Buying a Rolex from an AD in Italy

[Samui]

Hello everyone,

I will be in Italy in july and will buy a watch while im there. I am not a EU resident and have never gotten a tax return. What is the process of getting the tax return? I hear VAT is 22% in Italy.

Do I get it at the airport when I leave the country? What documents do I need to take from the AD? Receipt enough?

[Hpozzuoli]

Last airport before you leave the union you can claim your vat. There is usually a booth or walk up window clearly identifying vat returns. You need a receipt, the watch, and everything that came with it. I buy in Italy and typically claim in Barcelona.

[Samui]

Originally Posted by Hpozzuoli

Last airport before you leave the union you can claim your vat. There is usually a booth or walk up window clearly identifying vat returns. You need a receipt, the watch, and everything that came with it. I buy in Italy and typically claim in Barcelona.

Last airport really? In this case I would get the VAT return from Poland or Estonia 2 months later.

Will I still get the Italy VAT return or the VAT of the country I leave the EU?

[ptxl]

Vat is 22% in Italy, but it is global blue tax free company which is giving you around 12% back. You lose 6% to this tax free agent.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by Samui

Last airport really? In this case I would get the VAT return from Poland or Estonia 2 months later.

Will I still get the Italy VAT return or the VAT of the country I leave the EU?

Yes

[Samui]

Originally Posted by ptxl

Vat is 22% in Italy, but it is global blue tax free company which is giving you around 12% back. You lose 6% to this tax free agent.

Do I have to use global blue? If I dont I wouldnt lose the 6% correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Samui]

Originally Posted by MonBK

Yes

I was planning to ship the watch box back home in order not to carry it with me for two months to get the VAT return. I really dont want to carry the watch around. What do you suggest I do?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ptxl]

Originally Posted by Samui

Do I have to use global blue? If I dont I wouldnt lose the 6% correct?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is global blue or another tax free agent. Doesn't matter which one you choose, you have to pay them.

[psv]

Yes, you have to file at last European port of exit.

No, you won't get the full VAT back unless you go through some extra hoops that I never mastered, but you'll get upwards 16-17% depending on the price of the item.

Be prepared to spend considerable amount of time at the airport to a) file the papers with the right customer officials (lines are sometimes hours long) and b) get your money back (which will be offered at local currency, if you want it in your another currency, the exchange rate is horrible).

Best of luck!

[Eva123]

One month ago I bought Rolex in Rome. If you want advices on possible discounts or my experience please see few my posts. Or you can message me privately.

Percentage of VAT return depends on amount that you are spending. I was able to claim back the whole 22% (Global blue took 50 EUR for its service). When you are leaving country (I was flying from Rome to Moscow) I presented my watch to customs in airport where I received stamp on my Global blue form. Then I presented this form to Global blue kiosk in airport together with my boarding pass. Then I had to give my credit card to them in order to process as bigger amounts are returned to your credit / debit card. I was told that I will receive VAT back within 3 weeks. However, today it is exactly 1 month after my leaving Italy, however, I am still waiting for that refund. I really hope that I will get it :)

Also, you have to check the rules if you will be going out of country and to another EU country. ALso, goods that you are exporting from EU should be new. Suggest you to check what is a maximum period when it is considered new. I am not so sure that if you leave EU 2 months purchase that you will be able to claim VAT.

[GinzoMatic]

As others have said.

I bought my watch in Prague back in April. I left the EU through Budapest. You have to carry the watch (in the box) with everything as is when when you bought it for the customs agent to give you your stamp.

I suggest mailing the form back to the global blue office with the envelope they'll give you after you get the stamp. That way, you avoid the 15% fee the cash window at the airport charges to process the form and issue cash.

BTW, the only way to get the full 22% back is to exit the EU, get the stamp, and return with the papers to the same store within the allotted time frame (I think 30 days?)

PM with any questions.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SSLove]

Go to the airport early, the whole system is set up to discourage it. Trust me i have been there a few times and almost missed a flight... all sorts of strange rules... something like:
- You check in first but make sure you don't ship the goods.
- Go to this small office with a line of people ending at the end of the airport (ok exaggerating a bit here, but trust me it's long)
- You have to show the goods and you get a piece of paper.
- Go through security, then there is a special bank that will cash your paper work. (Again the same line you saw at the first window will be here as well...

Believe me when i say they make it super hard....

