KEEP IT SAFE Keep this leaflet and storage wallet safe You ll find it useful when you return to Heathrow to reclaim your tax Heathrow is a great place to claim your tax refund: it s home to the world s greatest airport shopping 1. Your tax refund in cash when you fly home* 1 World s Best Airport for Shopping Skytrax World Airport Awards Eight years in a row (as of 2017) Best Airport for Tax-free Shopping voted by readers of Business Traveller magazine eight years in a row (as of 2016). Heathrow Airport Limited 2017 Correct at time of printing March 2017 TRI v1 0317 This service is operated by Travelex UK Limited *To qualify for a tax refund, you ll need to have your goods and paperwork with you, and you must fulfil all the criteria of the VAT Retail Export Scheme, details of which can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/gsf99nj Cash refunds not applicable to all tax refund forms or in all cases (see page 14 for full list of exceptions). Charges apply. Promoter: Travelex UK Limited. For Travelex s full terms and conditions, see page 14. This service is operated by Travelex UK Limited
Tax refunds for non-eu residents Can I claim a tax refund? End your European shopping trip with a cash refund 1 at Heathrow. It s your money claim it in cash 1 when you fly home The European tax system is good for overseas visitors. If you live outside the European Union (EU) and meet certain criteria, you can reclaim the tax on much of your shopping 2. We re Travelex, the independent refund operator trading at Heathrow, and we re authorised by the UK tax authorities to process your tax refund, and to pay it back in cash 1 in pounds sterling or your own home currency 3. A cash refund is yours to keep, even if we subsequently discover that we ve made an error 4. Save time and claim your refund just before you fly home The simplest way to reclaim your tax is to do it just before you fly home at the end of your trip. Although you can apply for your tax refund from operators not based at Heathrow, you will still need to get your forms stamped by Travelex or (for high-value goods) customs (UK Border Force) on the day you leave the EU. Save time by getting your forms stamped and your refund IN CASH 1 through Travelex at Heathrow just before you leave the EU. And don t forget that we can also process a single tax refund for all applicable goods you buy anywhere within the EU 2. The UK tax authorities set the rules for tax refunds Tax-free shopping is officially known as the VAT Retail Export Scheme. To qualify, you have to fulfil all the criteria set by the UK tax authorities 2. In this leaflet we explain what you need to do to finish your trip with extra cash 1 to spend. Are sales tax and VAT the same thing? Yes, UK and European sales tax is known as Value Added Tax. Everyone calls it VAT. 1 Cash refunds not applicable to all tax refund forms or in all cases (see page 14 for full list of exceptions). Charges apply. For Travelex s full terms and conditions, see page 14. 2 For details of the scheme, see: https://tinyurl.com/gsf99nj 3 Applies to most currencies. Travelex keeps most popular currencies in stock. 4 Fraudulent claims excepted. Yes Yes Yes If you re a non- EU resident To claim a tax refund, you must live outside the European Union (EU). That means: You normally live outside the EU or You re leaving the EU and won t be back for at least a year. But only for certain goods The goods you buy must be for personal use. Services such as hotel bills and rail tickets don t apply. And the scheme doesn t apply to all goods. See Travelex s terms and conditions on page 14. So long as you don t stay in the EU for too long You must take your goods out of the EU by the last day of the third month after the one in which you bought them. For example, if you bought goods during January, you must take them out of the EU by 30 April. 2 3
What do I do when I m shopping? Where can I shop? Look for shops with a Tax-free shopping sign in the window To claim a tax refund you have to do your shopping in stores that are part of the VAT Retail Export Scheme shops that display the Tax-free shopping sign. Goods you buy elsewhere will not qualify for a tax refund. Anywhere in Europe You can reclaim VAT on tax-free shopping you do in any country that s a member of the EU. When you fly home from Heathrow, you can claim it all back in one go. You must be there in person Shopping online or by mail order doesn t count. You have to be in the shop at the time of purchase, but you don t have to be the person who pays. Show your passport or national ID card, and tell the retailer that you want to shop tax-free. Ask about fees Fees apply when you reclaim your VAT. Fees vary depending