Best way to 'detax' after H in Europe
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I know there is a love/hate for some members with how quickly Amex posts the Global Blue credits. On my most recent trip, I left Paris and detaxed on 3/25. Amex posted the credit on 4/12. Total time to process was 17 business days. I’ve never used Visa/MC so I can’t compare.
I used MC and detaxe form was submitted in person at CDG as Pablo didn't take on 04/02 and refund was credited to same card on 04/19, basically during the same billing period. I thought that was pretty impressive. purchase clocked in at 1.23/euro and refund at 1.16/euro, while not outrageous by any means I was pretty pleased at how smoothly it went through.
Hi all,DH is planning our trip to Europe.As it is the 1st time we are going Paris,we are not sure how to get our tax refund back.Our plan is to go Paris,next stop is Lucerne, and last stop is Milan.If I’m doing shopping in Paris and Milan is the last stop,where do I get the tax form stamped? How do I submit the form?
I would not count on customs being open that early in all terminals. I think if you are in a terminal with long haul international flights such as Qatar, Singapore, Emirates etc they might have customs staffed early AM. But EU and UK focused airlines like BA, Lufthansa, Easy Jet etc. I would not count on it.
In November I left very early AM from Terminal 2 (flying British Airways). My gut told me customs wasnt going to be open and I had such an early flight anyway that I decided to stay in a CDG hotel the night before. So I went out to CDG the night before my flight and I went to Detaxe before going to my hotel (I have done this a few times). I did have one form that wouldn't scan so an agent helped me. The agent told me I shouldn't be showing forms the night before when my flight was the next AM. I told the agent that I was worried about customs being open that early and I was staying at CDG hotel so I decided to go the night before. She told me that Customs is staffed at 5AM in all terminals but she would process my form "this time." (side note, I have had to see the agent on other trips the night before and it has never been an issue).
When I got to the airport the next morning I walked by Detaxe and it was closed. No one was there! So had I waited I would have been out of luck and would have had to go through the process at LHR.
To add, most H forms go through Pablo without incident and you dont have to see an agent. If you buy jewelry over a certain amount (non--exotic jewelry under 2000 euros seems to be okay), any exotics (even something like a K Dog) and Birkin 35 you'll probably have to see an agent. At least that has been my experience. The only times my H forms have been rejected by Pablo is in those circumstances.
Also smaller vendors forms seem to have problems scanning.
Staying at the airport and doing Detaxe the night before is the way to go!
Tax forms are stamped at your last destination in the EU before departing back to the United States. This would mean Milan. There is a detaxe office at the airport. Make sure you get there sufficiently early to handle because sometimes there is a line. Check in your bags after this step is done in case you want to pack anything up vs carry on.
There are now PABLO machines which “stamp or Validate” each detaxe form. If there is a rejection, you must line up to see a human agent for stamping. This typically happens with more expensive items. Make sure your merchandise is readily accessible as the agent may ask to view/inspect.
Once all forms are stamped/validated, you must mail the forms before leaving the airport and heading home. There should be clear mailboxes within or in front of the detaxe ofc. Each retailer will give you an envelope with each detaxe form for this very purpose.
In several days or weeks, assuming you are charging your purchases, the tax refund will hit the original card.
In some instances a cash refund is available . I find this personally confusing and would rather have it handled through my cards.
Hope this helps.
How are you getting to Lucerne? Flight or train? If you are flying you can do your forms at CDG or Orly.
Thank you HavLab! According to DH, it should be by train. We are thinking whether is it better to go Milan, Lucerne and then last stop Paris. DH mentioned that if we are going Milan first, we may have to take a flight from Milan to Lucerne.
Do you mean that if we are flying to Lucerne either from Milan or Paris, we can drop the form at the airport? The confusing part for me is that do I claim my VAT for all my purchases bought in these 3 countries before I leave Europe or I can do my VAT return when I leave a country?
We just flew out of CDG yesterday. The airport website says the customs desk opens at 6:30, but they actually opened around 6:15 when we were there. The lines surprisingly weren’t long, but it was a Tuesday morning.
Btw, I believe that PABLO kiosks are only in France. I don’t know if items purchased outside of France have a barcode that PABLO would recognize/scan. I know for sure that purchases from Germany (at least from Hermes) don’t have barcodes, so those require manual inspection from the customs folks.
HTH.
Thank you pacificagal for the detailed explanation. Really appreciates.Can I ask if I’m using 2 different credit cards to make a purchase,which credit card will I need to fill in the VAT form?Any idea?
You will be able to get all of your Paris receipts stamped and mailed off since you have a ticket leaving the EU to Switzerland.
I had a similar scenario. Finished a cruise out of Rome and did some shopping. I had a flight to Paris but with a short layover in Zurich so the customs agent just stamped all of my receipts even though I said I would do more shopping in Paris.
Not sure - good question. I suggest asking the sales person when making the purchase. And the sales person will fill out the form for you regardless. You just need to sign where they show you at the time of purchase.
One last point to emphasize - YOU MUST MAIL the validated forms before leaving the EU at the airport. If not, I have read it is a real hassle to do it from home.
You have to do your detaxe/VAT before you fly back to your home country including the customs stamp and drop form in mailbox.
If you're flying to Switzerland (probably ZRH which is a great airport for shopping by the way) from CDG, so a CDG/ZRH/MXP routing, you can detaxe all of your Paris purchases at CDG before you depart to ZRH. CDG has kiosks and it is very easy. If you also shop in Milan you would do your Milan purchases at MXP before going home.
If you take the train from Paris to Lucerne and then Milan then you'll do everything at MXP before you go back to your home country from MXP. Technically you can stop on the train somewhere and detaxe between France and Switzerland but it sounds like a pain.
If you do the reverse, MXP/ZRH/CDG, then you can detaxe any of the Milan purchases at MXP. What you buy in Paris you will detaxe at CDG before you return to your home country.