Airport shops in the United Kingdom have been urged to pass on VAT savings made in some cases when customers show boarding passes. Passengers are asked to show passes to retailers so that they can identify those flying to non-EU countries and avoid paying 20 per cent VAT on customers’ purchases.
According to the Treasury Minister, David Gauke, the VAT relief at airports is intended to reduce prices for travellers and is not be a windfall gain for shops.
The Independent newspaper has claimed that thousands of people are now refusing to show their boarding passes as part of a “grass roots rebellion.”
Customers are not legally obliged to show their passes when buying goods at the airport, except when buying cigarettes or alcohol in a duty free shop.
The newspaper’s travel editor, Simon Calder, told BBC Radio 5 live: “If you take a £6 bottle of sun cream, the VAT element is £1. So if you fly to Greece, the retailer pays that to the government. If you fly to Turkey and the retailer can find out, then it goes straight into their pockets – nothing illegal about it at all but I will always challenge it.”
He said “all kinds of stories” had been given by retailers to explain why passengers should show their boarding passes, including that it is for security reasons, which he said is “complete tosh.”
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