유럽연합(이하 EU) 여행시 모든 EU 국가에서 기념품 구매시 받은 Tax Invoice만 제대로 챙겨 두시면 EU 내 어느 국가에서나 Tax refund(이하 세금 환급)를 받을 수 있습니다. 주의! 스위스, 노르웨이, 아이스랜드, 불가리아, 루마니아 그리고 터키는 꼭 세금 환급을 해당국(Local Customs)의 VAT Reclaim Office에서만 신청가능 하기때문에 위에 언급한 국가를 여행시 세금 환급은 각 국가를 떠나시기 전에 받으셔야 합니다.
위에서 언급한 예외 국가들을 제외 하고는 세금 환급 신청은 유럽 여행이 끝난 후 우리나라 입국 후에도 신청 가능하며 우리나라에 있는 VAT Reclaim Office 주소는 아래와 같습니다.(다른 나라의 VAT Reclaim Office주소는 http://www.globalrefund.com 사이트에 들어가시면 조회 가능합니다.)
INCHEON AIRPORT
The Refund Office accepts Cheques issued in Korea only
Global Refund 3rd Floor, Near Gate No. 28
Phone: +82 32 743 4140
Opening Hours: Monday - Sunday 07.00-21.00
SEOUL
The Refund Office accepts Cheques issued in any country
Hana Bank World Center 9-10 Euljiro 2ga, Joong-Gu
Opening hours: Monday - Friday 09.30-16.30 / Saturday - Sunday closed
자세한 세금 환급 관련 정보는 아래 내용 참조 바랍니다. (출처: globalrefund.com / premiertaxfree.com)
영문 그대로 가져 왔는데요 읽기 귀찮으신 분들을 위한 본인이 안내하는 세금 환급관련 초간단 Know-how!! "Tax Invoice"만 철저하게 챙기세요.. 물건 살때만다 "Please, Can you give me Tax Invoice?" 이렇게 말하고 Tax Invoice 챙겨 오셔서 한국에서 세금 환급 신청하시면 됩니다. ㅡㅡ;
Getting the VAT Back
How to get the VAT (European taxes) on your souvenir purchases refunded
Look for the "Tax Free Shopping for Tourists" sign in stores and the process
of getting the VAT tax refunded will be much simpler and smoother.
OK, first the bad news. Unlike in America, where sales tax is (mostly) a state-by-state phenomenon that gets added on at the cash register, in Europe sales tax is included in the price tag.
That is nice, in that there's no math to do in your head, but it's awful for two reasons. One is that the tax rate—universally called VAT (for "Value Added Tax") though each country also has its own acronym—tends to be anywhere from 4% to 33%. (The E.U. is supposed to eventually settle on a common rate of around 18%, but it's already years past the original implementation date of that plan.)
The other bummer is that you end up paying this VAT automatically, even though, as a tourist, you are not obligated to pay the VAT.
Now the good news. Since non-E.U. residents technically do not owe VAT, a system has been set up to refund these ill-gotten taxes to you. Now for some more bad news, the refund system doesn't kick in it unless you drop a big chunk of change all at once in one store.
This amount ranges from as low as £30 ($50) in the U.K and $80 in Belgium to €154.94 ($200) in Italy and €175.01 ($230) in France (and it's always the amount before taxes are counted).
The actual amounts in each country—as well as lots of VAT shopping advice—are listed at the website of Global Refund(www.globalrefund.com). There also lots of good, straightforward advice (specific to Italy, but appicable to many countries) on the English-language pages of the Italian Customs Bureau site (www.agenziadogane.it)
Getting that refund
Getting the VAT refunded involves telling the store clerk you're going to be asking for the VAT back (they'll give you receipts and forms to carry with you) then filling out more forms at the airport.
Note that you redeem the receipts when you are getting ready to leave the last E.U. country on your itinerary
(in this case, "E.U. country" means all of Western Europe except Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland; and all of Eastern Europe minus Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey—the latter three are up for membership). That means bring all your receipts for every E.U. country to the airport from which you depart; so if you're flying home from Paris, you can take your Italian, German, and French receipts to the customs agent at Charles de Gaulle airport.
Before you even check in for your flight, you must visit the local Customs office at the airport with the receipts and the items you purchased—this is in case the officer wishes to inspect your purchases (which rarely happens). The Customs agent will stamp your receipt and give you further directions—usually, after going through check in and security, you head to another VAT refund desk inside the airport and deal with more paperwork there.
In some cases, they give you a refund on the spot. More often, the stamped receipt is sent back to the store and your reimbursement is credited against your credit card or sent to you by check. Either, way, it can take forever. The longest I've ever waited was 18 months for a few bucks back from some Irish Sweaters.
There are two ways around all this effort. Many shops are now part of the "Tax Free Shopping" network(look for a sticker in the store window). These shops issue a check along with your invoice, which, after you have the invoice stamped at customs, you can redeem for cash directly at the Tax Free booth in the airport (usually near customs or the duty-free shop), or you can mail it back to the store in the envelope provided within 60 days for your refund. In some cases, the store takes care of all the hard work—you fill out the form on the spot and they mail it back, then reimburse your credit card.
You can also often avoid the VAT by having your purchases shipped directly from the store, but this can get extremely pricey.
Value Added Tax appears in different guises throughout the world, for example:-
|
BTW |
Belgium, Netherlands |
|
IVA |
Italy, Portugal, Spain |
|
MOMS |
Denmark, Sweden |
|
Mwst |
Austria, Germany |
|
TVA |
Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Romania |
|
VAT |
Cyprus, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Slovakia, United Kingdom |
|
FPA |
Greece |
|
ДДС |
Bulgaria |
|
AFA |
Hungary |
|
ALV |
Finland |
|
DPH |
Czech Republic |
|
PTU |
Poland |
|
PVM |
Lithuania |
|
DDV |
Slovenia |
|
Kibemarks |
Estonia |
http://www.globalrefund.com
http://www.premiertaxfree.com
