Was this in France or in the UK or another EU country? In the UK they use GlobalBlue, with the Slovakia address.
Best way to 'detax' after H in Europe
- Thread starter heavenly
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Read on this forum somewhere it would take up to 8 weeks for refund. I was pleasantly surprised it took only 5 for me in July. Purchased in France departed in Spain and dropped in a yellow mailbox at the airport. I had second doubt afterwards as I did not put any postage on the envelope and H handed the envelope to me in France. But everything worked out at the end.
I am planning a trip in May next year. I will be in Paris where I hope to try my luck at Hermes. I also plan to purchase from LV, Chanel and VCA. I will be taking the Eurostar from Paris to London and spending a week in London where I plan to purchase from Cartier, Burberry etc. before flying out of London back to Sydney, Australia. Where and how am I best to get my tax refunds please?
Your London receipts and Paris receipts will need to be stamped by Customs at the London airport. There are designated booths and are well marked in LHR. The Travelex cash refund desk as well as mailboxes to mail for credit card refunds (French Hermes boutique VAT isn't eligible for cash refunds only credit card refund from my experience) are usually adjacent.
I'll just add to definitely do your homework first and price compare. Of course you will probably find better selection than at home and that is definitely a factor to consider. But compare prices at home versus in the two countries you will be visiting. I live in the US so it might be different for you. LV is still a bargain in France. Chanel rtw and bags seems to be the same prices in France versus the US now. Certain things at Hermes are better bargains than others. Burberry seems the same everywhere. Cartier is the same everywhere. VCA is also the same price everywhere. I did buy the special blue pendant that you can only buy there (and a few other pieces that I couldn't resist while there) and that is the one vat refund that I have had an issue with. At this point I won't buy unless it's something that I can't get at home or is a significant discount. It's not worry the hassle.
You need to do all refunds in your last stop in the EU (a stop where you went though immigration, not a layover). I will also add that if the AUD-pound exchange rate is favorable at that time, and you are flying out of a London terminal that has an H duty-free, the prices are very good there. Unlike the boutiques, the duty-free takes off all the VAT with no detaxe service charge, so it's around 20% lower than boutique prices. For an American it can be better pricing than in France - not sure about AUD.
Someone had mention about declaring your items before entering back to US. Is there a form that you fill out before coming back? After filling out where do you process it? This is the first time for me so I don't want to mess it up and get in trouble for not paying the tax? Also when declaring the amount... Is it the total amount of purchase from all the item including little things like souvenirs to big purchases like H bags as example?
They will give you the blue and white form on the plane or as you get on the plane. You are supposed to declare everything.
I think she is asking about paying us import tax. She would fill out the form on the plane and then hand it to the us customs agent when she lands. This thread kind of mixes info about vat refunds and US import duty.
I believe the Uk is still part of the Eu until the process is completed for them to exit which might be a year or more. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
I believe the Uk is still part of the Eu until the process is completed for them to exit which might be a year or more. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
The UK is still part of the EU. It will take at least two years, if not longer, for the UK to remove itself from the EU. All purchases in Europe, including the UK, can still be stamped and processed when leaving London.
As Pocketbook Pup said, you will get a form on the plane to fill out. On the front there is a space for you to declare the total amount of all items purchased abroad, and on the back you can itemize things if you want to. You are supposed to declare everything. US citizens get an exemption of $800 per person, so if you are traveling with your spouse, you would get an exemption of $1600 for all your purchases, then you would technically be required to pay import duty on the rest.
That said, in my personal experience, particularly at a busy large international airport, many customs officers don't want to bother with the paperwork. Import duty rates are pretty low for the first few thousand dollars over the exemption. I always honestly declare my purchases and we almost always exceed the exemption and have never been required to pay import duties. (I am probably tempting fate and will probably get stopped next time now!)
I wholeheartedly agree with @bedhead. I was lucky enough to score a B35 in Paris and absolutely did NOT want to risk getting fined and having the item confiscated. It's just too risky for all of the hard work in actually getting the item and the amount of money spent.