Tax refunds for tourists - beware.

Whilst in Paris during August, we purchased a new video camera as our old one suddenly stopped operating.

We were directed to a few stores in Paris %26amp; eventually bought one at FNAC, Champs Elysées. Having selected the camera that we wanted, we asked the salesman about the procedure relating to tax refunds. He directed us to the Enquiries Counter at the front of the store where we found a male and a female assistant that both spoke English very well. They both confirmed that all we needed to do was to present our receipt at the Tax Refund Office at CDG airport.

Upon presenting the receipt at the airport, we were told that the store should have given us a form to fill in. In spite of the fact that we told the official that we were assured that we only needed to present our receipt, the official %26amp; her supervisor were not able to process our refund.

A hard lesson learnt...

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There is special VAT refund forms in every country in the workd, not something unique for France.

The receipt alone is never acceptable.

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You were given bad information by FNAC. Everytime I%26#39;ve made a major enough purchase to qualify for the refund, the store has filled out a form for me which I presented at the airport with the goods. A receipt alone isn%26#39;t enough.

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Not so sure about that. In Australia, to claim goods %26amp; services tax (GST) on purchases of $300 or more, you just need a tax invoice. This can be a print out from a register - as long as it contains certain details (description of goods, price paid, etc). Also, for purchases of $1,000 or more, the tax invoice must also include the name and address of the purchaser.

So itt pays to check pout the rules before you travel. (By the way, OP, we got caught out on our first trip, too.)

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Not so sure about that. In Australia, to claim goods %26amp; services tax (GST) on purchases of $300 or more, you just need a tax invoice. This can be a print out from a register - as long as it contains certain details (description of goods, price paid, etc). Also, for purchases of $1,000 or more, the tax invoice must also include the name and address of the purchaser.

So itt pays to check pout the rules before you travel. (By the way, OP, we got caught out on our first trip, too.)

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Your out of luck as a visitor to America - while we don%26#39;t have a VAT tax we do have State and Local sales taxes (from 0% to 10% depending on state and local rules) which foreign visitors cannot get refunded. With the exception of New Orleans Louisiana which does have a refund center (must be the French influence!)

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I don%26#39;t know about being out of luck - goods are most likely cheaper here anyway when you factor in conversion and no VAT.

Just a note, we were recently at CDG going through the tax refund process and the line was extraordinarily long - we waited for over an hour. Please give yourself more time than you need if you are getting tax refunds at this airport.

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Your correct, MrStylz, with no VAT and the current weak dollar pretty much everything is less expensive here in the US.

While we all love our European vacations - saving money isn%26#39;t one of the perks!

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I was the only one on the line at CDG when I was there 2 years ago (when the economy was better and people were shopping - I went home with an extra bag!)

The detax line at Galleries Lafayette was an hour, but I met all sorts of interesting people from all over the world (and wasnt stressing to make a flight) so it was fine...

It took a few months, but I got my money.