VAT (Value Added Tax) in South Africa is a whopping 13% so if you decide to do any shopping there, keep these things in mind so that you can apply for a VAT refund before you leave South Africa:-
1) Keep all the original receipts for goods purchased. Take note — goods only. There’s no refund on VAT for food, services or entrance tickets. So if you’ve bought any Lego toys, Clarks shoes or Samsonite luggage, keep the receipts in a safe place. Please take note that you can only apply for a VAT refund if your total purchases exceed R 250.00 (i.e. the total value of all the invoices submitted and is not a minimum value per invoice).
2) Go to the VAT Refund Counter at the airport BEFORE checking in. This is because the officers need to see the goods that you bought. Hint: In Capetown, the VAT Refund Counter is hidden behind the check-in counters and can be easily overlooked.
3) Hand the receipts and your passport to the officer at the counter.
4) Decide whether to get the refund in the form of a cheque or to be credited to your credit card account.
5) Check the details on the form, sign on it and you’re done! Now you can check-in for your flight.
In Johannesburg, right next to the VAT Refund Office is an exchange counter where you can get your cheque cashed. However, the rates are not favourable plus their charges are quite high. Worse, once you get the cheque converted into cash to be spent on any of the duty-free items at the shops, you’d still have to pay for VAT for your purchases, which are all extremely expensive anyway.
The bottomline? Capetown, generally speaking, is not a good place for shopping.
For more information, here is the official website on VAT refunds for tourists: http://www.taxrefunds.co.za.
Tags: South Africa
January 6th, 2010 at 18:44
Good day sir/Mam
How are you, and hows your new year
first of all wishing you a very happy new year
I have a query, My name is Gunjan Dua ,
I am doing my Commercial Pilot Course from South Africa,
We are getting invoices for what we are paying for our training
can we claim our VAT for accommodation, books,and other stationary
please reply as soon as possible
I will be grateful to you
with regards
–
capt. gunjan dua
January 7th, 2010 at 14:09
From http://www.taxrefunds.co.za/generalinfo.php: “Goods consumed and services rendered in South Africa, do not qualify for a VAT refund” so I assume the stationery that you use during your stay there will not qualify.
As for accommodation, you definitely CANNOT claim VAT refund because I’ve tried doing it when I was there and I was told ‘no’.
Hope this info helps.