Specific issues on purchases by non-resident travellers in Spain (EU)
Queries raised by travellers
Reimports of goods definitively exported to third countries are not exempt.
When the goods are rejected for being defective, a reimport occurs that will be exempt since it cannot be considered to have been preceded by a definitive export.
Therefore, the corresponding amount of the defective merchandise must be returned.
The delivery of the new good will be subject to VAT , and may enjoy the exemption if the requirements of article 21.2 of Law 37/1992 and 9 of RD are met. ##2## 1624/1992.
In ports and airports there are duty free shops (DUTY FREE). These stores are under customs control. In this type of stores, deliveries of goods are exempt from taxes as long as the purchaser is a traveler bound for a third country, a circumstance that will be accredited with the boarding pass. This exemption does not extend to goods that constitute a commercial shipment. This means that, under the indicated conditions, the sales made do not include VAT (without prejudice to the pricing policy of the tax-free store).
Citizens of the European Union (i.e. nationals of a Member State holding a passport from that Member State) who reside permanently in a non-member country of the Union may also benefit from the Article 21 exemption. 2 of the VAT Law and can request a refund of the tax. This is also the case of Spanish diplomatic and consular personnel residing in countries not belonging to the European Union. Travelers who provide services in Spanish embassies or consulates located abroad can benefit from the exemption provided for exports under the traveler regime, regardless of whether they are considered taxpayers for the purposes of Personal Income Tax .
The requirements demanded by the Value Added Tax regulations to be able to enjoy this tax benefit must be met at the time of its accrual (moment of making the goods available to travelers), so the habitual residence was of the European Union must be a fact at that time.
With regard to evidentiary documents, there is freedom of proof. Habitual residence outside the European Union may be proven by any means of proof admitted by law. It is the traveler who must prove by any legally valid means of proof that he is actually a resident outside the European Union.
In the case of acquisitions of goods by personnel of accredited foreign diplomatic missions resident in Spain and career consular offices, the applicable exemption regime is that provided for in article 22. eight of Law 37/1992 and its implementing regulations.
No. The exemption from VAT on deliveries of goods under the traveler regime excludes deliveries of goods intended for equipment (e.g. tires, fuel) or provisioning for any means of transportation for private use.
This exclusion applies to both the deliveries of said goods to travelers and their deliveries made in duty-free stores.
Yes. Both electronic systems propose a coordinated mechanism for the registration of deliveries of goods exempt from refund of VAT to travelers.
This mechanic is explained in the information note on Order HFP/187/2018 (in relation to codes A5 and A6) as well as in the Frequently Asked Questions document v.1 in question number 3.13 (in relation to code A3).
Both documents are available in the part dedicated to SII of the Tax Agency portal.
Residents in the United Kingdom, as long as they meet the requirements established in the regulations, will be entitled to a refund of VAT in the traveler regime as of January 1, 2021, except for residents in Northern Ireland where European Union VAT regulations continue to apply.
In this regard, it is important to make the following clarifications:
- The requirements must be met at the time of accrual of the tax (at the time the goods are made available to said travelers) to be able to enjoy this tax benefit. This means that purchases made by British residents before the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement do not give rise to the right to a refund of the tax (for failing to comply with the requirement of habitual residence outside the European Union), regardless of the moment in which said residents leave the European Union. Therefore, only purchases made by British residents since January 1, 2021 are eligible for a VAT refund.
- Residents of Northern Ireland are not entitled to a traveler VAT refund as set out in Article 8 of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Following the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on February 1, 2020, but a transitional period is established until December 31, 2020.
During this transitional period, both Union customs legislation and VAT regulations continue to apply in the United Kingdom. This implies that the United Kingdom remains part of the customs territory of the Union and, therefore, the goods transferred to the United Kingdom do not leave the European Union. Movements between both parties continue to be considered intra-community and, therefore, the VAT refund to travelers will not apply until the transitional period ends. That is, in principle, from January 1, 2021.
One of the requirements to be entitled to a refund of VAT is that the delivery of the goods is made to travelers who reside outside the European Union. This habitual residence will be proven by means of an identity document, passport or any other means of proof admitted by law.
Therefore, the refund of VAT will only be possible for travelers who are not residents of the European Union, when during the delivery of the goods the identity of the traveler and his or her status as a resident can be reliably verified by the businessman making the sale. outside the European Union. This reliable verification cannot always be carried out when the purchase is made online; Consequently, in these cases there would be no right to a VAT refund.
On the other hand, online purchases destined for a third country or a territory in which the Value Added Tax is not applied are classified as export, a subject and exempt operation with the right to deduct the fees paid, in accordance with articles 21 and 94 LIVA . Therefore, the price set by the seller should be without the chargeable VAT fee, which would be identical to that of the refund in the case of delivery of goods to travelers. In the purchasing system “click and collect”, la compra es online but the buyer must appear to pick up the merchandise, at which point the identification task is carried out and the right to a VAT refund may arise as long as his/her residence outside the territory of the Union is proven.
In these cases, the period of three months following the one in which the delivery was made must be counted from the moment of making the merchandise available , even if the merchandise is not is delivered to the interested party or is not delivered to another person in the territory of application of the tax and even in the hypothetical case that the merchandise remains in the seller's warehouse until picked up by the buyer (the seller becomes a warehouseman and no longer is entitled to actually dispose of said property as if he were its owner).