 Poster: A snowHead
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We returned from Val D'Isere last sunday, via the tunnel. Did our VAT reclaim at the machines in the terminal, and the refund was in our account 2 days later.
Much better than it used to be.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@lower, how does it work if you reclaim it from France - do you then have to pay UK VAT on import?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I bought a pair of €700.00 boots in January, and forgot about the VAT refund, doh!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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What! Never knew about this.
So you can get vat refunds on purchases in France?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Dont forget items over a certain amount will be liable to UK customs duty & VAT. In most cases it wont get spotted but it might and you could be saddled with a fair sized bill.
@Jonny996, Non EU residents can claim a refund of VAT on any items bought and exported during a visit. You often see refund booths at airport with a crowd of mainly Asian folk queuing up to get their forms stamped.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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You can reclaim french vat on purchases over 100 Euros. The shop you buy it from fills out an on line form, gives you a receipt, and there is then a process you follow when you leave france to get the refund. You need your passport with you in the shop. They have automated machines at the tunnel departure area with customs staff on hand to help you.
In theory, the goods are supposed to be unused when you leave the country, but no one seems to check.
I think you have a £390 allowance for duty free goods when you come into the UK and you're supposed to declare anything over that when you come into the UK. We were under that limit so i have no idea what that process is.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Fri 28-02-25 17:21; edited 1 time in total
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| lower wrote: |
You can reclaim french vat on purchases over 100 Euros. The shop you buy it from fills out an on line form, gives you a receipt, and there is then a process you follow when you leave france to get the refund. They have automated machines at the tunnel departure area with customs staff on hand to help you.
In theory, the goods are supposed to be unused when you leave the country, but no one seems to check.
I think you have a £390 allowance for duty free goods when you come into the UK and you're supposed to declare anything over that when you come into the UK. We were under that limit so i have no idea what that process is. |
Post of the month !
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You can do it at the tunnel yourself, or via Skiptax who take a small amount of commission. You do need a receipt made out to Skiptax for the purchases, which can include the wine you're taking home. Scan any receipts into the Skiptax app, and they are processed and you scan your barcode at the machines in Eurotunnel terminal. Have to upload a photo of your passport too. Not tried to do it without Skiptax though.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Serious question , do you have to have the goods with you ? Do they check ?
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The only time I claimed they needed the receipt, passport and bank details.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Le Grand Renard wrote: |
| Serious question , do you have to have the goods with you ? Do they check ? |
We have always had the goods with us, but no-one has checked.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Hells Bells, thanks food for thought
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| Le Grand Renard wrote: |
| Serious question , do you have to have the goods with you ? Do they check ? |
You’re supposed to have them with you, but no idea how that works with an automated machine.
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You know it makes sense.
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The skiptax app is so easy to use.
VAT on any purchase you bring back, so the 100euro minimum mentioned above is not correct.
Bear in mind that the French VAT refund service does not communicate in any way at all with HMRC.
Just saying!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Yep - UK used to have it too but scrapped it a few years ago - I used to get tax back on everything from Primark to new iPhones.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Hells Bells, i am looking to to do a short trip to lille in a few weeks time, via the tunnel, and stock up on some bits and pieces (including some booze) from carrefour at the cite de europe on the way back. how do i go about getting the receipt made out to skiptax, is that at the till, or do i go to a customer services desk?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@terrygasson, I haven't used a supermarket for ours, we used Calais Wines, but you can get a 'facture' at the till for business purposes. Sign up with Skiptax and the details you need on the invoice are in the app. Some places are already set up to use it on the invoice/till receipt already (Calais wines warehouse is). You can use my referral code for a bonus TKTA8J8X
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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thanks @Hells Bells, i will take a look at calais wines as well
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Not all shops do this so ask beforehand. It is quite a lot of admin for shops to join the scheme. You are supposed to have the goods in original packaging at the point of claim but we have never been asked. You can claim tax back from any EU country at Tunnel provided you have the paperwork.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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If you are driving (or flying from) you can pop into the departures area at Chambery airport (free parking and a few hundred yards off main rd.) and there are two refund machines on the right. Really easy to use as long as you have the correct form from the retailer. A lot easier than trying to find them at the Tunnel. Money was back in my account same day.
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I was thinking of demoing some skis in France on an up coming trip with a view to buying. Any ideas how this might work routing back through GVA? I suspect not easily. TIA.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It seems to be a particular bargain on wine, as wine is not subject to the £390 limit. So you can claim back the VAT on your wine, and so long as you have less than 24 bottles of wine and 12 of sparkling wine, there is no UK VAT to pay no matter how expensive the wine was.
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well, that did not work out to plan!!
went to carrefour in Calais on Thursday evening to stock up on some booze and other items, on our way to a short trip to Belgium. managed to get a tax invoice from the customer services desk to present to customs on my return yesterday at the Eurotunnel, but both the customs desk and all the "pablo" self service terminals were shut yesterday afternoon.
so i was unable, along with several other bemused travellers, to claim the tax back, wouldn't have been a massive amount to come back, but i was more interested to see how the system works in case of possible larger purchases in the future.
there was a leaflet on the closed desk, and it says if you are unable to complete on site you can go to a french embassy or consulate in the uk to get the forms stamped, but that is more hassle than it is worth!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@terrygasson, I used the terminals yesterday afternoon at around 1.30-1.45 and there was one desk open as I checked as I passed. What a palaver. Refund is already in my bank.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Hells Bells, it was around 4:30pm when i was there, wasn't surprised the desk was closed, as it was a Sunday afternoon, but all 4 terminals were closed as well, I just assumed the terminals would be 24/7?
the leaflet does say that the invoice is valid for 3 months, I may be going on a short trip to France again in a couple of months, so will take it with me again.
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@terrygasson, never had an issue with them being closed, but it is usually early afternoon on Sunday when we travel back.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Hells Bells, i assume i was just unlucky with a technical issue on Sunday (or they were on strike  ), hopefully it will work next time i go over
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I also needed to do a tax reclaim at Calais Eurotunnel a few weeks back on Sunday and the office was closed when we arrived however there was a sign on the office saying that it closed for 45 mins in the morning and the same in the evening (from 7-7:45pm).
As it was nearly re-opening time we waited for a while and sure enough some new custom staff arrived and stamped our forms. During the official closed time the self-service machines seem to be programmed to switch to 'closed' as well because at exactly 7:45pm they started to work again. We needed to wait for in-person staff because the tax reclaim was for purchases in Austria not France but the staff did turn up.
You can claim back the tax from any EU country but the minimum spend limits vary from country to country. It's a minimum of Euro75.01 for Austria, and I think it's Euro50 for Germany.
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Poster: A snowHead
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All these closed terminal tales of woe are a good reason to use skiptax!
Yes, they takes a couple of.percent, but it is so.easy and you don't need to do anything except on your phone app
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@rungsp, you still need to scan the generated barcode at the Pablo terminal don't you? . I use Skiptax app and still have to go into the terminal at Calais to complete the refund. You also can't use the terminals if you are leaving the EU from a French point of departure and have bought the goods in another EU country.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Hells Bells, scan the barcode?
Gosh...I really am not sure!
We used it a couple of times a couple of years ago..
And now you mention that I'm not sure if we did or didn't
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So not being that helpful after all!!
My apologies 
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