Media reports have revealed that after shopping in Europe, many Chinese consumers gave up tax refunds amounting to as much as 800 million yuan per year. Why do so many Chinese consumers leave the airport without tax refunds? Is it because they don't care about the money or are there other reasons?

 

　　Zhang Wan finds out.

 

　　In 2012, the total amount of tax refunds for Chinese consumers reached a record high of 3 billion Euros, or about 24 billion yuan. That means each consumer spends 875 Euros on average or about 7,100 yuan when shopping abroad.

 

　　Based on the average tax refund rate of 10 percent, the total amount of tax refunds for Chinese consumers should total 2.4 billion yuan in 2012. However, nearly one third of that amount was not refunded.

 

　　Why are there so many Chinese consumers giving up their tax refund which could save them money? Some consumers talk about their concerns.

 

　　"The procedure of getting a tax refund is very complicated. Consumers are required to fill out various application forms, however, you also have to go through the check-in at the airport, and tax refunds usually take more time than you expect. Once, I missed my flight because of a tax refund."

 

　　Most consumers say they are aware of tax refunds, however, some say they don't bother to go through the relevant procedures as they are too complicated and usually take too much time. Other consumers say they have no credit card which would allow them to claim the refund.

 

　　Zhang Wei, senior manager of the marketing department at Global Blue explains.

 

　　"Some consumers apply for tax refunds with their debit cards or payment cards; however, we only support international credit cards during tax refunds or standard China UnionPay credit cards, with numbers starting with 62."

 

　　Apart from concerns related to the amount of time and effort required for a tax refund at the airport, other consumers say they don't want to apply for tax refunds but find that they are not entitled to such a refund.

 

　　"Tax refunds given out by some small shops have no validity at all; meaning consumers would not get a tax refund. Or there is another possibility: consumers might not see the small notice on the tax refund form given out by some small shops in Italy for example; which states that consumers may only get tax refunds upon leaving Italy."

 

　　Meanwhile, there are also some people who say that they have wrapped up their shopping items perfectly in order to give as gifts to friends and family back home and therefore they don't want customs at the airport to open for checking purposes, hence why they refrain from getting a tax refund.

 

　　There are several tips related to tax refunds: First, you should shop at stores with tax-free signs, which mean consumers can get a tax refund on the items they buy. However, there are some items without value added tax which may not be eligible for a tax refund, such as books and children's costumes. Second, make sure that you have enough time to carry out the procedure of claiming a tax refund at the airport, as the procedure usually takes at least one hour. Last but not least, ask for the necessary stamps on these tax refund forms from the local customs office before you leave the airport if you want to process the tax refund back in your home country.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.