Can someone explain to me the VAT refund process at CDG? We are flying CDG/PHL on US tomorrow. My previous experience with this process in other countries is that you handle this procedure after you check-in and pass security so you have to carry on your purchases. However, they rarely look at them (in TLV they didn't even look at all).

However, I have read some information where it indicates that you present your purchases to customs at CDG before you check in for your flight? Is this correct? Do they look at the stuff or can I pack it without having to worry about pulling it out of our bags so long as I have the refund forms and receipts?

Thanks.

When I last did the VAT refund at CDG, I did indeed go through the procedure before checking in. In that instance, I did not have to show the stuff that I'd claimed; on another occasion, I did have to show it. Obviously, it's best to put it in a readily-accessible place.

At CDG, look for signs pointing to the Detaxe office. There's also a mail drop adjacent to each detaxe office at CDG, so it's easy to mail back the stamped form.

You might want to allow a bit of extra time. Sometimes there's no one in line at the detaxe, other times you'll be behind someone with 77 boxes of stuff that they're taking back home with them.

The signs at the Detaxe inspection window say (or did the last time I went through a few months ago) that you had to show your boarding pass. Sometimes I have been asked for a boarding pass, sometimes not. So if you can get a boarding pass without checking in (eg. Online), you should be able to go through detaxe first, then put your goods in checked luggage.

The advice on allowing extra time is good to follow.

In my experience, the customs officers in charge of D�taxe (pronounced "day tax") are unpredictable in what they do. It's guaranteed that your paperwork has to be in order. They may ask to see some or all of your purchases. In my case I have been lucky that they have never asked me to open any of them but I would guess they are very familiar with how wrapped packages from stores like Herm�s or Vuitton look.

I would suggest you tell the store where you make the purchase that you want the VAT refund credited to your credit card as opposed to a check being sent to you.

The one and only time I went to the Detaxe desk I waited in line forever and I didn't have my purchase with me (it was artwork). They did ask for it and I had to get it from my husband and wait in line all over again. I got another agent who couldn't have cared less what I had.

I do this often. The detaxe windows recently moved, but they are near the United economy check in line(somewhere around Porte 26). You need (1)the detaxe form which indicates the items bought and price and is issued to you by the store,(2) your passport, and (3)your ticket or e-ticket. A boarding pass is not necessary, since having the item available for inspection is also required,although I have never had to produce anything. I have, however, sometimes had to explain what the item(s) was, when the bill was sufficiently vague. After the forms are stamped, you put the pink one in the return envelope and take the green one home with you. I agree that the credit card refund is the most practical for the vendor to reimburse you for the VAT.

For what it's worth, the agents seem to inspect Vuitton more often than anything else.

Hello B,

I've also seen someone say that they item was in their already check luggage and the inspector let them go. I just would not count on that kind of luck.

Hello WW,

Regarding the door number, isn't UA in a completely different building from AA which is in 2A?

I've never had them open a Vuitton box although they have looked at the ribbon tie.

I guess this is too late for the OP, but for the benefit of others, I have only been asked to show the item about 4 times out of 20+ (and 2 of the 4 were jewelry purchases).
And yes, UA is in a different terminal than AA; though I have only done the detaxe in Terminal 1, I am certain they have counters in the other terminals as well.

Assuming logical procedures with the French funtionaires? That's a good one!

When I last used detax in Terminal 1 late last year, they had a hand-written sign saying that boarding passes were required. I didn't have mine (we had not checked in yet) and they accepted my e ticket printout. But I have heard from several folks since that they were asked for their boarding pass.

As for using a credit card as suggested by you and Landing Gear, I agree if the traveler won't be back to the shop where the goods were purchased. The credit card avoids the issue of what to do with a small check in Euros. But credit card detax refunds are usually done by a third party and the ones I've seen take about a thrid of your refund. So if you buy $1,000 of goods and the tax (and detax refund) is about $200, they are taking a fee of about $65 to, in essence, run a credit through your credit card. Ouch!

I've had another problem with one of the refund firms named "Detaxe SA". Twice they have failed to process my refund, and each time, after waiting a few months, I emailed them but I never received a reply from their customer service department. I got the first refund after I found an email address for one of their execs and sent my complaint there. I'm back in touch with that same exec now chasing down my second refund. Maybe my transactions were exceptions to an otherwise smooth operation, but when I get back to Paris, I'll be letting merchants who use Detaxe SA know of my experiences and my disappointment in having to send emails over and over, only to have them apparently ignored.

Yes, I was only describing the procedure in Terminal 1 for flights on UA.

No, I have never been asked for a boarding pass. I do this 5 or 8 times a year, most recently June 6, 2007.

Yes, I have seen people stopped to produced items. The most memorable was when a whole Tokyo tour(all wore the same jackets with insignias) group was asked to produce any and all Vuitton. Something like 35 people were taken aside, one at a time, to show items. I suspect they were looking for copies, but none of the people in my part of the line were close enough to hear what was going on. I was especially surprised, since tours usually get VIP treatment, with the guide turning in all the forms at once, with minimal inspection.

I have, however, been offered recipes for cannele by one official, asked to specify more completely the items involved several times when the bill just shows a lump sum amount, etc. The process can take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour, astonishing since I almost always take the same flight at the same time outbound from CDG. I guess it depends on the random shopping habits of others.

As for fees on the detaxe, one shop I frequent deducts 5-7 euros, and several others refund the entire amount. I would assume you could ask in advance for the amount of the handling charge. Otherwise, just check the form:it always shows the amount of TVA charged and the amount to be refunded. The one time that I discovered I hadn't been credited the refund after several months, I took a copy of the detaxe form back to the shop, and they credited my credit card account within days. I know this presumes repeated purchases from the the same vendor, but I've had very good luck with the detaxe and refunds.