Hey all, I tried a search but didn't find the exact answer to my question.
I bought some goods in France and took the Detax certificate (with barcode) from the shop, which I then scanned (electronic stamp) at the French customs at the border.
I now need to go back to the shop in France to get my VAT back.
I've heard I have one year to do this, but does anybody here know the time I have?
Not what I heard.. We did the detax at decathlon FR after spending nearly 1k eur on ski stuff and they gave us the big receipt with barcode.. They also gave us two options ..
Get the tax in full paid back to my bank card.. Takes six weeks.
Get cash back at the border minus commission - instant.
We've so far done neither .. When we passed the border the office was closed as usual . But we have six months to do it.
Nothing was said about going back to the shop for the money.
Not sure about the timescale. Things have changed in the last year- shops in nearby France (Pontarlier I imagine for OP) insist that you pay the VAT, get the form validated at the border and go back to the shop for the refund with the stamped form. The reason being that they got into trouble in the past deducting VAT as people said they lived in Switzerland... when in fact they lived in France- so records didn't tally with the FRench GVT, who were not happy.
Thanks. It was Intersport in Pontarlier. I paid the VAT, went to the border, and just need to return to the shop to get the VAT back. I'll be back in a few weeks so hoping there's not a short timeframe for it.
Why not just phone Intersport and ask them? If French is a problem, happy to do it for you. Oh and meet for coffee or lunch when you come back to Pontus (as we locals call Pontarlier).