Evgenia Yasakova sent interesting material on how to properly refund tax when buying goods in the Eurozone. The fact is that we pay tax in stores, which foreigners are supposed to return, and therefore, with the help of simple actions, I returned 13% of the cost of an Apple TV purchased in Hamburg.
1. This is not even a tip, but a requirement. There will be two in total.
Before going to the customs area, you need to check in for your flight and get a boarding pass.
2. Stamps on tax free checks are placed in the customs zone. The second requirement is that in order to obtain a customs seal, it is also necessary to present to the customs officer the goods themselves for which you want to refund the tax. It is better that they are in the packages in which they were sold.
Therefore, if you are going to carry the purchased items in your luggage, I believe that you need to do everything in this sequence: check in for the flight, but do not hand over the luggage immediately → go to the customs zone → present the goods → get stamps for tax free receipts → put the boxes in the suitcase → hand over the luggage.
3. It is worth arriving at the airport half an hour earlier than you planned. Sometimes it is really difficult to find a customs zone at the airport.
4. Store employees will advise you to be sure to enter your details in the receipts in advance. But I would advise not to rush it. You only need to enter your first name, last name, passport number, address and sign the checks, it will take quite a bit of time, and this can be done right in front of a customs officer. But if something goes wrong, for example, you accidentally pack your purchases in a suitcase and hand over your luggage or you will be late for a flight, any person who is going abroad in the coming months will be able to receive your money.
5. Yes, money can be received within three months of making a purchase in any EU country, and not only where the purchase was made. And this can be done by the person whose data is indicated in the receipt (the customs officer checks them with the data in the passport).
6. After the customs officer stamps your tax free checks, you can go to the bank for money. As is correct, there is a branch of a tax refund bank at the airport. But you can also get money at home (for example, SMP Bank does this in Moscow). So if you are late for a flight, it is not necessary to waste time on a refund at the airport.
If everything went well and the money was returned to you already at the airport, you can spend it right there in Duty Free :-)