on which retailer you buy from, which refund operator they use and where you make your VAT refund claim. The best time to find out about fees is when you go shopping. Ask instore before you buy. Get the retailer to sign your tax refund form The retailer will give you a tax refund form (officially known as VAT407), which must be validly completed, and which you and they must both sign and date. Your tax refund form is invalid without both signatures. Keep your tax refund form and your receipt Don t lose your paperwork. Tuck your tax refund forms and store receipts into the wallet on the back page of this leaflet. You ll need them when you reclaim your tax. Not all tax refund forms qualify for a refund in cash The version of the VAT407 form that your retailer gives you depends on which refund operator they work with. If the store s refund operator is not also one of our partners 1, we will be unable to give you a refund in cash. Instead we ll refund your credit card or mail your refund forms back to the retailer to process your refund. When you re in the store, ask the retailer if its refund operator offers refunds in cash. Read the refund operator s terms and conditions governing tax-free shopping in that store. 1 Travelex s five refund partners are Global Blue, Premier Tax Free, GB Tax Free, Innova Tax Free and UK Tax Free. 4 5
What s the best way to prepare for my tax refund claim? 1Sort your shopping 2Gather your paperwork into two groups To reclaim tax on your shopping, you need three sets of supporting documents: Bulky goods Put bulky goods that travel in the aircraft hold in one pile. High-value items Put high-value items that travel in your hand luggage (jewellery, watches and electrical items) in another pile. Store receipts the originals provided by the retailer. Signed and properly completed tax refund forms complete yours in full before you leave for Heathrow. Proof that you are taking your goods out of the EU your airline ticket and your passport. Pack the two sets of shopping separately, but make sure you can get to them easily. Travelex and Customs / Border Force will ask to see the goods when you submit your tax refund claim. You won t get a refund if you can t prove that you have the goods with you. If you re not sure which goods qualify as high value, you can ask at the Travelex desk when you reach Heathrow. Forms not completed correctly or incomplete will add time to your journey so please ensure to complete the forms. 6 7
What do I do at the airport? Give yourself plenty of time Allow extra time for your tax refund at Heathrow. Our average tax refund waiting time is 30 minutes, but it can take longer at peak times or if you re part of a tour group or in the queue behind a tour group. The earlier you arrive at Heathrow, the better. Completing all your forms before you get to Heathrow should speed things up too. Follow the signs to claim your tax refund We have reclaim desks in every terminal, before and after security. Just follow the VAT refunds signs. Bulky goods reclaim the tax before you check in: This is for reclaiming the tax on items that travel in your hold baggage. High-value goods reclaim the tax after you ve passed through security: This is for reclaiming the tax on the jewellery, watches and electrical items that travel in your hand luggage. Not sure where to go or what to do? If you don t know which way to go, just ask one of Heathrow s purple-uniformed multilingual Passenger Ambassadors. And if you re not sure which goods qualify as high value, ask at the Travelex desk. Ask before you check in. You can t reclaim tax on shopping that s entered the Heathrow baggage system. For further information visit www.heathrow.com/vat 9
Plenty of help from a friendly, multilingual team When you submit your tax refund claim, we re ready to help. We ll sort, check and stamp your paperwork for you. So long as you have the goods, your store receipts and your tax refund forms and the paperwork s in order we ll do the rest 1. Can t find the tax-refund desk? Ask a Passenger Ambassador they ll show you the way. What happens at the Travelex desk? Bulky goods Take bulky goods to the Travelex desk to make your refund claim before you check in. High-value goods Take high-value goods with you through security to the Customs / Border Force desk. Once they ve stamped your forms, you should take them to the Travelex desk to make your refund claim. Take your tax refund in cash 1 If your claim meets all the relevant criteria you can take your tax refund in cash 1 in pounds sterling or in your own home currency 2. It s yours to spend as you wish. Even if we subsequently discover an error, we won t ask for the money back 3. Not all refunds can be made in cash Whether you can take your refund in cash depends on several factors: The refund operator used by your retailer if they re not also our partner, we can t process the refund in cash and some refund operators only allow credit-card refunds The value of the refund processing fees may be larger than some low-value refunds Connectivity to our refund partner s website sometimes we can t get a connection and we have to mail the refund form back to the retailer Retailer problems sometimes our refund partners put a stop on cash refunds. 