Duty | Tax | Customs for International shopping {VAT refund}
- Thread starter ivivi
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Hmm...might be tax free because the UK just started doing that again but there is no guarantee you won't pay have to pay customs/duties on it depending on how much the item is. I personally have not done this before however but my experience with big purchases overseas means the chance of paying duties on it.
It’s only about 10% in duties and it still ends up being cheaper than it is to buy from the US.
I've had items shipped from the UK and Europe sans VAT. You will be assessed duties on the other side (when item arrives in US). Be prepared for 20% but could be much less. Also if your state has use tax, you may get dinged for that as well.
Hello,
I’m new here and would like to find out more about VAT refunds from Austria & Switzerland. I’m looking to buy a Chanel in either of the countries. If I want to claim VAT refund at the airport, must I declare and pay customs back home in Singapore? Is there a way for them to find out? Thanks in advance!
I’m new here and would like to find out more about VAT refunds from Austria & Switzerland. I’m looking to buy a Chanel in either of the countries. If I want to claim VAT refund at the airport, must I declare and pay customs back home in Singapore? Is there a way for them to find out? Thanks in advance!
have you received your refund? i got the green light for one form and had to see the agent for the other one. but when i check the status of the refund it says they are waiting for my form. i don’t know why. the agent didn’t stamp my form either. not sure what to do next
The only way to benefit from Tax Free shopping in the UK is to ask the store to ship your items back to your home country, they will deduct the tax as an export sale. This is especially useful for countries with low or no import tax such as Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore, Macao etc. You pay a shipping fee (Chanel is £50 I believe) and the goods are sent.
Friends did this from Hong Kong and the saving was excellent as they purchased a bag, SLGs and ready to wear. The more you spend, the more you save which then offsets the £50 shipping fee which is only applied once to the entire bill.
I’m surprised more tourists and visitors don’t know about this?
Friends did this from Hong Kong and the saving was excellent as they purchased a bag, SLGs and ready to wear. The more you spend, the more you save which then offsets the £50 shipping fee which is only applied once to the entire bill.
I’m surprised more tourists and visitors don’t know about this?
As
I shop at Harrods and as far as I’m aware with Chanel this is only with store manager approval it’s not for every tourist. Stand alone Chanel boutiques do not ship abroad to my knowledge.
I think you will find they do ship abroad but you have to be present in the boutique to take advantage of the export shipping without VAT service- it is not offered to telephone/ remote purchases. Harrods do offer the service too, it is available to all tourists as a general policy within the store. You can only benefit from this if you are spending a high enough amount to cover the shipment charge and any import taxes you may incur specific to each country.
has this been resolved for you? i made my purchase on Sep 5. left paris Sep 9. scanned 2 forms at the pablo machine. 1st one got the green light and the second had to be scanned by the agent. i asked him if i needed to mail the form he scanned and he just waved me off. when i check the status of both forms it says they are waiting for my stamped form. neither of my forms are stamped. i have emailed them but haven’t heard back yet. not sure what to do?
Hi I’m hoping to see if anyone can answer my question! It’s my first time doing the VAT refund from Italy to the USA. One of the items my friend and I bought was a dior saddle bag, a gift for our mutual friend. My friend was the one who purchased the item and used her passport for the documents. She only brought a carry on luggage and a small backpack so she’s unable to pack it into her things when we leave for the airport, so I’ll be using my checked luggage for it.
My question is: when we land in the US will customs want to see the bag there as well? We were thinking of checking my luggage with the dior bag after we declare it in Italy because she doesn’t have space. If US customs wanted to check the item it would be difficult to show the bag because I’m leaving to a different city (Boston) and having a layover at her destination (Newark), so my checked luggage wouldn’t even be left at Newark it’d be straight to Boston.
My question is: when we land in the US will customs want to see the bag there as well? We were thinking of checking my luggage with the dior bag after we declare it in Italy because she doesn’t have space. If US customs wanted to check the item it would be difficult to show the bag because I’m leaving to a different city (Boston) and having a layover at her destination (Newark), so my checked luggage wouldn’t even be left at Newark it’d be straight to Boston.
Your first leg of the flight is together from Italy to Newark, correct? Then you’d have to pick up your luggage at newark and recheck it for your trip to Boston. You always collect bags at point of US entry and Go through customs.
Yes it is. I didn’t know that for point of entry. I assumed since it’s all in one airline ticket it will go straight to the destination. It’s what they did for my flight to Italy with the same layover.