Boarding Passes

aqua111

The reason we are asked to produce Boarding Passes when we purchase items at the Airport is to enable the retailer to avoid VAT.
This is not passed on to the customer.
I wonder what will happen if on my next holiday I refuse.
One retailer told me it was a legal requirement.
This is untrue.

duchy

Go for it

No shopkeeper however can be forced to sell to you so just as you can decline to show your boarding card- they can decline to sell to you.

Other than that this topic was done to death a few weeks ago so you might want to look back at the original thread rather than rehash the same old thing again.

aqua111

I read the posts only when I have time but thank you for your courteous reply.:rotfl:

Voyager2002

aqua111 wrote: »

The reason we are asked to produce Boarding Passes when we purchase items at the Airport is to enable the retailer to avoid VAT.
This is not passed on to the customer.
I wonder what will happen if on my next holiday I refuse.
One retailer told me it was a legal requirement.
This is untrue.

Best advice... just avoid shopping at the airport.

leylandsunaddict

You don't have to show a boarding pass in airport shops eg WH Smiths, Boots, etc for a newspaper, bottle of water, sandwich but you do need to show them in World of Duty Free, Biza etc because it's a legal requirement by HMRC.

aqua111

In both Manchester and Liverpool Airports I am always asked for Boarding Pass.
I never buy anything in Duty Free.

Caz3121

here is the thread from last year https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5302385

leylandsunaddict

aqua111 wrote: »

In both Manchester and Liverpool Airports I am always asked for Boarding Pass.
I never buy anything in Duty Free.

I bought in both Smiths and Boots at MAN last year and never showed my boarding pass.

SW17

leylandsunaddict wrote: »

I bought in both Smiths and Boots at MAN last year and never showed my boarding pass.

Boots stopped asking for BPs in the wake of the media stories last August, quite possible WHS did the same.

OP - as mentioned above, this was covered at great length in the thread linked helpfully by Caz3121 above.

I'd only add here that the situation varies by retailer in terms of how they price at airports (Boots and WHS were among the worst offenders, luxury goods retailers generally good), and if your destination is within the EU, showing your BP means the retailer is obliged to remit the VAT to HMRC. At the "good" retailers who actually sell at VAT-free prices to everyone at the airport, showing your BP helps them to continue doing so.