1 Cash refunds not applicable to all tax refund forms or in all cases (see page 14 for full list of exceptions). Charges apply. For Travelex s full terms and conditions, see page 14. 2 Applies to most currencies. Travelex keeps most popular currencies in stock. For Travelex s full terms and conditions, see page 14. 3 Fraudulent claims excepted. There are charges for processing your tax refund The fees you pay for checking, processing and authorising your tax refund depend on which refund operator issued your VAT refund forms. The amount you pay varies, depending on three factors: The value of your shopping The retailer s fee as agreed between the retailer and the refund operator Travelex s fee as agreed between Travelex and the refund operator. There may also be other fees charged by the retailer and the VAT agent for their part in the transaction. As a result, even though VAT is currently charged at 20% in the UK, you should typically expect to receive around 10% to 13% of the purchase price of your goods 4 (before the addition of VAT) after all associated fees have been taken. To find out more, see our terms and conditions on page 14. Take high-value goods to Customs Jewellery, watches and electrical items that cost you more than 250 has to go through Customs. Pack it in your hand luggage because you ll have to take it through security to present to the UK Border Force / Customs desk. 4 See Travelex terms and conditions on page 14. 10 11
Enjoy more tax-free shopping in the departure lounge Heathrow is a great place to claim your tax refund: it s home to the world s greatest airport shopping 1. And if you re a non-eu resident who s flying home, it s an opportunity to do even more duty-free and discount shopping before you leave. Be aware, however, that duty-free limits will apply in your home country. Shop for the world s most exclusive brands You ll find many of your favourite international brands at Heathrow, everything from fashion to jewellery from watches to handbags from shoes to smart phones. Many goods in airside stores at Heathrow are priced below the normal high-street price. Some goods notably tobacco and alcohol are expressly flagged as duty free. 1 World s Best Airport for Shopping Skytrax World Airport Awards Eight years in a row (as of 2017). Best Airport for Tax-free Shopping voted by readers of Business Traveller magazine eight years in a row (as of 2016). 12 13
Travelex UK Limited Operator authorised by the UK tax authorities to stamp and authorise tax refunds at Heathrow Terms and conditions The VAT-refund operator is Travelex UK Limited, trading as Travelex. Travelex is the promoter of the VAT-refund scheme at Heathrow. When you apply for a VAT refund, you are contracting with Travelex (address below), not Heathrow. All references to we and us in this document refer to Travelex UK Limited. To qualify for a VAT refund, your documents must be validly completed and you must satisfy all the requirements set by the Government. You must have been in the shop when the goods were purchased (although you don t have to be the person who paid for them), and you must be taking them out of the European Union. You cannot make a claim on someone else s behalf. Failure to comply with all requirements means that Travelex may not be able to refund your VAT in whole or in part. You confirm that you have read and understood the UK government rules at: The UK tax authorities set the rules governing VAT-free shopping and subsequent VAT refunds. The scheme officially known as the VAT Retail Export Scheme is commonly referred to as tax-free shopping. For a complete description of how the scheme works, visit: www.gov.uk/ government/publications/vat-notice-704-vat-retailexports/vat-notice-704-vat-retail-exports www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-7041- tax-free-shopping-in-the-uk/vat-notice-7041-tax-freeshopping-in-the-uk Travelex will, in its sole discretion, decide whether your documents are validly completed and that you have complied with the rules. If it decides that you meet all the criteria and the relevant refund partner authorises a refund Travelex will pay you a VAT refund in