02-07-2016, 02:23 PM
(02-07-2016, 01:10 PM)ookpik Wrote: According to VAT refund rules it doesn't have to be in the box but it does have to be new, unused and available for inspection.
I found out the hard way with an expensive pair of hiking boots that I had put into checked baggage before I tried to get the VAT refund. The guy argued a receipt alone wasn't good enough. After all I could have given the boots to an EU resident. He then added that even if I'd worn the boots on the trip home he'd have disallowed my claim on the grounds that I was "using" them in the EU, they were no longer "new" and thus I was being validly taxed on the "value added" from wearing them.
I think it would be worthwhile checking the VAT refund rules in detail. In my case (and it appears also for Germany), you can get the customs desk to check the goods (and stamp the form) before checking in; after you've checked in, you just go to the refund office with the stamped form.
http://www.globalblue.com/destinations/g...n-germany/