Advice on tax free shopping in EU

gwebstech

Hi all

Am i right in thinking that i can go to an EU country and buy a watch, and then claim the VAT back over here ? What about when icome back here though, dont i have then to pay import duty when i get back here which would negate any savings anyway?

Im after a nice watch and if i can combine it with a holiday that would be great to save a few £

thanks

sheramber

https://www.gov.uk/duty-free-goods/arriving-in-Great-Britain

Allowance for other goods

You can bring in other goods worth up to £390 (or up to £270 if you arrive by private plane or boat).

If you go over your allowance you pay tax and duty on the total value of the goods, not just the value above the allowance.

You may have to pay customs duty if you exceed your allowances.

You may also have to pay import VAT.

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

daveyjp

From my experience over the years and it is a few years since I did a claim you start the VAT refund process when you buy the items.  You need to know the limits for the country you are visiting and ensure the retailer is a member of a tax free shopping system, most have stickers on windows.

When you purchase the item explain you are a visitor and wish to claim the VAT back, they will then assist with the process.

The tax free admin companies such as Global Blue now have apps.

We have been paid back in cash by customs officers at ports and have also had to post forms into a box at ports and airports and wait for the refund to a credit card which took a few months.

gwebstech

thanks guys

i read somewhere else later last night, that you dont even get the full VAT back and almost certainly the import duties etc are more than what you save so it looks like a non starter

daveyjp

You do get the full VAT back, but companies like Global Blue aren't charities and there is a charge for the service which is deducted from the refund.

gwebstech

daveyjp said:

You do get the full VAT back, but companies like Global Blue aren't charities and there is a charge for the service which is deducted from the refund.

oh right, i had read the chrges were quite high, but even so, our VAT rate is 20% so i cant see how you can make it pay when buying from an EU member country whose VAT wont be more than 24% and prob less than 20

phatbear

a few issues. 

as stated if it was over £390 and you would need to pay the vat on arrival in the UK. 
Not all shops subscribe to the vat back scheme
I dont know if it the same in the EU but the rules in the UK for claiming VAT back for export is the item has to be freighted out of the uk by the shop/company which will be at additional expense and negate any potential thoughts, not that im implying this was the case, of wearing the watch and wandering through customs without declaring it of course you could get the company to under declare it on your behalf but if it gets lost in transit or damaged guess how much you will be able to claim back!

phatbear

gwebstech said:

daveyjp said:

You do get the full VAT back, but companies like Global Blue aren't charities and there is a charge for the service which is deducted from the refund.

oh right, i had read the chrges were quite high, but even so, our VAT rate is 20% so i cant see how you can make it pay when buying from an EU member country whose VAT wont be more than 24% and prob less than 20

for reference only 5 countries in the EU have lower VAT than us and they are 3 at 19% 1 at 18% and 1 at 17%

phatbear

gwebstech said:

thanks guys

i read somewhere else later last night, that you dont even get the full VAT back and almost certainly the import duties etc are more than what you save so it looks like a non starter

theres no duty on normal watches, well actually there is its 50p but.......

k3lvc

The rules for travellers post-Brexit are still a mess hidden by Covid and peoples inability to travel. The latest industry published position gave an issue for imports from EU into UK where you could benefit from either a local 'tax back' scheme (which as OP has suggested is unlikely to be particularly lucrative) or the purchase of 'tax free' goods at your departing airport/ferry terminal.
If you purchased even EUR1 of goods in airport you automatically lost the right to claim tax back on your purchases in the local market.

As I say all a mess and no doubt will cause significant unexpected/unwanted issues when travel markets open up again but I'd be under no illusion that a return to the '90's savings/booze/fag runs etc won't be happening

gwebstech

phatbear said:

gwebstech said:

thanks guys

i read somewhere else later last night, that you dont even get the full VAT back and almost certainly the import duties etc are more than what you save so it looks like a non starter

theres no duty on normal watches, well actually there is its 50p but.......

whats classed as a normal watch?