Vat refund

In case anyone else is as mad as me and flies in and out of Thailand several times a month, I can say that the VAT refund on items bought in Thailand seems to work very well! Last weekend my laptop died a horrible death (dropped down a flight of stairs).  So I bought a new one in BKK for about 30,000 baht (with English/Thai keyboard which is great for my Thai language lessons..).  Since I was flying back to London the next day I got the VAT refund papers when I bought the laptop and got re-imbursed in cash at Don Muang without problem.

OK - I know you are meant to permanently export these items from Thailand, but I don't suppose I'll be searched when I come back to BKK with the laptop in a week or two.  (Hey - maybe I can claim the VAT back every time I leave the airport......great new business idea...)