What's the story about VAT and duty-free?

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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I heard a guy from Dublin Airport Authority on about this on the radio.

If I am travelling to another EU country, they must charge me VAT.

If I am travelling outside the EU, they don't have to charge me VAT.

But they charge everyone the same price. In the UK, they keep the VAT for themselves. In DAA, they reduced the price for everyone, or so they claim.

Dermot Jewell claimed that people travelling to the EU are subsidising those travelling outside the EU. But, it seems to me he is completely confused. (Or maybe I heard it wrong?). If they charged VAT separately, people travelling to the EU would pay more, and people travelling outside the EU would pay less. So the guys travelling outside are subsidising those travelling within the EU.

If I were travelling outside the EU, could I ask for a VAT invoice and claim the VAT back myself?
 
I think the disgrace here is the fact that the retailers are pocketing the cash.

There are unjust enrichment rules which can stop a retailer from claiming a refund of VAT incorrectly applied to sales over a period of time.

This is a cousin of that. Retailers are essentially overcharging a group of people for their goods.
 
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/...how-boarding-cards-in-airport-shops-1.2314584
From the IT
When contacted by The Irish Times WHSmith said that boarding passes were requested from passengers but not demanded. “Any [VAT]relief obtained is reflected in our single price and extensive promotional offers provided to all of our customers,” it said.

“Operational and financial system constraints make any form of ‘dual pricing’ for our extensive product file a practical impossibility.”

My emphasis: Anyone running a cafe has far more complex accounting to do :)

Time to boycott the shops up there, except for water.

Brendan Burgess said:
If I were travelling outside the EU, could I ask for a VAT invoice and claim the VAT back myself?
Click to expand...

If u registered for VAT and the purchase is business related, so that case of spirits.....:)
 
No, it's nothing to do with being registered for VAT. I am asking about ordinary purchases by non-vat registered people who are travelling outside the EU. They should be able to reclaim the VAT. But in practice, they should not be charged the VAT.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
No, it's nothing to do with being registered for VAT. I am asking about ordinary purchases by non-vat registered people who are travelling outside the EU. They should be able to reclaim the VAT. But in practice, they should not be charged the VAT.
Click to expand...

As it is the answer is still no, unless you go down the route of whatever that scheme Fexco, or similar for wealthy yanks etc.

The Revenue are jumping all over those poor AerBnB folk but no chance of intervening here as they are creaming it.

A boycott of all products in the airport other than duty free booze where applicable should be started and when the shopping area looks like Ciudad Real's Central airport
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/...airport-sold-10000-euros-150718140728677.html
then perhaps someone will pay attention where the hard pressed traveller is being screwed yet again by the fat cats such as the DAA with their snouts in the trough.
 
sahd said:
So there is no actual VAT paid that can be reclaimed by the customer .
Click to expand...

I get it now.

Mr EU traveller pays €6 which is €4.96 net + €1.04 vat

Mr Rest of the World pays €6 which is €6 net.

I could sort of understand that on low value items. But it would be a big difference on expensive clothes and perfumes. Well worth pricing separately for.

Brendan
 
T McGibney said:
Here's my new blog post on the airport VAT wheeze. http://mcgibney.ie/2015/08/12/vat-at-the-airport-the-house-always-wins/
Click to expand...

Hi Tommy

That's a great piece

I’ve often remarked that VAT is the most complex, and the most evaded (and avoided) of all taxes – and in many cases its byzantine exemptions and loopholes are a lovely little earner for big retailers.

I think it's a nice little earner for the VAT specialists in the top accountancy firms as well.

Over 30 years ago, an Irish government famously collapsed after it failed to impose a VAT charge on children’s shoes.


Yet today in Ireland, VAT-free kids’ shoes are every bit as expensive (or perhaps more so) as VAT-liable shoes for grown-ups.

That is odd indeed. That should not be happening in a normal market.
 
This really annoys me, just like those stupid self service tills...................

So they can request the boarding pass but you do not have to give it?
Does that apply everywhere?

And they can scan your boarding pass and use the data but not to calculate the correct VAT rate? Rubbish.

And does the receipt show vat charged or not charged appropriately.
Surely fraud if incorrect?

And if they need to validate the destination, the old way was to look at the card.

Email received from the CAI

Dear Member,


The Consumers' Association of Ireland is seeking a clarification of the VAT regime operated at Dublin Airport following the advice from the Revenue Commissioners that there is a Zero rating granted to the DAA for all sales to travellers to non-EU destinations.

The same Revenue advice clarifies how VAT must continue to be charged on all sales to travellers on flights to destinations within the EU.

The clarification sought would be to outline how all travellers can be charged the same price for any item sold regardless of their destination which appears to be at odds with those Revenue requirements.

Boycott sounds good.
So does going to the till and refusing to allow boarding pass to be scanned, leave the goods there if they don't like it.
(Something I've done with a bolshie self service till.)
 
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