Day 14 - Frankfurt to Singapore

10 Mar 2010

It’s time to say goodbye to Europe. After having the complimentary breakfast at Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt-MESSE, we board a taxi to the airport. The journey took about 15 minutes with a fare of EUR 28.85.

VAT Refunds

I'd like to share our experience with regards to claiming VAT refunds. The process of getting a VAT refund is not too difficult as long as you have your paperwork done and having your goods ready for inspection.

Step 1 – Paperwork

First and foremost, ensure that the retailer fills up the Tax Refund forms for you. This has to be done at the point of purchase. Then ensure that the forms have been signed and filled up with your particulars, i.e. your name and address. The retailer will attach your purchase receipts onto the tax refund forms.

Each retailer in the European Union uses one of the following refund agencies i.e.

• Global Refund
• Tax-Free

You can only receive your refund from the specific refund agent that the retailer uses, for example, Hard Rock Café in Prague uses Tax-Free as their agent and therefore you can only get your refund from Tax-Free and not Global Refund.

Step 2 – Packing

To make inspection easier, pack all the items eligible for refund in a single bag. At the point of check in, inform the counter-staff at the check-in counter that you wish to have your bag inspected by customs for VAT refunds.

Step 3 – Customs Inspection and endorsement

After the baggage tag has been issued, bring your bag containing the items to be inspected, to the customs inspection counters located at Hall B, counters 643-644.

Hand in your tax refund forms to the customs officer and s/he will ask to inspect your bag(s). Once done, the customs officer will endorse your forms with a stamp. This is a very important step. Without the stamp, you will NOT be able to get your refund.

Step 4 – Deposit your bag to be checked-in

Just immediately after the customs inspection counter, there is a baggage handler who will collect your bag from you and check it back in. Alternatively, you can bring your bag to the check-in counter and drop it there.

Step 5 – Collect your refund

If you’re collecting your refund from Global Refund, you may proceed to the counter located on the left hand side of the customs inspection booths. Just present the endorsed form to get your refund. We were paid in cash.

However, we ran into some difficulty collecting our refund from Tax Refund. There is a Bureau de Change that act as an agent for Tax Refund but the amount on the form did not tally with the system. The counter staff mentioned that she will have to revert with the parent company to resolve the discrepancy and they will reimburse the amount due to my credit card.

The process would take about 3 - 4 weeks. I'm still waiting...

Anyway, we board our flight to Singapore and arrived safely the next day at about 7 am in the morning, and welcomed by the warm and humid air. I will update this post after 3-4 weeks regarding the status of our VAT refunds.

Cheers.