Tax Free to be available in Azerbaijan
By Rashid Shirinov
The Azerbaijani government plans to apply Tax Free system for the incoming visitors taking into account the rise in tourist flow to the country. The testing of the system has already been launched.
“Relevant documents have been submitted for approval, and currently this system is in the test mode,” the Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes told Trend on June 17.
To use the Tax Free system in Azerbaijan, the value of goods purchased at one electronic invoice shall not be less than 300 manats ($200) including the value added tax (VAT).
The goods should be exported from the country within 90 days of the date of purchase. VAT payment is returned back only in this back.
The VAT rate for all goods is set at 18 percent in Azerbaijan. Thus, 20 percent of VAT amount will be deducted as the payment for services, and the other 80 percent will be refunded to the applicant.
To benefit the Tax Free service it is necessary to shop Tax-Free goods at specific Tax Free shops. Then, passport is to be produced for filling an electronic tax invoice. The signed and stamped tax invoice will include the amount of the paid VAT and its last return date.
When leaving the country, a visitor should present to airport customs his electronic tax invoice together with passport.
In the end, the custom’s tax invoice should be presented to an authorized bank. The refund can be made both in cash and non-cash (after 10 days) way.
Overall, approximately 52,000 people benefit each day from Tax Free shopping around the world. Tax Free shopping services are available from more than 320,000 stores in 52 countries worldwide.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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