Travelers shopping in the UK or buying from abroad could take advantage of the UK's VAT refund service saving around 20% on listed prices.
That will end at the end of this year.
Some retailers are trying to get this changed as Covid-19 is already hurting their businesses.
I know I took advantage of this a couple of months ago when I made an online purchase from Selfridges. Once they saw it was being shipped to the USA, the VAT disappeared.
Items shipped directly should still not attract VAT even if bought within a physical UK shop.
What is intended to be scrapped is the scheme where personal exports were exempt, ie where forms were stamped at the airport, goods available for examination etc.
The Value Added Tax, or VAT, in the European Union and the United Kingdom, is a natural, broadly based consumption tax assessed on the value added to best services. It concerns more or less all goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the EU. Thus, goods which are sold for export which are sold to customers abroad are generally not subject to VAT.
