VAT Refund for Purchases Made in Italy by EU Non-Resident Subjects

VAT refund for purchases made in Italy by EU non-resident subjects

1 - Introduction

According to the Italian law, based on the Community provisions, EU non-resident travelers may be granted VAT refund for goods intended for personal or familiaruse purchased in Italy.

This relief - not covering the services supplied, for example, by hotels, restaurants, taxis, agencies etc. - is surely an advantage for the foreign travelers: in fact theycan save from a minimum of 4% up to a maximum 20% of the selling price of the goods purchased.

However, the EU non-resident travelers can make use of this benefit provided that he meets all the requirements set forth by the Italian legislation.

MEMBER STATE OF THE EU
Austria / Belgium / Cyprus / Czech Republic / Denmark
EIRE / Estonia / Finland / France / Germany
Greece / Hungary / Italy / Latvia / Lithuania
Luxembourg / Malta / Poland / Portugal / Slovakia
Slovenia / Spain / Sweden / The Netherlands / United Kingdom

2 - Goods purchased in Italy and personally carried in the baggage outside the EU territory

The EU non-resident traveler may be granted either the direct relief or the following refund of VAT for goods purchased in Italy; in case of VAT relief, the purchase
is made tax-free while in that of VAT refund, VAT must be advanced by the foreign traveler.

2.1 - How to get VAT refund or relief

You can be granted VAT refund or relief provided that:

·  the foreign buyer is a EU non - resident traveler;

·  the goods are intended for personal or familiar use and are personally carried in the baggage;

·  the overall value of goods exceeds 154,94 Euro (VAT included);

·  the purchase is certified by an invoice containing the description of goods, the personal data of the traveler as well as the particulars of his passport or of any suchequivalent document;

·  the goods leave the EU territory within three months after the end of that when the purchase was made;

·  the goods go through some special customs formalities;

·  the invoice is returned to the Italian seller within four months after the end of that when the purchase was made.

2.2 – Customs formalities to be carried out

The goods purchased and the relevant invoice must be shown at the Customs of exit from the EU territory.

The Customs office, after having ascertained that all the requirements are met endorses the invoice. This endorsement is essential to prove that the goods haveeffectively left the Community territory.

The competent Customs office where the invoice must be presented for the endorsement is the Customs of exit situated in the state where the EU non-residenttraveler leaves the EU territory for his country of origin. If, for example, a EU non-resident traveler purchases goods in Italy and then goes to Austria, the competentCustoms office where all the invoices must be presented for the endorsement is the Austrian Customs office.

However, where the passenger holds a single ticket and carries out a single check-in being issued a double boarding card – one for the first domestic flight and another for the following final non-EU destination (i.e. Bari-Rome-New York or Milan-Frankfurt-Tokyo) – he can get an endorsement on the invoice concerning the goods intended for personal or family use by the national customs office located at the departure airport.

Note that the goods must be shown at the customs office: if the traveler intends to carry them by plane, he must go to the Customs office to declare them beforechecking in the baggage.

Customs controls and the certification required to obtain VAT refund may require a long wait above all at the biggest airports or in concurrence with the departure ofinternational flights going to certain third countries; therefore, in order to avoid unpleasant delays, the EU non-resident traveler shall be at the airport at least twohours before leaving time.

2.3 – How to return the invoice to the Italian seller

As to VAT relief, the traveler, after having left the Community territory, must return to the Italian seller the original invoice regularly endorsed by the Customs office,within four months after the end of that when such a document was issued, thus ending a procedure which has allowed him to benefit from the beginning of VATexemption.

Should the seller not receive in time such documentation, he shall be hold responsible against the state for the payment of the overall amount of VAT initiallydeducted from the purchases of the EU non-resident traveler.

This is the reason why the Italian seller, as a precaution, normally prefers that the foreign traveler pays in advance the VAT included in the selling price, refunding itlater.

In fact in this case the VAT advanced will be refunded provided that the EU non-resident traveler returns to the Italian seller the original invoice regularly endorsedby the Customs office within four months from the end of that when such a document was issued.

2.4 – Who carries out VAT refund

The refund is made directly by the Italian seller according to the terms agreed with the buyer when the goods were purchased (for example, by credit into a bankaccount, credit card, cheque, etc.).

Alternatively, there are some TAX-FREE companies that can grant immediate VAT cash refund when the goods leave theItalian or Community territory, i.e. without the passenger to return the invoice to the seller: however you can use this procedure only at the most important airports or Customs borders.

More often, TAX-FREE companies provide only a service on behalf of the Italian sellers (more and more sellers join these companies) assuring a faster VAT refund:In this case, the invoices issued by the Italian sellers have the logo of the TAX-FREE company which they belong to with the address where the traveler must returnthe invoice regularly endorsed by the Customs of exit from the Community territory.

In both cases, however, the services supplied by TAX-FREE companies imply the payment of a sum which is directly deducted from the amount of VAT refundedto the traveler.

Should the foreign traveler have returned the invoice to the Italian seller or to the TAX-FREE companies authorized to the refund and, after a reasonable lapse oftime, he does not get therefund, he shall contact again the Italian seller or the companies above, providing them with all the details contained in the invoice concerning the purchase of goodsand the period when they were purchased in Italy.

