How to claim your VAT Refund

STEP 1

DOCUMENTATION
Simply identify yourself as a foreign tourist to the shop assistant, and request a Tax invoice for the goods you have purchased. A Tax invoice must contain all of the following information:

  • The words Tax Invoice
  • The seller's name and address
  • The seller's VAT registration number (a ten digit number, starting with a 4)
  • The date of issue of the tax invoice
  • A tax invoice number
  • A full description of the goods purchased, second hand goods must be indicated as such
  • The cost of the goods supplied in Rands
  • The amount of VAT charged, or a statement that VAT at the rate of 14% is included in the total cost of the goods
  • In the case of purchases over R3 000.00, the purchaser's name and address and the quantity or volume of the goods must appear on the tax invoice.

Remember:

  1. Only the person whose name appears on the invoice may claim the refund.
    Where the tax invoices are issued in both the husband and wife’s name eg. Mr. J and Ms J Jones, the passport copies of both the husband and the wife should be submitted for VAT refund purposes. 
     
  2. To qualify for a VAT refund you must have purchased the goods during your stay in South Africa.  You are therefore requested to ensure that the date of the invoice falls within the period of your stay in South Africa.  If, for instance you arrived in South Africa on the 1st of June and departed on the 10th of June, all tax invoices submitted for a VAT refund purposes must reflect a date between those two dates.  
     
  3. With effect from 1 August 2009, any tax invoice, exceeding R3 000.00 VAT inclusive, presented for a VAT refund that does not have the purchaser’s name and address printed on the invoice by the South African vendor who supplied the goods, will not be processed for VAT refund purposes.

    Tax invoices exceeding R3 000.00 that have been generated by a point of sale system that does not reflect the purchaser’s name and address but which are accompanied by proof of payment reflecting the purchaser’s name, for example a credit card payment slip, will be considered.

    In the event that you are in possession  of an invoice exceeding R3 000.00 that does not comply with the above requirement, you may obtain a “copy tax invoice” from the South African vendor which reflects the purchaser’s name and address.  The “copy tax invoice” together with the original invoice endorsed with a “VRA goods inspected” stamp may then be lodged for processing.  In the event that the claim is lodged by post, the documents must be accompanied by a copy of the claimant’s passport reflecting entry and exit stamps from South Africa. 

 

STEP 2

INSPECTION
Inspections must be evidenced by an endorsement on the relevant tax invoice by a VAT Refund official or a South African Customs official.

Should you depart from Johannesburg International Airport, Durban International Airport or Cape Town International Airport, you must present your purchases as well as the relevant tax invoices to a VAT Refund official for inspections. If your purchases are too large to be kept as hand-luggage, you must present the goods and relevant tax invoices at a VAT Refund inspection desk or to a South African Customs official prior to the goods being checked in.

Remember:
No Inspection No refund!

Should you depart from one of the airports or harbours listed below, you must present your purchases and the relevant tax invoices to a South African Customs official.

Other airports: Lanseria, Bloemfontein, Gateway, Nelspruit, Pilansberg, Port Elizabeth, Upington

Harbours: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, East London, Richards Bay, Mossel Bay, Saldanha

Remember:
Goods exported via any other departure point do not qualify for a VAT refund. Goods exported by mail are not regarded to have been exported via a designated point of departure. You will therefore not be able to submit a VAT refund application in respect of such goods.

STEP 3

CLAIM YOUR VAT REFUND
On departure from one of the three international airports, present your claim at the VAT refund office. Your refund will be made by various methods determined by the value of the claim and other factors. Payment methods include a rand cheque payable anywhere in the world. These cheques may also be cashed at the airport banking facility. Alternatively you will be issued with a VISA electron cash card that will be loaded with foreign currency after your departure from South Africa. (It should be noted that the method of payment is determined by the VAT refund departure point system and not at the option of the claimant.)

Remember:
No refund will be made if the claim is not lodged before departure

Methods of payment

VAT refundable less than R3 000.00

There are generally two methods of receiving your VAT refund for claims paid on departure.

  1. A VAT refund cheque in South African Rands will be issued which can be cashed on your departure at the banking facility in the international departures area (O R Tambo International Airport and Cape Town International Airports only)
  2. A VISA electron cash card will be issued which will be loaded with foreign currency after your departure from South Africa. (Generally within 48 hours). The card may be used to withdraw cash from a VISA electron ATM machine or at any VISA merchant worldwide (excluding car hire, hotel accommodation and fuel purchases) To utilize the full value of funds on the card the card should be presented at a VISA merchant with the request that an amount equal to the balance on the card be debited.
     

VAT refundable exceeding R3 000.00

Where the VAT refundable amount exceeds R3 000.00 you may be issued with a VISA electron cash card that will be loaded with foreign currency to the value of your claim once the claim has been approved for payment by the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Alternatively your refund will be paid by Rand cheque, US Dollar cheque, Pound Sterling cheque or other foreign currency Bank Draft depending on the circumstances of your refund, once the claim has been approved by SARS. The approval of the claim may take up to 6 weeks. These payments will be sent by standard mail to the address provided on departure from South Africa. Track the status of your claim and obtain the balance on your VISA electron cash card using the menu items on the Home page.