VAT back when living abroad

S

Sull

Registered User
Messages
6
Hello
As I am a resident of a non-EU country I'm allowed to get the VAT back on purchases while in Ireland providing I get the receipt stamped by customs upon departure.

There are plenty of companies that assist with this however they have a charge which is up to or over 50% of the refundable amount.

I presume it is possible to do this myself but my question is how? Has anyone done this?

Thanks

Eoghan
 
Dont you nee a special receipt to claim back?

And remember, it's not all purchases, and the goods must be exported.
 
People who do NOT qualify for refund of VAT under the scheme

People normally resident in Ireland or other E.U. countries do not qualify, including
  • Tourists from other E.U. countries.
  • Tourists from outside the E.U. who are not leaving the E.U. directly from Ireland generally do not qualify, but see the section dealing with certification of exports for exceptions to this rule.
  • Foreign nationals resident in Ireland going home (e.g. for holidays) who intend to return to Ireland.
  • Irish (or E.U.) citizens taking up residence abroad for less than 12 consecutive months.
  • Irish (or E.U.) citizens who, having taken up residence outside the E.U. for 12 consecutive months, return on a visit (e.g. for holidays or business).
Supplies of goods to the above categories of people may be zero-rated for VAT where they are dispatched by the supplier to an address outside the E.U. – see the section dealing with zero-rated supplies for more details.
 
Thanks for the link Derek

Just reading through it, it seems that there are two options in getting the refund
1) from a VAT refund agency or
2)directly from the retailer (with not all retailers participating in the VAT refund scheme).
No 2 would require me to pay the vat free price at the point of sale, export the goods outside the EU and send the retailer back documents evidencing their export and then they include a zero vat item on the VAT returns....
 
But if you're an Irish or EU citizen (which I'm presuming you are) then the scheme doesn't apply to you because of the last bullet point in my previous post.
 
I see. So if you are from the EU and 'intending to leave the EU for 12 or more consecutive months' you qualify but if you are returning after more than 12 consecutive months you don't!!
 
Not sure if they are tracking the last rule as I've long left Ireland and received a refund recently (with the tax refund companies 50% cut).

Getting back to the original question - how would you go about doing this yourself? I presume it is a case of
- ensuring you get the special receipt
- ensure you have confirmation from the customs at your EU departure point
- fill out a form and enclose the above and post to Ireland

Most of the hard work is step 1 and 2 so might as well do step 3 and get the full refund - anyone know how to do it?

Thanks
Eoghan
 

But you know you're not entitled to it - so what you're asking for is advice on how to perpetrate a fraud, albeit a small and petty one.
 
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