Tax refund
Under certain conditions, you can be reimbursed for VAT paid on goods purchased during your trip.
Conditions to fulfil :
- You must have been physically present at the purchase at Nicolas, and have presented your passport to prove your place of residence.
- You must have made a purchase of greater than €175 including VAT, on the same day in the same shop.
- The purchase should correspond to a retail sale, with a lower limit of at least 15 items of the same article.
- The purchase should be carried out by a private individual.
- You must be a resident of a non-EU state (1) or of a third State (2) at the date of purchase and be staying in France for less than six months. You must be sure you will leave the territory of the European Union(1) before the end of the third month after the date of purchase. The recipient's nationality does not matter, only his or her residence status must be taken into account.
- You should report these goods yourself in the country where you normally reside as soon as you arrive at the airport or cross the border, by declaring them at the customs service.
Therefore, the following are excluded from tax-free sales :
- residents of a member state of the European Union (1)
- residents of the French overseas departments of (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte)
- persons who leave to take up employment in a third State or an assimilated territory.
- members of diplomatic missions, consulates and international organisations stationed in France or the European Union.
- students or trainees residing for more than six months per year in France or in the European Union.
- migrant workers (including those who will permanently return to their country of origin)
- residents of the principality of Monaco.
- persons coming back to France or to the European Union with the intention of returning to live there.
(1) Since the 1st July 2013, the European Union comprises 28 states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
(2) The territories considered to be third States of the European Union are :
- the overseas territories and communities of the French Republic: French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories; Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy;
- the territories of one of the other European Union member states mentioned above: the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey...), the Principality of Andorra, the Faroe Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, San Marino, the Vatican City, Gibraltar, the Dutch territories in Saint Martin, the Heligoland Islands and Büsigen Territory, Campione d'Italia, Mount Athos, other islands.
For more information contact your nearest Nicolas wine merchant.