Hiya! I leave in 10 days to go overseas for 7 weeks including a week in Paris and 3 1/2 weeks in Britain. Shopping is a HUGE part of this trip. Im taking the Eurostar between Paris and London and i understand that i have to get the forms stamped at London Heathrow for my purchases in Paris %26amp; London but i%26#39;ve been flicking through old posts on here and some people seem to be suggesting that at the grands magasins in Paris IMMEDIATE refunds are available but on the Galeries Lafayette website it says that the forms have to be stamped by customs officials, is Printemps the same? Also clothing is likely to make up a SIGNIFICANT amount of my purchases (i know about having a shopping strategy and condensing purchases in one place) but does this mean that i am not able to wear the clothing until a customs official at Heathrow on my way to Canada has seen it? Any help would be sooo appreciated. At the moment i feel like i%26#39;m planning a military exercise and only just remembered about my ability to get tax refunds!
Cheers, katie
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%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;IMMEDIATE refunds are available%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
There may be refunds for foreigners available at certain retail sellers but these are not tax refunds.
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;i understand that i have to get the forms stamped at London Heathrow for my purchases in Paris %26amp; London%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
VAT refund paperwork for purchases made in France must be stamped before leaving France.
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;but does this mean that i am not able to wear the clothing until a customs official at Heathrow%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
All merchandise for which tax refunds are being submitted must be presented along with the appropriate forms to a French inspector before you leave the country. The inspector really does not care if the articles have been worn or not, he just wants to insure that the purchases indeed leave the country. He next stamps the paperwork, you mail the completed forms, and hopefully receive the refund some time later.
The shop, where you make purchases for which a tax refund is submitted, will completely explain the procedure and outline all that will be required.
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Kam - you%26#39;re hilarious.
Whilst i%26#39;m posting here to offer no help whatsoever about getting your tax refund, I%26#39;d like to say that I appreciate there are other people out there who dedicate the same level of strategy and planning into trips and shopping as much as I do.
Perhaps we need to get plan a trip to Hawaii together for further shopping (Banana republic, Gap, etc etc etc)
Just to understand I%26#39;m not alone.....do you also do a practise pack, a pre-pack and then a trial pack before your real pack?
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haha...no practice packs...just an attempt to pack all possessions just in %26quot;the off chance%26quot;. I%26#39;m 18 and this is my first trip overseas by myself and have discovered i really am a travel organisational freak. Surprisingly enough i don%26#39;t have any daily itinaries (spell?) for the whole 7 weeks and 7 countries...still plenty of time yet though :P
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We purchased some goods in the Netherlands whilst there earlier in the year and the seller completed some forms for us to collect the tax back. Basically it had to be stamped on our departure from last European airport - Paris for us. It was a bit of a nightmare to get stamped as we had already cleared customs when we were asking about it and they were trying to tell us (in broken English) where we had to go to get it stamped etc. So had to go all the way back and find office for this to happen at CDG. Had document stamped and think we showed goods and bought paperwork back with us - posted it off and refund appeared on credit card statement several months later. Hope this helps somewhat.
Enjoy your OE - you will have a wonderful time.
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Sarastro has pretty much answered all your questions...but check out this site if you have any more. Just select France as your destination.
http://www.globalrefund.com/
Tax-Free Shopping is the sign that you%26#39;ll see in most stores.
The site explains that you CAN get your refund before leaving France. There are two locations in the city of Paris - one at Galeries Lafayette on Hausman and the other at Madelios...though the Galeries Lafayette site does seem to contradict this.
If you%26#39;re not successful in getting an instant refund while you%26#39;re in Paris, you *must* get the forms stamped by customs officials before getting on the train to London. There must be a customs office at the train station somewhere...just leave plenty of time to find it! Or perhaps the customs officials board the trains destined for non-EU countries?? Maybe somebody else can answer this one.
And yes, they don%26#39;t really care if you%26#39;re wearing every item you purchased...they just need to see that the purchaser has them.
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Kam, since you love to shop (and my many years of travel suggests you are going to seriously overpack, LOL, although that%26#39;s almost inevitable on the first trip) why not try this: take at least half of the %26quot;just in case%26quot; items off your packing list (I don%26#39;t practice pack, but I do make lists well in advance and try very hard to stick with them). Then, promise yourself that as a reward for reducing your load, anything you%26#39;re really missing once you get there, you will buy in Paris - serving two purposes at once, and also maybe keeping you from having to take or buy an extra bag just to bring the purchases home! See, it all works out . . . .
Happy shopping - Paris is a great place for it (especially if you%26#39;re into shoes!)
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Cheers for the help guys. I actually end up arriving in London, then going to Paris only to go back to London for 3 1/2 weeks and because Britain is part of the EU, there aint no customs people at Gare du Nord (found this out somewhere else). But between you guys, you%26#39;ve kinda answered my questions.
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katie --
One piece of advice for all of you kiwis who are shopping fanatics - check Auckland as well as Sidney to be sure that you%26#39;re not intending to shop in a store that is already at your back door - it will be cheaper than shopping in Sterling, Euros, and/or dollars - either CAD or USD and if you insist on shopping in those currencies, the dollars are the least harmful to your budget.
Most chains are now in every major city in the world - I%26#39;ve seen them all just about everywhere - it has taken all the fun out of shopping - even Paris has shopping malls with Zara etc. The buildings there are a little more tasteful, but the retailers are the same.
Also - check the home base of all the retailers you%26#39;re interested in - if you%26#39;re going to shop a chain, try to do it in their home country, I have noticed the sale prices and often the regular prices are much better there.
BTW - I have had the VAT refund officer check each and every item for its price tag and examine the soles of shoes to be sure the items hadn%26#39;t been used before he would sign off on the forms
Have a wonderful trip - bon voyage..
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I agree with not wearing what you have bought. They looked in my bags. We shopped at Chanel and I would not let my daughter wear her sunglasses. I made her leave them in my bag with our other purchases. While some offficers may not care and look the other way, you may run into one who does.
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