Feeling Cheated Over Airport Shop Tax Scam

Who else has spent precious airport time queuing up at a duty-free shop only to realise your don’t have your boarding pass to hand? There will usually be some kind of tut or roll of the eyes from the shop assistant who, looking unamused, holds out her hand, waiting for the pass, watching as you rummage through your bags – in my case pulling our wet wipes, local currency and a handful of nappies in the process – only to realise it is in the hands of my hubby, who is elsewhere (probably in a bar). On the occasions when I don’t have it, the  shopkeeper usually lets me off while I thank them profusely, feeling like some kind of criminal! I know some people who have even had to return their carefully chosen items!

I always assumed we had to show our boarding passes to get the 20% VAT off and that it was some security requirement. But no. It isn’t. Turns out some airport shops are keeping the savings themselves instead of passing them on to the customer. What a con! Along with the majority of travellers, I feel rather cheated!

The truth is, unless you are buying tobacco or alcohol, there is no legal requirement to show your pass. Some shops appear to be taking the information from boarding passes so they can prove to customs that the goods are going outside the EU and pocketing the VAT discount themselves and reducing their tax bills.

Retailers have been told to come clean but it seems the government is doing nothing to stop the practice – which seems strange because if it were any small business trying to fiddle their taxes they would soon crack down on them. Clearly, something needs to be done to stop the practice.

It seems many of the high-end airport shops including Harrods, John Lewis, Cath Kidston, Zara, Ted Baker and SuperDry take the VAT off for ALL passengers whether they are travelling outside the EU or not. But others have just one price for all with no VAT discount. Boots, WH Smith and Dixons have come under criticism with WH Smith claiming two sets of pricing for those travelling in EU and those not, would be a “practical impossibility”.  Although most of my smaller purchases from these stores wouldn’t have given me a huge amount of savings, it’s the principle!

So, next time I buy my holiday items at the airport, I won’t worry about making sure I have my boarding pass with me and I certainly won’t be faffing around in my bag trying to find it. I shall politely inform the shopkeeper there is no reason for me to show it and be on my way. I encourage other travellers to do the same.

What do you think about the airport shop tax scam? Will you be taking action? Should the government be doing more?