VAT tax refund

[marco]

Just a heads up....if you are flying home from a Europe, cruise or not and want to apply for the VAT tax refund at the airport, they want to see what you bought, NOT just the receipt. Keep those items in your hand/carry on. NOT packed in your checked luggage.

[John Bull]

Correct.

The refund is only available for goods that you take out of the EU, so customs need to know that you're doing just that.

So, for instance, there's no tax refund for drinks, meals, tour services etc that you've had ashore.

If you're travelling between EU countries, your tax reclaim has to be at the final place where you leave the EU. So if you fly to a cruise that sails out of Barcelona, buy tax-refundable goods in Marseilles & Rome, and fly home from Barcelona, you make your claim at Barcelona airport.

(some shops offer "Tax - Free" shopping. That's not entirely accurate, but their systems do make the reclaim quicker & easier)

You have to buy a minimum value (?£150 or equiv?) to qualify - the minimum is for any "single transaction" ie from the same shop at the same time, but can be the total value of several items.

But unless the claim is for megabucks it just ain't worth the bother - handling charges will eat away at the claim, it can take months to get a refund & a lot of folk reckon they never actually receive a refund.

Chapter & verse at

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/individuals/travelling/travellers-leaving-eu/guide-vat-refund-visitors-eu_en

JB :)