought bottles of wine before entering Brazilian waters and drank them later.

Vote with your pocketbook -- don't buy anything on board in Brazil (or Italy or Spain). Especially from the boutiques; if you're worried that piece of jewelry won't be there in a few days, ask the clerk to set it aside until the tax disappears. They may do it, the worst they can do is say no.

Personally, I think it's absolutely unfair, and possibly illegal, since the purchase is only recorded on one's shipboard account and should not be considered a purchase until the account statement is rendered. But, that's just my opinion.

Maybe the ship should start offering a layaway program for a small fee, say a dollar -- I'd pay $1.25 to avoid the tax on the entire item.

I don't usually buy, but the last time I got some stuff for my neighbor for taking care of my house. I didn't care too much since I had a huge OBC, but this time I am going to ask them to put it away. If anyone does this before I get to Italy...please post.

Does anyone know If OBC can be used for corkage fees without getting the Brazil tax?

If one purchases the beverage package do they still tax you on the liquor?

The drink package is not taxed.

One way Oceania could counteract this tax is offer the drink package at a lower price. Or come up with a limited package (only house wines and liquor) for a lower price.

I intend at this point to do all my drinking in my cabin....with friends, while in Brazilian waters on our upcoming Amazon cruise...I refuse to pay a 25% tax to Brazil.

It is just a cash grab by these Countries

The products onboard the ships have been bought & paid for & TAXED already on most items elsewhere

cruise lines should Boycott those greedy Countries

JMO

I don't remember any kind of VAT on on-board purchases while in Italy, but I do know that most European countries do have a VAT. There is a way to get a refund of some of it; it's done at the airport before you leave the country. On land, at least, many merchants will give tell you what you need to know when they give you receipts for your purchases, and you collect your refund at the airport. I almost waited in line once to do this, but I was tight on time and it so I bagged it.

As for the beverage packages, the tax is included in the purchase price already.

Does anyone know If OBC can be used for corkage fees without getting the Brazil tax?

You might try taking your wine to the restaurant & paying the fee before you hit Brazilian waters

Just ask them to store it until you are reading to drink it

That may work ;)

I don't remember any kind of VAT on on-board purchases while in Italy, but I do know that most European countries do have a VAT.

I am not sure this new tax is VAT that you can reclaim

From what I can tell it is not a VAT tax. Here is some more info about the Amazon cruise that returned last week......

Brazil blind-sided everyone with this "extortion" even the Brazilians that we spoke with on shore did not know about this and one of them actually used the word extortion. We were advised in Currents and the Cruise Director's announcements that the "tax" was coming (which is why some of our wine drinkers pre-purchased bottles of wine for our time in Brazilian waters.) The Brazilians of course, did get their pound of flesh from us non wine drinkers at cocktail hour but even then there were fewer of us at happy hour in the Martini Bar while this tax was in effect so it did hurt the crew (shop keepers, bartenders etc) who depend on sales and tips during that period. Brazil did put a cadre of "officials" on board during this time (to collect and monitor) so they witnessed the stupidity of their tax (while enjoying the good life of a week's cruise on Oceania) so maybe this tax will be a short term thing.

I don't remember any kind of VAT on on-board purchases while in Italy, but I do know that most European countries do have a VAT. There is a way to get a refund of some of it; it's done at the airport before you leave the country. On land, at least, many merchants will give tell you what you need to know when they give you receipts for your purchases, and you collect your refund at the airport. I almost waited in line once to do this, but I was tight on time and it so I bagged it.

 

As for the beverage packages, the tax is included in the purchase price already.

While much of what you wrote is correct, some additional facts that will impact your ability to receive the VAT credit are that the store/company/cruise line must participate in this program and provide the correct paperwork to allow the refund. There are minimum purchase requirements to get the refund and the refund is not all encompassing. For instance no refund on hotels, food, drink, etc. so the only potential refund from the ship would be boutique purchases and significant values of those purchases.

Really doubt any cruise line is willing to itemize and provide the correct paperwork for the minimal purchases in the boutique while in a specific countries waters. Also, people don't always depart via air or via an airport in the country where the tax is charged. Quite a Catch 22 and suggest if you don't want to pay the tax, simply don't buy the stuff while in the taxed areas.

We were informed by the shops that the VAT was not recoverable.

This is NOT a vat tax, it is an extortion tax!

I really can't see how this can be a big deal on a cruise ship. If you see some really great thing in a shop you must have get it before or after Brazil. There really is no big rush on the shops on Oceania. So a drink cost a little more at the bar, use the booze you brought on board. If you really want to see Brazil do not let it spoil your fun.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

Absolutely true. We sailed in April and any boutique purchases were charged the tax. In most cases people put off purchases until we left Brazilian waters but that was about two weeks into the cruise. People did have some items "laid away" and then paid for them at the proper time. Also on the cruise, Brazil requires the ship to purchase Brazilian products ONLY. This can be challenging for the staff.

I do not understand why someone would lay something away from the shops ??

Just buy it when you want it

It is added to your account anyway sounds like Walmart mentality :eek:

Easy answer, the sales staff was working with the cruisers to avoid posting a sale while in Brazilian waters. All held merchandise was then rung up post Brazilian waters. If you absolutely had to have the item people purchased it but you did pay the tax. This is a BIG issue on jewelry and other more costly items available onboard.

We just got off the Regatta Amazon cruise and when we found out about the tax we located a supermarket in our last stop before entering Brazilian waters and purchased several bottles of wine which we brought to dinner and paid the $25 corkage fee. You do not have to pay the 25% tax on the corkage fee as this is a service not a purchase. We had liquor we has brought on board earlier which lasted us until we were out of Brazilian waters and than purchased the drink plan for the rest of the cruise without the "extortion tax"

While much of what you wrote is correct, some additional facts that will impact your ability to receive the VAT credit are that the store/company/cruise line must participate in this program and provide the correct paperwork to allow the refund. There are minimum purchase requirements to get the refund and the refund is not all encompassing. For instance no refund on hotels, food, drink, etc. so the only potential refund from the ship would be boutique purchases and significant values of those purchases.

 

Really doubt any cruise line is willing to itemize and provide the correct paperwork for the minimal purchases in the boutique while in a specific countries waters. Also, people don't always depart via air or via an airport in the country where the tax is charged. Quite a Catch 22 and suggest if you don't want to pay the tax, simply don't buy the stuff while in the taxed areas.

True. My point, however, was that these VAT taxes have been around in Europe for a long time; I don't know about Brazil as we haven't been there yet. We've been in a few places where the merchants have given us the paperwork to submit, but we've just never done it; didn't seem worth the hassle.

Luckily for us on our upcoming SA cruise, we leave from Buenos Aries and will purchase our beverage packages on line before we board anyway.

Looks like we will be bringing our Henricks to the port of Miami...

Maybe a few bottles of wine too....

Forget Brazil. We should all boycott any country's that try to rip us off. Let them see what happens when no cruise ships stop at their ports. Plenty of other places to go and probably just as nice or nicer. :):)