[psv]

Originally Posted by SSLove

Go to the airport early, the whole system is set up to discourage it. Trust me i have been there a few times and almost missed a flight... all sorts of strange rules... something like:
- You check in first but make sure you don't ship the goods.
- Go to this small office with a line of people ending at the end of the airport (ok exaggerating a bit here, but trust me it's long)
- You have to show the goods and you get a piece of paper.
- Go through security, then there is a special bank that will cash your paper work. (Again the same line you saw at the first window will be here as well...

Believe me when i say they make it super hard....

Hear. Hear. And if you leaving through a popular Asian tourist destination, e.g. London or Paris, the lines can be REALLY long as Asians tend to buy a lot of European luxury goods to take back home.

[jon_jon]

Originally Posted by Samui

Hello everyone,

I will be in Italy in july and will buy a watch while im there. I am not a EU resident and have never gotten a tax return. What is the process of getting the tax return? I hear VAT is 22% in Italy.

Do I get it at the airport when I leave the country? What documents do I need to take from the AD? Receipt enough?

There are two things to consider here - getting the customs stamp and then getting the refund.

You have to get the customs stamp at the last EU airport that you are departing, unless you are making a connecting flight. For example, if you are flying Lufthansa from Rome to Frankfurt to Tokyo with a brief 2 hour connection at Frankfurt, you should be able to get the customs stamp in Rome as flight delays and the short connection time means it is not always feasible/realistic to get the customs stamp at the transiting airport, in this example Frankfurt.

The VAT form depends on the the store you make the purchase. The largest VAT refund processing company is Global Blue, but there is also a company called Premier Tax Free that some stores use. A small number of stores will process the VAT form themselves if you mail the stamped VAT form back to them. This third option allows you to get the full VAT amount back, but you have to ask for this option and not all stores do this as it places the burden on the store to do some of the paperwork and also carry some liability if the paperwork is not completed accurately.

[bodhipooh]

Originally Posted by ptxl

Vat is 22% in Italy, but it is global blue tax free company which is giving you around 12% back. You lose 6% to this tax free agent.

This is utterly wrong. I wish people would not make posts that include wildly inaccurate information, as it is not helpful to those seeking answers and guidance.

VAT in Italy is 22%, which is factored into the price one pays at the retailer.
As such, a full refund would be 18% of the total price paid. Why?

1.22 * x * .82 = x

For a purchase in Italy over 8K EUR, Global Blue will refund 15.5%. That means that out of the 22% VAT paid at the time of purchase, ~18.9% is refunded to the customer and ~3.1% is kept by Global Blue.

Some people find that difference in refunded amounts (what is essentially a convenience "agent commission") to be unfair but I think paying 3% is not terrible to avoid the paperwork and bureaucracy (and risk!) involved in getting a tax refund through other means.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by bodhipooh

This is utterly wrong. I wish people would not make posts that include wildly inaccurate information, as it is not helpful to those seeking answers and guidance.

VAT in Italy is 22%, which is factored into the price one pays at the retailer.
As such, a full refund would be 18% of the total price paid. Why?

1.22 * x * .82 = x

For a purchase in Italy over 8K EUR, Global Blue will refund 15.5%. That means that out of the 22% VAT paid at the time of purchase, ~18.9% is refunded to the customer and ~3.1% is kept by Global Blue.

Some people find that difference in refunded amounts (what is essentially a convenience "agent commission") to be unfair but I think paying 3% is not terrible to avoid the paperwork and bureaucracy (and risk!) involved in getting a tax refund through other means.

This is correct

[R G]

Originally Posted by joli160

This is correct

... Just a shame it's advice that's six months late and judging by the OP's membership status I suspect he won't see it.

[bodhipooh]

Originally Posted by R G

... Just a shame it's advice that's six months late and judging by the OP's membership status I suspect he won't see it.

Agreed, but I wanted to clarify the information because I find lots of similar posts in here and my hope is to help others that are truly at a loss trying to understand how this stuff actually works. Lots of misinformation out there, and also lots of misunderstanding when it comes to numbers.

[Royalex]

Originally Posted by bodhipooh

This is utterly wrong. I wish people would not make posts that include wildly inaccurate information, as it is not helpful to those seeking answers and guidance.

VAT in Italy is 22%, which is factored into the price one pays at the retailer.
As such, a full refund would be 18% of the total price paid. Why?

1.22 * x * .82 = x

For a purchase in Italy over 8K EUR, Global Blue will refund 15.5%. That means that out of the 22% VAT paid at the time of purchase, ~18.9% is refunded to the customer and ~3.1% is kept by Global Blue.

Some people find that difference in refunded amounts (what is essentially a convenience "agent commission") to be unfair but I think paying 3% is not terrible to avoid the paperwork and bureaucracy (and risk!) involved in getting a tax refund through other means.

Good information.