When I visit the UK, if I buy something large I keep the receipt and get a refund of the Value Added Tax at the airport. (17.5% sort of adds up.)
A British freind of mine will be on Holiday next week. I will order some Mac Minis for delivery to his house. He will then bring them here in his bags. (Saudi Arabia has no import duty.)
Under this scenario, can my friend get the VAT back?
I beleive he has to be resident outside the EU to be able to claim the refund.
I was in a very similar situation a few years ago, wanting to buy a computer for my brother who was then in Brunei. Your friend is resident in Britain, so he pays VAT on his purchases and cannot claim it back. But if I read the OP correctly, it’s you that will be paying, not him.
Your best bet is to ask the bods at HM Revenue & Customs.
Thank you all very much.
Does it still work that way? The last couple of times I’ve bought large amounts of something the store was the one who filled out the VAT refund forms, and only above 50 pounds. Then I would have to take the form and the items to the VAT to get a refund. This was two years ago and was different from the other times I had bought things and got VAT back.
When I was in Germany, I had some stores fill out the form for me, and some tell me that the receipt was adequate for the refund. Since we were late to the airport on the way out, and didn’t have time to stop for the VAT refund, I’m going to do it through the mail by the address on the envelope I got.