Are you familiar with the new system that encourages your customers to buy more? Meet eTaxFree!
Thousands of people have already tested this new digital system at Portuguese airports! Update your invoicing system, as it is now possible, in a fast, agile and simplified way, to claim and receive VAT on purchases electronically. The idea of creating eTaxfree it was brought from abroad and was revolutionary.
What changes with eTaxFree?
A eTaxfree consists of an electronic system created to streamline the TaxFree process and established by Decree-Law No. 19/2017, of 14 February. It entered into force at the beginning of July and extends to all non-EU passengers.
What changes is that, at the time of purchase, shopkeepers have to communicate electronically and in real time with the Tax Authority (AT), instead of using the traditional TaxFree form on paper.
AT will, in turn, pre-validate the TaxFree, also in real time (if the data are correct and the conditions are met), issuing the respective QR CODE, which will then be delivered to the traveller.
In practice, when your customer makes purchases worth more than 50 euros (excluding VAT) on a single invoice, in Portugal, is entitled to request a refund of the VAT tax on the respective invoice. But the biggest innovation lies in the fact that it is not necessary to validate each invoice individually, as this process is done in electronic equipment intended for this purpose, placed at the various national airports: 8 in Lisbon, 6 in Porto and 20 throughout the country.
All logists who have joined the TaxFree system, which is adaptable to your invoicing system, are covered by the new rules.
Samsys is at the forefront of payment solutions
Although the General Manager of Global Blue Portugal, Renato Leite, mentioned that eTaxfree requires changes in terms of billing and availability by software companies, Samsys is implementing this solution in several stores.
Adapt your invoicing system and ensure the ability to communicate electronically with AT. The TaxFree service becomes simpler, more agile and more attractive to your customers, as there are no more lines at the airport, which encourages them to buy more.
Advantages for tenants
Direct communication with AT makes the process faster than filling out the paper form. Furthermore, if the buyer already has a valid Registration Code (from a previous TaxFree purchase, less than 3 months old), he does not need to register the relevant data for identification.
At the time of a purchase covered by TaxFree, the merchant must communicate to AT the following data:
- Traveler identification;
- Identification of invoices;
- Quantity, designation and value of goods;
- Amount of tax and respective fees to be charged, if there was no exemption;
- Security deposit amount;
- Value of the amount to be refunded to the tourist.
But after all, how does the eTaxfree System work for your customer?
Ao to arrive ao airport in Portugal, the non-EU tourist must associate the passport with the first purchase, passing it on an electronic reader. Thus, all purchases are associated with the passenger's boarding pass and are electronically communicated to the Tax Authority.
Before logout in Portugal, tourists must validate the amounts to be recovered, through invoices, at an electronic kiosk, using their passport and boarding pass. Passengers get a green light if the validation is confirmed and so they can go straight to the refund desk (of the financial intermediation company or its representative) or if they get a red light, it implies the need for inspection and validation in person at the Customs services, before to proceed for reimbursement.
Portugal as the most competitive destination for shopping
The Secretary of State for Tourism, Ana Mendes Godinho, stresses that this measure ends up making the most attractive country to shop and points out that in 2017 purchases by tourists from outside the EU grew by 37%.
There are 4 more countries, in addition to Portugal, with this revolutionary system “eTaxfree”, with just another name. This was a measure of Simplex +, a Public Administration modernization program that promises satisfy tourists even more who visit our country, as the system helps to pass a very positive and organized image of our country, in addition to being a way of preventing tax fraud, as indicated by the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs.
Do you know that…
- “Tax-Free” means purchases exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT).
- Purchases cannot be of a commercial nature (the purpose is assumed given the nature and quantity of the goods purchased).
- The tourist must leave the EU within three months of purchases (with the goods in their personal luggage).
- VAT is not fully refunded to the tourist, as an administrative fee is applied to the process (split later between the trader and financial intermediation companies).
- Billing changes to be taken into account: VAT can no longer be paid (and then settled), and there is the possibility of charging a deposit.
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