Tax-free Shopping in The European Union
All travellers living in a country outside the EU, are privileged to shop tax-free at shops outside EU airports. The traveller pays the VAT over goods in the shop, and can request for a refund when exporting the goods. General restrictions are that a traveller must have residency in a non-EU country, has a maximum stay of 6 months when visiting the EU, purchases are made three months prior to export, only goods meant for personal use are eligible for the refund. Travellers need to save purchase receipts and visit Customs before leaving the EU to get an export validation stamp. Receipts can then be sent back to the retailers for a refund request.
Please note: each country in the EU shows a different % of VAT which is reclaimable and a minimum purchase amount restriction.
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