Tax-free shopping
As a non-EU resident visiting Germany you are exempted from sales tax when shopping in this country.
Under certain conditions the purchase of goods from retailers is free of sales tax:
- You are a resident of a non-EU country and you are able to prove this to the vendor with your identity documents (passport, identity card or another valid document authorising you to cross the border),
Here, your nationality is irrelevant - what matters is your place of residence only. For example, a Swiss national who is living in Germany cannot shop tax-free in this country.
From 1 January 2021, Northern Ireland will be treated as if it were still part of the customs territory of the Union. This means that no VAT-free shopping is possible for travellers who live in Northern Ireland.
For all other travellers from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) proof of residence in a non-EU member state is required as a prerequisite for a VAT-free purchase by presenting a valid UK driving licence, a recent local tax assessment notice or a current electricity, gas or electricity bill Water bill (not older than 12 months) to be provided.
- You do not have a residence permit that entitles you to reside in Germany for longer than 3 months, and
- You export the goods yourself in your personal baggage within 3 months (that is, not later than the last day of the third month following the month in which you bought them). Your personal baggage is the property which you take with you, such as your carry-on baggage, or the objects in a vehicle you are travelling in, as well as the carry-on baggage you have checked in for a journey. Therefore, any baggage that is sent either in advance or forwarded by post or by a forwarding agent does not meet this condition.
- The total value of the delivery including VAT must exceed 50 euros.
Since the customs authority only confirms the export made by a person residing in a third country, the stamp itself does not indicate that the trader has been granted a VAT exemption, which he could then pass on to clients.
The value limit will be removed again once automated confirmation of the export of goods by a person resident in the third country is possible. A dedicated IT system is currently being developed, but it is not yet possible to say when it will be operational.
The customs offices are at your disposal for questions concerning the stamping of documents.
Questions can also be sent to the following e-mail address:
enquiries.english@zoll.de
Please understand that the customs administration cannot answer any questions you may have regarding this VAT exemption procedure, as it does not lie in its scope of responsibility.
Exceptions to tax-free shopping for travellers are:
- services that have been rendered in Germany
(it means that the price you pay for bus or train tickets, and restaurant or hotel bills, for example, includes German VAT), - goods for equipping private vehicles of any kind, such as bumpers, exterior mirrors, tow ropes, or first aid kits, and
- goods for the supply or maintenance of a vehicle, such as fuel, oil, or care products.
How does tax-free shopping work in practice?
Even when you claim tax exemption for your purchases you must first pay the full purchase price including the turnover tax. The retailer will reimburse you the turnover tax once he receives proof that the goods have been properly exported.
As proof of non-commercial export (in accordance with Section 6 (3a) of the Turnover Tax Act) a completed form "Ausfuhr- und Abnehmerbescheinigung für Umsatzsteuerzwecke bei Ausfuhren im nicht kommerziellen Reiseverkehr" or, alternatively, some documentary evidence such as an invoice, which shows the name and address of the supplying entity, the commercial denomination(s) and quantity/quantities of the goods exported - endorsed with a valid stamp imprint by the customs point of export - should be provided.
Since not every shop will have that form readily available, you would be well advised to download and print it in advance so you can bring it along.
Should you use the form, it is generally the seller who has to enter the information requested in Part A "Angaben zum Kaufgeschäft" (details of the purchase transaction). For exceptions, see the third bullet point of the section "Notes" further down.
In part B the customs office of exit on the external border of the European Union (which includes airports and seaports) confirms the export of the goods. This requires, though, that the goods being exported are shown at the customs office of exit. In addition, the customs office of exit compares the details on the traveller’s identity specified in field A with your personal documents (passport, identity card or another valid document authorising you to cross the border). Should you have been granted a permit of residence exceeding three months by Germany or some other EU Member State, you must likewise present the e-services residence permit (credit-card sized) issued to you in connection with it.
- If the goods you have bought are in the hold baggage that you have already checked in, you will not be able to show the goods.
- It is without prejudice if you concluded the purchase contract prior to your entry into the Federal Republic of Germany (as can be the case with an on-line order). What is crucial is that the object of delivery is being carried exclusively by the purchaser, or user, of the product in his or her personal luggage when leaving the country.
- The same applies where goods ordered on-line had first been dispatched (to a Packstation, for instance) to be collected later by the purchaser. In this case, however, the purchaser too is allowed to state the purchase transaction details in Part A of the form. The documentation (form with the relevant invoice attached, where applicable including all VAT relevant details) must show that the purchaser’s residence is in a non-EU country.
If you are travelling by air you must have any hold baggage items confirmed by the customs office at your first airport of departure before you check them in at the check-in desk. The export of items in your hand baggage, though, will be confirmed by the customs at your last EU airport of departure.
If you are beginning a journey to the USA in Frankfurt and are changing planes in Paris, you must already have had your hold luggage items confirmed by a customs office in Frankfurt. The export of items in your carry-on baggage will be confirmed in Paris.
Therefore, you should first take your bulk luggage to the airline’s check-in desk to have a baggage tag attached to it by an airline employee. At the same time, you should explain to the employee that your hold luggage contains goods for which you want a customs exportation certificate in order to have the sales tax reimbursed. This will result in your tagged luggage being handed back to you, so you can take it to the airport’s customs office of exit in order to have it cleared for export there.
Once finally cleared, your luggage will remain with the customs office of exit from where it will be forwarded without delay (best practice at Frankfurt am Main airport). Other airports may have differing procedures in place for handling customs cleared luggage.
In exceptional cases the export certificate can be completed by a German diplomatic mission abroad as an alternative - for example, a German embassy (in part C of the form) in the purchaser’s country of residence - instead of by the German customs office of exit; this involves the goods being shown. This procedure is chargeable. A replacement certificate issued by non-EU country’s customs offices will not be recognised as an export certificate.
There are a number of possibilities for the repayment of VAT to foreign shoppers. Often the vendor will transfer the sum to the purchaser after the latter has handed over the export certificate.
However, the vendor may collaborate with a service organisation working at the border crossing point or airport, who will return the amount deducted for VAT minus a processing fee after it has received the export documents. The service organisation, for its part, is repaid for the amount returned to the purchaser on presenting the export documents to the vendor.
Neither the fiscal authorities nor the Customs can make direct repayments to a purchaser.