In any case, VAT cannot be refunded directly by Customs offices; therefore, whatever notification the financial administration may receive will imply exclusively acontrol of the Italian seller by the competent bodies.

3 - Goods purchased in Italy and directly carried in the personal baggage outside the territory of the EU: What to do if the goods are too bulky or too heavy

Should the goods intended for personal or familiar use be so bulky or heavy as not to be able to be carried outside the Community Customs territory directly in thepersonal baggage (and also because it is too expensive), the EU non-resident traveler may have them shipped to his foreign address as not accompanied baggage,i.e. as “personal goods” which are not directly carried by the traveler but shipped to destination by airline. They can be collected at the oncoming goods section ofthe airport.

The facility above can be applied provided that the traveler leaves the Italian territory with a direct flight to his country of origin.

This operation is subject to a real air-freight agreement: The air carrier issues an airway bill (AWB) and the payment of an additional sum is required for the transportof goods abroad.

In this case, the purchase of goods must be certified by an invoice other than that concerning the goods checked in or personally carried by the traveler.

The original copy of the invoice must be presented to the air carrier for the issue of the airway bill (AWB) concerning the goods shipped as not accompanied baggageand will be endorsed by the competent Customs office. The Customs endorsement is essential for VAT refund purposes.

In order to verify that the goods contained in the invoice issued by the Italian seller are the same as those shipped to destinationby airline on behalf of the traveler, the description of the goods in the airway bill must correspond to that of the invoice issued bythe Italian seller and the name of the consignor of the goods shipped must match that of the receiver.

Besides, the personal details (reported in the passport or in any such equivalent document) of the foreign traveler in the airway bill (AWB) must match thosereported, according to the Italian law, in the invoice issued by the Italian seller.

In order to tangibly get the VAT refund, the EU non-resident traveler must return the original copy of the invoice endorsed by the Customs, according to the termsabove, to the Italian seller.

4-Goods purchased in Italy and directly shipped outside the territory of the EU by the Italian seller

Sometimes, it is possible that the goods purchased in Italy are really too bulky to be personally carried by the EU non - resident traveler as “personal baggage”.

It is also possible that the EU non-resident traveler leaves Italy for another EU member state. In this case he may ask the Italian seller to ship to his destinationabroad the goods purchased in Italy.

In practice, the Italian seller does not apply VAT on goods which are not delivered to the foreign client in Italy and ships them directly abroad, carrying out all thecustoms formalities concerning the exportation.

In this case, the EU non-resident traveler shall not personally carry the goods purchased in Italy or show them to the Customs of exit from the Community territoryto have the invoice endorsed; he shall not return, within the relevant time limits, the original copy of the invoice either; in fact, goods will be shipped, alreadyTAX-FREE, directly to his house.

It is clear however that the Italian seller is supplying in this case a real service to the foreign traveler, which can therefore imply the payment of an additional sum to the TAX-FREE selling price for the costs of transport or/and for the carrying out of the Customs formalities concerning the exportation of the goods purchased.

5 - Telephone information

Customs Agency

Area for Duties Management and Relations with Users – Office for Services to Users and Border Traffic

PHONE NUMBERS
Tel.: / (0039) 06 50246061
(0039) 06 50245131
(0039) 06 50957046 (fax)
MAIN CUSTOM OFFICES
Custom Office / Phone Number
Ancona - Aeroporto R.Sanzio / 071 200157
Bari - Aeroporto Palese / 080 5316196
Bergamo - Aeroporto Orio al Serio / 035 326440
Bizzarone (Co) / 031 948096
Bologna - Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi / 051 310842
Brindisi - Aeroporto Papola / 0831 413045
Brogeda (Co) / 031 540300
Cagliari - Aeroporto Elmas / 070 240098
Caselle Torinese - Aeroporto civile / 011 5676890
Catania - Aeroporto Fontanarossa / 095 348625
Ciampino - Aeroporto / 06 79494277
Civitavecchia (Roma) / 0766 23303
Fernetti (Ts) / 040 211403
Fernetti Pese (Ts) / 040 226154
Firenze Peretola - Aerop. A. Vespucci / 055 3061629-681
Roma Fiumicino - Aeroporto L. Da Vinci / 06 65956647
Maslianico (Co) / 031 512206
Milano - Aeroporto Malpensa / 02 74867759
Muggia Rabuiese (Ts) / 040 231180
Napoli - Aeroporto Capodichino / 081 7803036
Olbia Costasmeralda - Aeroporto / 0789 69494
Oria Valsolda (Co) / 0344 68151
Palermo - Aeroporto Falcone e Borsellino / 091 6513334
Parma - Aeroporto Giuseppe Verdi / 0521 293940
Perugia - Aeroporto S. Egidio / 075 6929447
Piaggio Valmara (Vb) / 0323 70188
Pisa - Aeroporto G. Galilei / 050 26280
Ponte Chiasso (Co) / 031 540280
Ponte Tresa (Va) / 0332 550203
Reggio Calabria - Aerop. dello Stretto / 0965 645274
Rimini - Aeroporto Rimini / S.Marino / 0541 370261