Best way to 'detax' after H in Europe

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#811
Hi all. Hope this is the correct forum to post this question.

I'll be traveling to Paris (for H shopping!) and then to Lausanne (work) and back to Singapore. Paris to Lausanne will be via train. From what I've gathered so far, there's no tax refund counter at Gare du Lyon. And there may or may not be a customs officer on board the train. Is there a town office in Paris for tax refunds?
 
#812
allyrae said:
Hi all. Hope this is the correct forum to post this question.

I'll be traveling to Paris (for H shopping!) and then to Lausanne (work) and back to Singapore. Paris to Lausanne will be via train. From what I've gathered so far, there's no tax refund counter at Gare du Lyon. And there may or may not be a customs officer on board the train. Is there a town office in Paris for tax refunds?
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Do it at your last airport of departure from France via Singapore
 
#813
allyrae said:
Hi all. Hope this is the correct forum to post this question.

I'll be traveling to Paris (for H shopping!) and then to Lausanne (work) and back to Singapore. Paris to Lausanne will be via train. From what I've gathered so far, there's no tax refund counter at Gare du Lyon. And there may or may not be a customs officer on board the train. Is there a town office in Paris for tax refunds?
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Yes.
http://www.globalblue.com/tax-free-shopping/france/paris-downtown
But you can do it when you leave for Singapore if you leave from France.
 
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#814
#815
bagidiotic said:
Do it at your last airport of departure from France via Singapore
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floweryu said:
Yes.
http://www.globalblue.com/tax-free-shopping/france/paris-downtown
But you can do it when you leave for Singapore if you leave from France.
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weN84 said:
I think OP has mentioned that she'll be leaving from Lausanne back to Singapore and Switzerland isn't part of EU so it's best that she does her VAT refund while in Paris prior to leaving.
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Thanks, all! Much appreciated :)

Yes, I'm flying back to Singapore from Geneva airport. So I'll need to do the detax at the Global Blue town office in Paris before taking the train to Lausanne. Thanks for the info!!
 
#816
allyrae said:
Thanks, all! Much appreciated :)

Yes, I'm flying back to Singapore from Geneva airport. So I'll need to do the detax at the Global Blue town office in Paris before taking the train to Lausanne. Thanks for the info!!
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One more question. Even if I were to get my refund at the town office, how do I get a customs stamp upon leaving the country? There's no customs desk at Gare du Lyon apparently...
 
#817
I think your best bet is to buy a ticket to the border with Switzerland, get the stamp there and then get another ticket to your destination in Switzerland. Otherwise, you won't be able to get the refund since Switzerland is not in the EU.
 
#819
Another option is to go to CDG and use the kiosks there. There is a TGV station in CDG but I dont think you can take it to Switzerland...you probably have to go back to Gare de Lyon. But you could go from the city to CDG,stop in terminal 2 and use the Detaxe kiosk there, then go back to Gare de Lyon or possibly get TGV from CDG to somewhere in France and then get another train to Lausanne.

If the Pablo kiosk at CDG rejects your form, then you have to see an agent. Assuming you have an onward ticket to both Switzerland (non-EU) and then Singapore I would think that would be okay with the agent (not 100% sure).

On one trip I arrived from TGV to CDG and I scanned my forms there after arriving from the train. I was leaving the next day (stayed in airport hotel) and I did the forms the night before with no issues. My forms went through that time so no need to see an agent.

You could also get a flight to Lausanne and not take the train.
 
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#820
HavLab said:
Another option is to go to CDG and use the kiosks there. There is a TGV station in CDG but I dont think you can take it to Switzerland...you probably have to go back to Gare de Lyon. But you could go from the city to CDG,stop in terminal 2 and use the Detaxe kiosk there, then go back to Gare de Lyon or possibly get TGV from CDG to somewhere in France and then get another train to Lausanne.

If the Pablo kiosk at CDG rejects your form, then you have to see an agent. Assuming you have an onward ticket to both Switzerland (non-EU) and then Singapore I would think that would be okay with the agent (not 100% sure).

On one trip I arrived from TGV to CDG and I scanned my forms there after arriving from the train. I was leaving the next day (stayed in airport hotel) and I did the forms the night before with no issues. My forms went through that time so no need to see an agent.

