The authorities have repeatedly raised the issue of VAT refunds on purchases to foreign citizens. It is assumed that initially the project will be implemented in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and subsequently Sochi will join the tax free system.
The project will be implemented by the Mark Prior group. Each store that has become a member of the tax free system will be distinguished by the presence of a special logo, and in order to draw up the necessary documents, buyers must contact the sellers. In fact, many stores may be interested in the innovation, as it will attract more customers.
It is planned that the minimum amount of a check that will allow VAT refunds will be 10,000 rubles. In this case, 2% will represent the commission "Mark Prior". The rest of the VAT (15% for most goods, 8% for children's goods) will be returned. Tax free in Russia will apply to the following categories of goods: clothing and footwear, electronic equipment, souvenirs, food.
It is important to take into account that VAT cannot be returned by citizens of Belarus and Kazakhstan due to the fact that these countries are members of the Customs Union. Thus, the Russian tax free system can be compared with the European one. Tourists must go through customs and put a special seal on the received form, put the document in an envelope and drop it into the "Mark Prior" mailbox. Money can be returned to a bank card or sent in the form of a check to a postal address. It will take about three months to return, but at the same time on the official website it will be possible to control the process of processing the application.
When can tax free be fully introduced?
The introduction of the system will take approximately five years. In this case, this idea should be carefully worked out. It is imperative to determine the feasibility of implementing the system.
The Ministry of Economic Development has already negatively characterized the idea, as it believes that the system will not allow increasing the number of foreign buyers to the required level. In addition, it will be necessary to make changes to the tax legislation of the Russian Federation, because a VAT refund is currently impossible. Consideration of the issue was raised several times, but did not reach full-fledged action.
At the same time, many foreign citizens hope that VAT refunds will become available in Russia as well.
