Shopping Tax-free in Krakow
All prices in Krakow’s shops
include the value-added tax (VAT) that usually amounts to as
much as 23 percent with few exceptions (see details at our
page on taxes in
Poland). Yet buyers with permanent residency
outside the European Union may claim tax refund for goods
bought in
Poland and taken permanently out of the EU within
three months from the date of purchase.
Many
shops in Krakow,
notably the downtown ones and stores situated in
Krakow shopping malls, help customers to reclaim
VAT levied on their purchases. They usually display a square
sticker that reads ‘Tax Free Shopping’ in
black capitals.
How it works in Krakow shops.
Visitors without permanent residency in the EU may claim the
refund of the VAT either directly from a shop or through a
specialized agency. In order to reclaim the tax directly
they often need to come back to Poland, visit the store again, and
produce either the original VAT invoice ("faktura VAT") or
the cash-register receipt ("paragon" in Poilish) together with a relevant
certificate - Tax Free document - issued previously by the
seller and stamped by the customs officers at a border
crossing or at an airport on leaving the territory of the
European Union. The shop should refund the full amount of
VAT stated in the invoice.
A foreign visitor from a non-EU country may count on a
refund when he/she spends in the shop at least 200 zlotys (i.e.
an equivalent of roughly 50 euro) for goods that will be taken
abroad in his/her personal luggage within three months.
How to get most of the VAT refund through an agency.
There are companies that refund VAT paid on purchases made
at affiliated shops. They process Tax Free documents in the
place of the seller and refund most of the VAT tax to the
customer after deducting a handling fee of 10 to 30 percent
from the due sum.
What one should do to pocket the VAT refund on Krakow
purchases?
When you pay in a Krakow shop anything above 200 zlotys
for goods you want to take home, ask whether it
participates in the Tax Free system and if they can
issue a Tax Free document. Some personal information
will be needed so better have your passport at hand since you
may be requested to present an ID etc.
Take the goods - intact - out of the European Union
not later than the last day
of the 3rd month following the month of the purchase.
While declaring your purchase at Polish customs or other
EU country's upon
leaving the European Union, present the VAT invoice or
the receipt together with the respective Tax Free
document to the officer and have it stamped.
Claim the VAT refund from the shop or a specialized
agency according to the arrangement the shop employs.
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