VAT Refund
Upon application travellers not domiciled in the EU will be refunded the VAT by the seller for goods bought in Austria. Please note the following requirements: The invoiced amount (possibly including VAT) must exceed EUR 75.
- Your passport or other cross-border travel document must indicate a domicile outside the EU.
- You must export the item with your personal luggage from the EU before the end of the third calendar month following the month in which the purchase was made.
- You must prove the export of the item to the seller. This is done by returning to the seller.
Since 01-SEP-2021, the operational processing of the export confirmations for tourist exports at Vienna International Airport has been carried out by Digital Export Validation (DEV).
- The passenger submits the documents required for the processing of the export confirmation (invoice that meets the requirements with regard to content as defined in § 11 of the Austrian Value Added Tax Act (UStG) 1994, or additionally an appropriate other form sheet, e.g. Form Sheet U34) to the Digital Export Validation (DEV) service desk.
- The data required for the validation are either electronically recorded on site by Digital Export Validation (DEV), or have already been sent digitally to the system of Digital Export Validation (DEV) in advance.
- The electronic validation of the data based on the risk criteria specified by the tax and customs authorities can lead to the following results:
- Exit confirmation of the goods:
- as a rule in electronic form, representing an export confirmation within the meaning of § 7 VI 1 of the Austrian Value Added Tax Act (UStG) 1994. In addition, the confirmation is documented by stamping.
- No exit confirmation of the goods (indication of further procedure)
- Exit confirmation of the goods:
The digital export confirmation is equivalent to the original document and can thus be used directly as proof of the tax exemption of the tourist export.
An endorsement can be issued at a later date only in special, exceptional cases.
At some border-crossings, private clearance offices have been set up that handle the refunding procedure on your behalf against a fee.
On the other hand, in several non-EU countries the seller will refund the VAT paid when making a purchase. The respective body (embassy, consular office) will inform you of the conditions and formal requirements that apply to this connection.