cash or other form. If Travelex subsequently finds an error that it missed, it will still honour your refund. In some cases Travelex will have to mail your refund forms back to the retailer for them to process your refund. Fraudulent claims are excluded from these terms and conditions. The Travelex service at Heathrow may end if UK Government tax rules change or Travelex ceases to be the refund operator at Heathrow airport. Travelex reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time. All information correct at time of going to press. Are you entitled to a VAT refund? You may be entitled to a VAT refund if: You normally live outside the European Union (EU), or You are leaving the EU and will not return within 12 months. Do your goods qualify for a VAT refund? VAT refunds apply to goods bought within the EU in shops displaying a tax-free shopping sign. Although you can shop elsewhere, you won t be able to reclaim VAT on goods you bought in shops that don t display a tax-free shopping sign. The following are examples of purchases that do not qualify for VAT refunds: Services, for example, hotel bills Goods bought remotely online or by mail order Unmounted gemstones Consumable goods that you have already begun to consume Goods that need an export licence (apart from antiques) Goods for business use costing more than 600 Goods being exported as freight. Are there fees for processing your VAT refund at Heathrow? Yes, there are fees for processing and refunding your claim. Your fees depend on which of Travelex s five refund partners issued your VAT refund forms, and the fees that they have agreed with the retailer and with Travelex. Travelex s five refund partners are: Global Blue, Premier Tax Free, GB Tax Free, Innova Tax Free and UK Tax Free. To find out what your refund fees are likely to be, ask instore before you buy any goods covered by the tax-free shopping scheme. At the very least, you should read the terms and conditions when you re in the store. Since several parties earn varying levels of fees from your refund transaction, Travelex cannot say what fees you will pay for your refund. On average they amount to between 4% and 7% of the retail value of your shopping. What should you do in the shop? For your goods to qualify for a VAT refund, you must have been present in the shop at the time of purchase, although you do not have to be the person who paid for the goods. Tell the retailer that you want to reclaim your VAT The retailer will provide you with a VAT refund form (form VAT 407), which they must complete in full You and the retailer must both sign the form when you are in the shop together. When should you take your goods out of the EU? You must take your goods out of the EU by the last day of the third month after the one in which you bought them. For example, if you bought goods during January, you must take them out of the EU by 30 April. What should you do at the airport? You must have everything with you when you arrive at the airport: The goods that you intend to export Your store receipts Your VAT-refund forms, signed and completed in full Proof that you are leaving the EU. Before you check in, you must present your bulky goods (goods that will travel in the aircraft hold) together with their paperwork at a Travelex desk (Note: do not include high-value goods such as jewellery, watches and electrical items in your hold luggage). If Travelex are happy that everything is in order, they will stamp your forms and refund your VAT. Take high-value goods such as jewellery, watches and electrical items with you through security to the Customs / Border Force desk. After they ve stamped your forms you should take them to the Travelex desk to claim your tax refund. Keep your paperwork safe Use this simple wallet to store your receipts and tax refund forms. You can t reclaim your tax if you don t have all your paperwork with you. How much time should you allow for your VAT refund? To be sure you can process a VAT refund with Travelex at Heathrow, you need to make time at the airport. The average tax refund waiting time is 30 minutes, but it can take much longer, especially at peak times or if you re part of a tour group or in the queue behind a tour group. You are responsible for arriving at Heathrow early enough to complete your VAT refund Neither Heathrow nor Travelex will be liable if, for any reason, there s insufficient time for you to claim a VAT refund before your flight Completing your forms before you reach Heathrow can help save time at the VAT refund desk. Contacting Travelex Registered office: Travelex UK Limited, 4th floor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG, whose company number is: 01985596. 14 15