infoRETAIL.- Spanish expatriates in the United Kingdom spend more than 2,000 euros per purchase when they travel to Spain after Brexit, as they can now benefit from the VAT refund and take the opportunity to purchase certain high-value products that are cheaper than on land British, according to Global Blue data.
Among the Spanish residents in the United Kingdom, those from Madrid stand out, who are one in four, which helps to promote purchases tax free in the capital, because among its British citizens this city barely collects 4% of travelers to Spain, more focused on coastal destinations such as the Balearic Islands, Alicante, Murcia or Malaga, not forgetting the Canary Islands, although they do not have an IGIC refund system developed and therefore do not have tax free.
Expatriates are, therefore, the spearhead among British residents to reposition Spain as a destination not only for sun and beach, but also for shopping, which involves not only boosting the shopping on the coast, but also increase the attractiveness of cities such as Madrid, Salamanca or Santiago de Compostela, among others, as new and frequent destinations for the rest of the United Kingdom travelers.
Luis Llorca: “For the first time Spain has a buyer ‘tax free’ in the short radius, just two and a half hours away by flight, which represents a paradigm shift for British tourism in our country by adding to the equation the ‘shopping”
In this sense, according to Global Bue, communication is key, since almost 60% of these tourists are unaware that they can recover VAT on their purchases. To this end, Global Blue has launched an information campaign in order to answer the most frequent questions posed to them, since for many of them it is something totally unprecedented. In addition, companies such as El Corte Inglés and Iberia are working on campaigns to boost this profitable tourist alternative.
By leaving the United Kingdom the European Union (EU) due to Brexit, its residents live outside the community space, which makes them beneficiaries of purchases tax free. Therefore, any traveler who proves their residence outside the EU and who abandons it within three months of purchase, can opt for a VAT refund on the products purchased and, since 2018, without a minimum amount limit.
“For the first time Spain has a buyer tax free in the short radius, just two and a half hours flight, which represents a paradigm shift for British tourism in our country by adding to the equation the shopping. And not only the British tourist as such, but also the expatriate, the Spaniards who live in the United Kingdom, and who can now derive purchases to make them in their homeland, since it is much cheaper, although we must insist on communicating that now they can do it and businesses must also be prepared to serve them ”, explains the Country Manager from Global Blue Spain, Luis Llorca.
Steps to refund VAT
The return process is just three steps. The first is the issuance of the form in the store, where the purchase is paid with VAT included and the establishment offers the form tax free. Subsequently, this form is validated at customs and, finally, the refund is issued to the traveler.
In addition, it is possible to do the refund process digitally. From the mobile itself, the traveler can access the form, download it for validation and have the payment of his return automatically reimbursed on the card that he has previously provided.
To carry out customs validation, the traveler has DIVA validation kiosks, where they can stamp their digital form tax free with the simple gesture of bringing your mobile closer to the kiosk to scan the barcode of the form tax free and to be able to immediately receive the refund on your card.
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