How does the Tax Refund service work?
Galeries Lafayette offers its customers living outside of the European Union the opportunity of a VAT refund on purchases made at Galeries Lafayette, for a value of 12% (excluding commission fees) under the terms and conditions below.
What conditions must be met in order to benefit from the service?
In accordance with Customs Regulations (article 262 of the French Customs Code and Memorandum CPAD 1813640C)
– You must live outside the European Union and be aged 16 or over.
– You must have your original passport with you (indicating an address outside the EU).
– You must have your passport and the original till receipts for that day.
– The tax refund must be completed on the day of purchase.
– You will receive a 12% (excluding commission fees) refund on purchases over €175, made in the same store in a single day (excluding services, Gourmet and galerieslafayette.com).
– Purchases from certain brands* cannot be combined with purchases made in the rest of the store. *Louis Vuitton.
– You must be staying in Europe for less than 6 months.
– Time limit for exporting the purchases outside of the E.U.: 3 months.
– The purchases must be for personal use.
– Payment for the purchases must be made in full by the person indicated on the tax refund slip.
What must the customer do in store?
– After purchasing goods totalling a minimum of €175.01, on the same day they should go to a tax refund point taking with them their till receipts and they must have their original passport with them.
– They choose a method of repayment.
– The store will issue a tax refund slip.
– Copies of till receipts are not valid for tax refunds.
What must the customer do when leaving the European Union?
When leaving the E.U. you must have your tax refund slip validated by Customs at the airport, station or land border within 3 months of making your purchases.
In France at dedicated exit points, before checking in your luggage, you can electronically validate your slip yourself using the touchscreen PABLO points.
The message “OK Slip Approved” confirms the goods export transaction in the same way as a Custom’s stamp.
After validating your slip using the PABLO system, you no longer need to send a copy of the slip to Galeries Lafayette, we will have received an electronic notification of the validation.
However, if the screen displays the message “Slip invalid”, you need to go to the customs desk taking with you the goods in question.
In all other cases or EU countries, you will need to have your slip validated at the customs desk (present at borders, in international airports and main cruise terminals).
You must forward your slip, approved by Customs, within 6 months using the envelope provided to you in store.
You could be inspected by Customs at any time. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in cancellation of the tax refund slip and a possible fine.
For further information and to ensure you are not in breach of regulations:
Visit the website: www.douane.gouv.fr
or call INFO DOUANES: 0 811 20 44 44
from abroad: +33 (0)1 72 40 78 50