You could also get a flight to Lausanne and not take the train.
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Thanks. Yes I need to go Gare de Lyon to take the train to Lausanne. Flying out of Paris is a lot more inconvenient as I'll have to fly to Geneva and then train to Lausanne. Total travel time is longer after factoring check-in and waiting.

I think I'll fly back from Geneva to Singapore via Frankfurt to do the detax. Is a 1.5 hour layover enough for me to clear immigration, do the detax and check in again... [emoji28][emoji125]‍♀️
 
#821
allyrae said:
Thanks. Yes I need to go Gare de Lyon to take the train to Lausanne. Flying out of Paris is a lot more inconvenient as I'll have to fly to Geneva and then train to Lausanne. Total travel time is longer after factoring check-in and waiting.

I think I'll fly back from Geneva to Singapore via Frankfurt to do the detax. Is a 1.5 hour layover enough for me to clear immigration, do the detax and check in again... [emoji28][emoji125]‍♀️
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Personally, 1.5 hour is too close especially if there's a flight delay. Food for thought. Sorry I don't have any better suggestions.
 
#822
weN84 said:
Personally, 1.5 hour is too close especially if there's a flight delay. Food for thought. Sorry I don't have any better suggestions.
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Appreciate any inputs :) Thanks!

Seems I may be able to get customs done on the airside so I don’t have to clear immigration and check-in all over again. Will find out more when I get there!
 
#823
It's been awhile since I have detaxe at FRA, but I know that I did it after security. I wasnt transferring though but departing directly from FRA. I remember being nervous because the desk told me not to go through the detaxe outside security (which had a huge line) as that was only for detaxe and checking luggage. They told me to go through security and assured me that a Global Blue and Customs Office was past security. They were right! I went through security and the Global Blue and Customs is just past it. You will need to have the items with you and not in checked luggage. So I assume if you are transferring from the GVA flight you can find this. Good luck! Are you taking the same airline from GVA to FRA then on to SIN? That will probably save time...maybe...I have taken LH flights that were pretty far apart in gates/terminals. If I were you I would try to book an earlier flight from GVA to FRA and have a longer layover in FRA. Worst case if you get done with detaxe you can shop in FRA. They have an H there...
 
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#824
HavLab said:
It's been awhile since I have detaxe at FRA, but I know that I did it after security. I wasnt transferring though but departing directly from FRA. I remember being nervous because the desk told me not to go through the detaxe outside security (which had a huge line) as that was only for detaxe and checking luggage. They told me to go through security and assured me that a Global Blue and Customs Office was past security. They were right! I went through security and the Global Blue and Customs is just past it. You will need to have the items with you and not in checked luggage. So I assume if you are transferring from the GVA flight you can find this. Good luck! Are you taking the same airline from GVA to FRA then on to SIN? That will probably save time...maybe...I have taken LH flights that were pretty far apart in gates/terminals. If I were you I would try to book an earlier flight from GVA to FRA and have a longer layover in FRA. Worst case if you get done with detaxe you can shop in FRA. They have an H there...
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Thank you! That’s really helpful info! Yes same airline so hopefully I will have enough time to do the detaxe AND shop more haha.
 
#825
I made a few Hermes purchases in France during my vacation in September. I had two VAT forms: one for a larger amount and one for a very small amount. I scanned the forms at the PABLO machine and of course the smaller amount was approved (green), and the the larger amount was declined (red). I took the larger amount form to the custom officer at the Paris airport and he took a look on his computer, scanned the form, and returned the form to me. I put the respective forms in its envelope and placed it in the mail.

One week later after I got home, i logged onto the Global Blue website to check my status. To my surprise, the information for both of my VAT refunds (date/location of purchase, VAT refund amount) was already available on their website. The status for both said "Payment Pending" and i would get my payment to my credit card in a few days (with my correct credit card info on their page) but it said if they don't received the forms stamped by the custom, then it will be reversed. So i kept waiting for that to happen but no refund was sent to my credit card. Today (it has been a little over 3 weeks since I scanned the forms), I got this on both of my VAT refund forms, even the one the PABLO approved:

upload_2017-10-4_13-45-6.png


I tried to call and of course they are closed right now. I will call again tomorrow but I'm freaking out. Should I be worried? Or is this status automatically done after a certain amount of time have passed (a little over 3 weeks) from the PABLO "scanned" date because both forms have this same payment status.
 
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