Tourists in the dark about Vietnam VAT refund

Some 300,000 international tourists arrive in Ho Chi Minh City via Tan Son Nhat Airport on a monthly basis, but over the last four months only 860 of them have been able to receive the value-added tax refund when leaving the country.

>> Foreign tourists receive $148,000 in VAT refund

Around VND3.11 billion (US$148,000) has been reimbursed to foreigners upon their leaving the country, under a pilot program running until June 30, 2014, which refunds 10 percent from the goods they have purchased in Vietnam.

The program took effect as of July 1 but many international tourists in the city said they have never heard about it.

“Why couldn’t I find any places displaying the information about the VAT refund, and the list of the retailers joining that program?” John Chrys Urband, a Filipino holidaymaker, wondered.

Ryan, an Australian tourist, said he has purchased more than $100 worth of souvenirs but was told nothing about the refund by the retailers.

A group of six international tourists who were visiting the city for the first time also expressed surprise when they were informed about the refund program.

“The 10 percent refund is not a small sum so I’ll buy more gifts for my relatives,” said Indian national Narsapuram.

Few participants

According to the regulation, in order to qualify for the refund, foreigners must present receipts worth at least VND2 million (roughly $100) apiece at the VAT counter refund at the airport.

Meanwhile, they are required, upon purchase, to show their passport or immigration paper and in return, the retailer will provide them with a VAT refund declaration form that they then will check and sign.

When they arrive at the airport, they will be required to present the document to the customs office.

But few retailers in the city have registered to join the program, and thus do not have the VAT refund declaration form to provide to their foreign customers.

Urband, the Filipino tourist, said he and his wife could not find any information about the refund from the display store or the receipt of the Phuong Nam lacquer company in District 5.

Tran Ngoc Tam, deputy head of the city’s tax agency, admitted the lack of information about the refund, and attributed it to the modest number of retailers registering to join the program.

There are only around 100 participants, mostly located in the city’s downtown, while many other potential stores refuse to join, he said.

“Authorities mostly encourage retailers to participate, but the response is weak,” he admitted.

The tax agency has called on the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to spread the information, but “things remain unchanged after four months,” he lamented.