how to claim your vat refund

8/18/2019 How to Claim Your VAT Refund

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4/1/2016 How to claim your VAT Refund

http://www.taxrefunds.co.za/index.php/how-to-claim-your-vat-refund

Welcome to Tax Refund

Important Notices

How to claim your VAT Refund

Designated points of departure

Postal Refunds

General Information

Preliminary Steps

Goods exported on your behalf

Refund Procedures

Visa VAT Card Balance

How to use your MasterCard

MasterCard VAT Card Balance

VAT Refundable Calculator

Registerable & second hand goods

Print / Download Forms

Contact Details

How to claim your VAT Refund

STEP 1

DOCUMENTATION

Simply identify yourself as a foreign tourist to the shop assistant, and request a Tax

invoice for the goods you have purchased. A Tax invoice must contain all of the

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following information:

The words Tax Invoice

The seller's name and address

The seller's VAT registration number (a ten digit number, starting with a 4)

The date of issue of the tax invoice

A tax invoice number

A full description of the goods purchased, second hand goods must be

indicated as such

The cost of the goods supplied in Rands

The amount of VAT charged, or a statement that VAT at the rate of 14% is

included in the total cost of the goods

In the case of purchases over R5 000.00, the purchaser's name and physical

address and the quantity or volume of the goods must appear on the tax

invoice.

Remember:

1. Only the person whose name appears on the invoice may claim the refund.

Where the tax invoices are issued in both the husband and wife’s name eg. Mr.

J and Mrs J Jones, the passport copies of both the husband and the wife should

be submitted for VAT refund purposes.

2. To qualify for a VAT refund you must have purchased the goods during your

stay in South Africa. You are therefore requested to ensure that the date of the

invoice falls within the period of your stay in South Africa. If, for instance you

arrived in South Africa on the 1st of June and departed on the 10th of June, all

tax invoices submitted for a VAT refund purposes must reflect a date between

those two dates.


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3. With effect from 01 December 2012, any tax invoice, exceeding R5 000.00 VAT

inclusive, presented for a VAT refund that does not have the purchaser’s name

and physical address printed on the invoice by the South African vendor who

supplied the goods, will not be processed for VAT refund purposes.

Tax invoices exceeding R5 000.00 that have been generated by a point of sale

system that does not reflect the purchaser’s name and address but which are

accompanied by proof of payment reflecting the purchaser’s name, for

example a credit card payment slip, will be considered.

In the event that you are in possession of an invoice exceeding R5 000.00 that

does not comply with the above requirement, you may obtain a “copy tax

invoice” from the South African vendor which reflects the purchaser’s name

and physical address. The “copy tax invoice” together with the original invoiceendorsed with a “VRA goods inspected” stamp may then be lodged for

processing. In the event that the claim is lodged by post, the documents must

be accompanied by a copy of the claimant’s passport reflecting entry and exit

stamps from South Africa.

STEP 2

INSPECTION

Inspections must be evidenced by an endorsement on the relevant tax invoice by a

VAT Refund official or a South African Customs official.

Should you depart from Johannesburg International Airport, Durban International

Airport or Cape Town International Airport, you must present your purchases as well

as the relevant tax invoices to a RSA Customs official or VAT Refund official for

inspections. If your purchases are too large to be kept as hand-luggage, you must

present the goods and relevant tax invoices to a RSA Customs official or VAT Refund

official prior to the goods being checked in with the airline.

Remember:

No Inspection No refund

Should you depart from one of the airports or harbours listed below, you must


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present your purchases and the relevant tax invoices to a South African Customs

official.

Other airports: Lanseria, Bloemfontein, Gateway, Nelspruit, Pilansberg, Port

Elizabeth, Upington

Harbours: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, East London, Richards Bay, MosselBay, Saldanha

Remember:

Goods exported via any other departure point do not qualify for a VAT refund. Goods

exported by mail are not regarded to have been exported via a designated point of

departure. You will therefore not be able to submit a VAT refund application in

respect of such goods.

STEP 3

CLAIM YOUR VAT REFUND

On departure from one of the three international airports, present your claim at the VAT refund

office. Your refund will be made by various methods determined by the value of the claim and

other factors. Payment methods include a rand cheque payable anywhere in the world. These

cheques may also be cashed at the airport banking facility. Alternatively you will be issued with aVISA electron cash card that will be loaded with foreign currency after your departure from

South Africa. (It should be noted that the method of payment is determined by the VAT refund

departure point system and not at the option of the claimant.)

Remember:

No refund will be made if the claim is not lodged before departure .

Methods of payment

VAT refundable less than R3 000.00

A VAT Refund Card will be issued which will be loaded with either your home

currency (subject to availability) or a foreign currency after your departure from

South Africa. (Generally within 48 hours or once the claim has been processed). The

Card may be used in accordance with the Card Terms and Conditions and User


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PO Box 107, OR Tambo International Airport, Gauteng, South Africa, 1627

Tel: +2711 979 0055 | Fax: +2711 396 1129 | Email: [email protected]

© Copyright Tax Refund • All Rights Reserved • E&OE • an umsiko design

Information Leaflet – where-ever the MasterCard Acceptance Mark is displayed

worldwide (outside the Common Monetary Area) to pay for all purchases. The card

may also be used to withdraw cash from a MasterCard supported ATM however

there is a fee associated therewith. (See card use terms and conditions for details.)

In the event that you were issued with a Visa Electron card, the card may be used to

withdraw cash from a VISA electron ATM machine or at any VISA merchant

worldwide (excluding car hire, hotel accommodation and fuel purchases). To utilize

the full value of funds on the card the card should be presented at a VISA merchant

with the request that an amount equal to the balance on the card be debited.

VAT refundable exceeding R3 000.00

Where the VAT refundable amount exceeds R3 000.00 you may be issued with a VISA

electron cash card that will be loaded with foreign currency to the value of your claim

once the claim has been approved for payment by the South African Revenue Service

(SARS). Alternatively your refund will be paid by US Dollar cheque, Pound Sterling

cheque or other foreign currency Bank Draft depending on the circumstances of

your refund, once the claim has been approved by SARS. The approval of the claim

may take up to 6 weeks. These payments will be sent by standard mail to the

address provided on departure from South Africa.

Track the status of your claim and obtain the balance on your VISA electron cash card using the

menu items on the Home page.
http://www.umsiko.com/mailto:[email protected]

how to claim your vat refund

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