You definitely need to go shopping in Switzerland, so if you go shopping, you definitely need a tax refund. So how should you handle the tax refund in Switzerland? Now Xiaobian will tell you how to handle the tax refund. Let's take a look.

Swiss commodity prices generally include 8% VAT.

customers who live outside Switzerland can apply for tax refund service if they buy goods with value-added tax in a store for more than 3 Swiss francs at one time,

and they must take the goods out of Switzerland within 3 days.

Step 1: Tax Refund Form

When purchasing goods, ask the store whether it is possible to refund the tax and ask for a tax refund form.

Step 2: Stamp by the Customs

When leaving the country, present the tax refund commodities, invoices, passports and tax refund forms to the Swiss Customs for inspection and stamping.

Step 3: Go to the tax refund window

Show the tax refund form, passport and credit card stamped by the customs to get the tax refund amount.

some large watch chain stores, such as Bucherer, will directly sell goods at duty-free prices for the convenience of tourists, and then they will ask their customers to take credit cards as collateral. Please ask the staff for the tax refund form, fill it out, and give it to the customs staff for seal when you leave Switzerland. After that, the customs will send the tax refund form back to the store and return the value-added tax paid by the store for the guests. However, if you forget to stamp at the customs and fail to go through the formalities of tax refund, the store will collect VAT from your mortgaged credit card to make up for the loss of the store.

Leave by plane

Before you go through the boarding and consignment procedures and enter the duty-free shopping area of the airport, you will see the "ZOLL", "CUSTOMERS" or the marked cubicle or counter, and find the customs officer to handle it. If it is an automatic counter, you need to stand in the counter, then choose the language to use and follow the on-screen instructions to operate easily.

you may be required to show the real thing you bought, so if you buy expensive items and need a tax refund, you'd better not put them in the checked baggage for tax refund inspection. If the goods are sabers or bulky goods that must be checked, please inform the counter when you check in your luggage at the air ticket formalities. After the luggage is weighed, you need to take it to the customs officers and leave it with them. They will check your luggage and send it to your plane. After the customs officers examine the form, they will stamp your tax refund form. After stamping, you may have two kinds of bills in your hand, which should be handled separately:

1. A large watch gift shop like Bucherer provides special tax deduction service on the spot for foreign tourists who enjoy tax refund. In such a shop, the tax refunded has been deducted from your shopping money. Although you still need to go through the above procedures before leaving Switzerland, you only need to put the stamped documents at the customs to complete the tax refund formalities.

2. The guests who do not enjoy the tax refund on the spot can get the tax refund after completing the above stamping procedures with the receipts at the nearby tax refund counter. You can choose euro or Swiss franc as the currency, and just declare it to the staff. If you have the GLOBALBLUE logo or shop in a store belonging to GLOBALBLUE, if you can't get the tax refund at the counter after stamping, you can also get the tax refund at any GLOBALBLUE counter or agency in other European countries or Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, but you must stamp the documents at Swiss Customs before leaving the country!

leave by bus

if you will take a bus to neighboring countries to continue your journey, please remind the driver to stop at the customs establishment on the Swiss border so that passengers can stamp at the customs. In some border cities, there are also tax refund collection offices to facilitate tourists' tax refund.

Leave by train

Please ask the location of the ticket inspector and the customs officer before boarding the train. If you will take the train to neighboring countries to continue your journey, there will be the following situations:

1. If you take TGV from Geneva to France, you will pass the customs in Geneva. At the customs office, you will find the mailbox of GLOBALBLUE. Please put the tax refund form and shopping invoice into the mailbox, and GLOBALBLUE will return the tax refund directly to your credit card after stamping.

2. If you leave Switzerland by TGV from Bern or Lausanne, or by other trains, 4% of the time, customs officials will check their passports on the train, please show them the tax refund form; If it is confirmed that there is no customs officer with you, you need to ask the train attendant to sign the date, train number and your destination on the front of the tax refund document, and please fill in your credit card number or bank account number or detailed address clearly. During your journey, you need to send the signed documents and original tickets to the address marked on the envelope.

3. If you are shopping in BUCHERER and will leave the country by train, if it is confirmed that there are no customs staff accompanying you, please ask the customers to send the tax refund documents for duty-free goods to the merchants, and attach copies of train tickets and seat reservation documents, indicating the time, number of trains and border crossings of leaving Switzerland. The merchant will contact the customs, and after verifying that there are no customs personnel on this train, the customs will stamp your tax refund document and complete the tax refund procedures. You can ask the clerk for tax refund procedures.

according to customs regulations, customers have the responsibility to send tax refund documents for duty-free goods to the customs before leaving the country.

In addition, please note that the tax refund documents for purchases within the territory of EU member countries can be stamped at the customs of any member country. However, since Switzerland is not a member country of the EU, this principle does not apply to Switzerland, so you must remember to stamp the documents you hold at the customs before entering or leaving Switzerland.

The tax refund window at Geneva Airport

After passing the security check, turn right and go straight ahead and you will see it.

It is best to write the tax refund form in advance (personal information and credit card information used for tax refund). The airport does not refund cash, Alipay, but only credit cards. Usually from 1 month+.

Items purchased mainly in other Schengen countries can be refunded when they leave the Swiss airport.