Some Thai friends are going to the UK, France & Italy this month and I have been looking at the amount of VAT a non-EU tourist can claim back and how the process works.

In France, where the VAT rate is 19.6%, you can only claim back 12%.

I have not been able to find the levels of refund for Italy and the UK. I always thought in the UK you received the full 20%.

After visiting France and Italy they will fly back to Thailand from the UK so I am not sure how the refund would be handled.

Do they get the goods inspected by UK customs at Heathrow and then claim through the VAT refund agency at Heathrow?

I just had another search on the net and found that the 12% refund for France is for two of the large department stores, Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. Elsewhere it varies between 15-18%.

I've just returned from Europe and whilst you can claim all of the VAT back, the companies that handle your claim take a pretty hefty percentage, hence the lower figure.

If you elect to receive your refund in cash at the EU airport they take a bit more, and still more if you want the refund in another currency.

The goods need to be inspected when you finally leave the EU, in our case we made purchases in the UK, Italy, Holland and France so the goods were inspected, and the claims submitted, in CDG which was where we finally departed the EU. Actually the goods weren't inspected, the customs guy just stamped the forms.

I've just returned from Europe and whilst you can claim all of the VAT back, the companies that handle your claim take a pretty hefty percentage, hence the lower figure.

If you elect to receive your refund in cash at the EU airport they take a bit more, and still more if you want the refund in another currency.

The goods need to be inspected when you finally leave the EU, in our case we made purchases in the UK, Italy, Holland and France so the goods were inspected, and the claims submitted, in CDG which was where we finally departed the EU. Actually the goods weren't inspected, the customs guy just stamped the forms.

I take it that you then handed the stamped forms to the agency desk at CDG after immigration?

I take it that you then handed the stamped forms to the agency desk at CDG after immigration?

In CDG the agency desk is landside, right next to the Customs desk and the check in desk, so before Immigration.

I opted to stick the claim the envelope provided and stick it in the box, rather than queue again.