Duty Free

[The March Hare]

Dalaman Duty Free Shops Encourage Smuggling
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Duty free shops at Dalaman Airport are encouraging EU nationals to unwittingly smuggle goods to the EU.
Duty free shops at Dalaman Airport are encouraging EU nationals to unwittingly smuggle goods to the EU. Shop assistants are advising customers that they buy and can take back up to 1,000 f*gs per person back to their country. This is wrong - EU nationals may only legally take back 200 each as Turkey is not in the EU. We pointed this out to one of the shops only to be told 'well I don't know the rules"!

[The March Hare]

VAT and Tax Back

KDV (VAT)

The tax on buying goods and services is very similar to VAT and KDV should be included in the price you pay as shown by the signs in the shop/bar. The tax is levied as a percentage and range from 1% on bread to 24% on some luxurious goods. The average rate however is currently 18%.

Tax Back - Getting tax back for the goods you purchased in Turkey

It looks good - getting the tax back and cutting the costs of your holiday - but in practice you'll be unlikely to find many traders running the scheme or even willing to issue a receipt let alone carry out all the paperwork! However, for those with a strong constitution read on......



Travellers who are not resident in Turkey may receive a refund of the Value Added Tax paid on goods purchased in the country but subject to the following rules:


1. Refunds will be made to travellers who do not reside in Turkey.


2. All goods (including food and drinks) are included in the refunds with the exclusion of services rendered.


3. The minimum amount of purchase that qualifies for refund is 5.00 YTL.


4. Retailers that qualify for tax refunds must be "authorized for refund". These retailers must display a permit received from their respective tax office.


5. The retailer will make four copies of the receipt for your refund, three of which will be given to the purchaser. If photocopies of the receipt are received the retailer must sign and stamp the copies to validate them. If you prefer the refund to be made by cheque, a Tax-free Shopping Cheque for the amount to be refunded to the customer must be given along with the receipt.


6. For the purchaser to benefit from this exemption, he must leave the country within three months with the goods purchased, showing them to Turkish customs officials along with the appropriate receipts and/or cheque.


7. There are four ways to receive your refund:

a) If the retailer gives you a cheque, it can be cashed at a bank in the Customs area at the airport.


If it is not possible to cash the cheque upon departure or if you do not wish to cash it, then you must, within one month, send a copy of the receipt to the retailer, showing that the goods have left the country. They will then within ten days upon receiving the receipt, send a bank transfer to the purchaser's bank or address.


b) If the certified receipt and cheque are brought back to the retailer on a subsequent visit within one month of the date of customs certification, the refund can be made directly to the purchaser.


c) Retailers may directly refund the amount to trustworthy customers upon purchase.


d) The refund may be made by the organization of those companies that are authorized to make tax refunds.

Don't confuse this system with the Turkish receipts tax refund system. This is a Turkish Government initiative to increase tax revenues through proper accounting by shops of their income. Turkish employed people collect receipts during the tax year and then submit them to their employer. The employer checks them and pays the tax to them up to the value specified by the Government. These sums are netted off any tax payable by the employer in respect of employee tax deducted