At the airport of the South Sinai resort of Sharm El -Sheikh in Egypt, Tax Free became available for Russian tourists – a system for returning value-added tax from purchases made by guests of the country. So far, however, the scheme, which is supposed to function according to the international model, actually works with sad reservations.
N.B. Earlier, Turprom wrote that “Russian tourists were told how to return VAT on purchases in Egypt in a new way.”
Note that it was possible to officially return VAT on purchases of goods in Egypt on the road before , however, the procedure was very confusing and complicated, so the international system of returns in the “country of the pyramids” was not in demand.
What conditions must a tourist fulfill in order to receive a deduction?
“By length of stay: maximum 90 days. That is, if you have stayed in the country for more than 3 months, you are not entitled to a refund. According to the purchase amount – from 1,500 Egyptian pounds (that is, about 3,800 rubles at the current exchange rate). According to the availability of documents – you need a passport, a check and a receipt (when buying, you must inform that you plan to issue Tax Free). The store must be connected to this system – this is usually written on the door/at the checkout, ”said a compatriot on her Yandex.Zen channel. According to the conditions, the purchased item must be in unopened packaging, i.e., in fact, it cannot be used in Egypt if the vacationer wants to reduce the real cost of the goods due to the VAT refund.
“But the saddest thing is to issue refunds cannot be made to the card of Russian banks … I believe that due to sanctions. The basic VAT rate in Egypt is 21%, the preferential rate is 12%,” the author concluded. In other words, Russian tourists will be able to return money only to a foreign bank card. The currency in which the refund will be made was not reported.
Let us add that the date of the introduction of the simplified VAT refund scheme fell on the International Climate Conference (COP 27), which takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18. Perhaps the authorities hope that a record number of participants and guests of the summit will go shopping and make mass purchases, and Tax Free will become an incentive for them.
What do tourists usually bring from Egypt to Russia?
Shopping in Egypt, as well as in Turkey, is popular with Russians. The most popular lines of spending by our compatriots at the Red Sea resorts are souvenirs, handmade interior items, clothes, cotton textiles, electronics.
By the way, earlier Turprom wrote about 6 useless souvenirs that a Russian woman brought from Egypt, Turkey and other countries, and then regretted the wasted money – details here.
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