Award for innovation in public management

• Almost 60 airport, port and land customs offices now have this electronic validation system for stamping documents for travellers entitled to VAT refunds.
• Due to Brexit, and to facilitate tax refunds to British citizens, the Agency has strengthened the most affected customs offices with 38 new DIVA kiosks. 

April 6, 2021 .- Today the Tax Agency has received the Award for Innovation in Public Management awarded by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Function for the digitalization of the tax return process. VAT on travelers ('DIVA'). The system is already in place in 58 airport, port and land customs offices in Spain to facilitate the refund of tax to non-resident travellers in the European Union.

The Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, Miquel Iceta, presented the award to the Director General of the Tax Agency, Jesús Gascón, as part of the 13th edition of the "Awards for Quality and Innovation in Public Management", held in Madrid.

This award recognises the complete digitisation of the VAT refund process for travellers and the consequent overcoming of the disadvantages that the old manual system for stamping the documents accrediting the right to the refund of the tax caused to non-EU tourists as an innovative practice in public management.

In this project, the Tax Agency has aligned the necessary work of tax and customs control with its commitment to public service, creating a process of high added value within shopping tourism.

Small business facilities

An essential element in the "DIVA" project, which became operational more than four years ago, has been the creation of a model that is sensitive to the needs of small businesses. The Tax Agency has set up a digital system that allows all businesses, irrespective of their technological capacity, to easily access the commercial benefits of VAT refunds to travellers. In this respect, 96% of the businesses using DIVA for travellers are small and medium-sized companies (49% are micro-companies).

The "DIVA" system has had the strategic collaboration between public and private sectors as its basic pillar to combine the needs of trade, port and airport institutions, public institutions with competencies in tourism and trade sectors, and the tourists who visit us every year.

Brexit strengthening

Due to the effective entry into force of Brexit on 1 January, the Tax Agency strengthened the customs offices most affected by travellers to and from the United Kingdom with 38 new "DIVA" kiosks to facilitate the tax refund to British citizens.

The refund system is very simple. Travellers make purchases in shops that offer the electronic DIVA form (mandatory from 2019), the shop provides a refund document with a barcode or QR code and travellers validate this document at a "DIVA" kiosk without the need to visit a Customs office. Finally, with the document validated, they can request the refund from a partner company or directly from the shop.