Your Tax Free Shopping Questions Answered

• Only overseas tourists who are 18 years and above are eligible for a VAT refund on eligible purchases made during their visit to the UAE. “Overseas tourist” means any natural Person who is not resident in any of the Implementing States and who is neither a crew member on a flight or aircraft leaving an Implementing State, nor a ship crew member.

• The minimum spend to be eligible for a VAT refund is AED 250 (Dirhams)

• All goods that have a VAT amount are eligible for a VAT refund except:
  • Perishable goods that have been consumed, fully or partly, in the UAE
  • Motor vehicles, boats and aircraft
  • Goods that are not accompanied by the overseas tourist at the time of leaving the UAE
  • Services
  • Goods purchased online
  • Goods that have been used, fully or partly, in the UAE and are not accompanied by the original packaging

• You will receive 85% of the total VAT amount paid, minus a fee of AED 4.80 per Tax Free Tag.

• After you have completed your purchase, please confirm with the store(s) if they are registered with Planet Tax Free for the VAT refund for tourists, if the store staff has not offered this service to you already. Please note that if a merchant is not registered with Planet, you will not be able to claim a VAT refund on your purchases.

• If you have shopped at a merchant/store that is registered with Planet, you must ensure that you are provided with an invoice/sales receipt which reflects your name as mentioned in your passport/GCC ID along with the Planet Tax-free sticker affixed to the back of the invoice, after you have completed your shopping. Please retain the original invoice/sales receipt and tax-free sticker as you will need this to complete your validation process when you leave the UAE.
  
  If there is a mismatch in your name appearing on the invoice vis-à-vis your passport or the absence of a Planet Tax-Free sticker, please ensure that you bring this to the attention of the store staff for rectification to enable you to claim the VAT refund on your purchases.

• Please be aware that without a Tax Free Tag being issued to your passport number/GCC ID, we will be unable to process your request. It is important that you scan the QR code on the Planet Tax Free Tag after every purchase to verify the details of such purchases. By doing so, you will be able to ensure that all your purchases eligible for a VAT refund are successfully issued by merchants registered with Planet, so that you can proceed with the validation process at the time of your departure from the UAE.

• Planet's system validates the status of your passport/GCC ID with the Immigration and Citizenship Agency to determine your eligibility as the tourist. Please ensure that you provide the merchant with the same ID that was used to enter UAE. The system alert message means that you have been considered 'Not eligible' for Tax Free Shopping.
  
  If the merchant is unable to issue a tax-free tag to you on account of a 'Not eligible' status, you will have to directly contact Immigration and Citizenship Agency by visiting any of their offices to verify your record in their system.

• Without this step taking place, we will be unable to process your refund.
• You cannot receive a VAT refund unless the sales receipt (with a Planet tax-free tag affixed) issued by the retailer is validated by Planet. You are solely responsible for obtaining such export validation at the time of your departure from the UAE.
• As per FTA rules, a VAT refund can only be processed if the purchased goods are validated by the tourist, with the original receipt(s) and tax-free tag(s) at our validation counters located at the exit points across the UAE.
• Please ensure that you obtain all information regarding VAT refunds from Planet Tax Free staff only.

• You must be able to present all your goods along with the original invoices and tags for which you wish to claim a VAT refund with you at the time of your departure, to our Validation Staff for inspection. Please also carry original Passport/GCC IDs as no copies or photos will be accepted.
• No one other than registered passport holder can initiate or complete the validation process.

• You scan the QR code on your Planet Tax Free Tag/sticker to view details of your purchase(s). In case you are unable to see any details, this would most likely mean that the merchant has not issued the transaction successfully and you will have to revisit their store or contact them for a resolution.

• Once your Tags are issued, you have 90 days to validate your good at Planet Tax Free Counters in exit points from each respective purchase/receipt date, at the time of your departure from the UAE.
  
  You must leave the UAE within 6 hours of completing the validation process. Failure to do so will result in your refund being cancelled, and you will be required to restart the validation process during your actual date of departure.

• If you have not left the UAE within 6 hours after completing the validation process and have not claimed your refund yet, please inform our staff at the time of your rescheduled flight to avoid the cancelation of your VAT refund.

• Goods exported from the UAE through cargo services are not eligible for a VAT refund. To be eligible for a VAT refund, you must export your goods with you at the time of your depature from the UAE within 90 days from the date of purchase of goods (reflected in the sales receipt/invoice). You must be able to present your travel document ID (passport), original sales receipt/invoice with your name matching that on your passport, tax-free tag and goods before you exit from the UAE.

• After you have validated your goods, you may claim your VAT refund in cash, card or WeChat Pay.

• Yes, if you are choosing a refund in cash, the maximum refund amount is AED 35,000. If your refund amount exceeds AED 35,000/-, you will have to provide us with a valid credit/debit card to enable us to process your refund.

• Planet accepts payments to card schemes such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Union Pay. VAT refunds processed by Planet to your credit/debit card will normally be credited in your card's currency. Your card issuing company or bank determines the foreign exchange rate to be applied on your VAT refund and Planet has no control over this rate.

• Credit card refunds are processed within 9 calendar days after which you might need to follow up with your bank or credit card company if the refund does not already reflect in your statement.

• In case you are unable to visit a Travelex counter to collect your cash refund, you can scan the QR score on the sticker by opening your camera / QR scanner and pointing it at the QR code. Open the link and enter your details to claim your refund through card.

• You can claim your VAT refund in cash in your preferred currency, if the refund point you selected offers it. Our refund partners determine the foreign exchange rate to be applied on your VAT refund and Planet has no control over this rate.

• Once you have successfully completed the validation process and exited the UAE, you can claim your VAT refund within 12 months from the export validation date.

• If you are exiting the UAE through an airport, you can initiate the validation process of your purchases by using our City Validation Kiosk validation service located at leading malls and hotels across the UAE. To use this service, you must be departing the UAE within 24 hours and should have already obtained your valid online/digital boarding pass/ QR code. Please visit our website or contact our Customer Happiness Center for more information about the locations of our City Validation Kiosks.

• You are required to scan your valid online/digital boarding pass (sent by airline carriers that offer an online check-in service) and your original travel document ID (used to enter the UAE)
• You must verify that your personal information reflected on the screen is accurate. If you find any errors, please contact our Customer Happiness Center or our staff at the airport. If there are no errors, please proceed to the next step.
• Your existing tax-free transactions will be displayed on the screen and the kiosk will advise you on next steps i.e. further inspection at the airport or proceeding to claim your refund.
• If you select cash as your refund method, you will be required to visit one of Travelex' counters after immigration/security check.
• If you select card as your refund method, we will begin processing your refund claim upon your departure from the UAE.

You may contact us via email at tourists@planetpayment.com, or alternatively you may call our Customer Happiness Centre on +971 4 586 4700