How can I take advantage of the tourist tax refund?

Who can receive a tourist tax refund?

The tax refund may be granted to any buyer who meets the following three conditions:

• His/her primary place of residence is outside the European Union on the date of purchase
• He/she is at least 16 years old
• He/she is passing through France for a period of less than six months.

The buyer must be able to show that he/she meets these conditions.

People who reside in a French overseas community, in an overseas territory of another European country, or in Andorra, San Marino, or the Vatican, may also claim a tax refund.

Members of diplomatic and consular missions and international organizations in France, as well as residents of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Mayotte, Reunion, Monaco or Northern Ireland, are excluded.

What is the deadline for receiving the tourist tax refund?

The goods must have left the EU before the end of the third month following the date of purchase.

What is the procedure for receiving the tourist tax refund?

In our stores (BuYPARIS and its partners), the procedure is reserved for passengers who meet the conditions listed in part 1 and are boarding a flight to a member country of the European Union, but are returning to their country of residence (outside the EU) within three months of the date of purchase.

The goods are billed at the time of purchase (tax included), and an electronic tax refund slip is recorded electronically. It is given to the buyer by the seller, and must be signed by both parties after verification.

If the passenger flies to a country outside the European Union, the tax-free or export prices are applied automatically and the refund procedure is not required.

Validation upon leaving the European Union

Once the buyer leaves French soil and the tax refund procedure has been carried out in-store, the buyer must scan the barcode at a Pablo terminal, which can be found in ports, international airports, and border stations.

Once the slip has been electronically validated, the refund is definitively approved.

Electronic validation of the slip allows the merchant to be informed in real time that the goods have left, and enables the merchant to quickly refund the tax to the customer, unless the sale has already taken place tax-free.

The customer does not need to send the second sheet of the slip to the seller to be refunded.

Further information

For more information on the tourist tax refund procedure, see the dedicated sheet on the French customs website by clicking here.