The processing of VAT refunds (from "tax-free" sales) at airports is being expedited, and this will boost sales in stores.
What is DIVA?
DIVA is a project developed by the Tax Agency, through the Department of Customs and Special Taxes, which consists of the digitization of the sealing of invoices for the refund of VAT to travelers not residing in the European Union.
The DIVA aims to establish an electronic procedure for VAT refunds to non-resident travelers in order to improve the efficiency of controls, resulting in a much more streamlined and modern process at the time of departure. Furthermore, the simplifications introduced by the use of ICT will tend to facilitate purchases.
Which travelers can get a VAT refund?
Travelers leaving the territory of the Union who meet the following conditions can request a refund of the VAT they have paid on purchases made in Spain.
• Travelers with habitual residence outside the European Union (or in the Canary Islands, Ceuta, or Melilla)
• Purchases must have been made on the Iberian Peninsula or the Balearic Islands. Purchases made in the Canary Islands or Ceuta and Melilla are excluded from this scheme.
• The goods acquired do not constitute a commercial shipment; that is, they must have been acquired occasionally for personal use or for use by family members, or offered as gifts, and their nature and quantity cannot be presumed to be the object of a commercial activity.
• The total value of the goods acquired must exceed €90.15 (including taxes) per invoice.
• The goods acquired must leave the European Union within three months of purchase.
How can travelers get a VAT refund?
Before checking luggage to leave the European Union, the traveler must go to the customs office and present the following documentation:
• Your passport or identity document
• Purchase invoices (receipts are not valid)
• The goods purchased
• Your boarding pass
Once compliance with the requirements has been verified, the invoices will be processed. The traveler then has two ways to recover the VAT:
1. The traveler can send the invoice completed by customs to their supplier who will refund the VAT by check, bank transfer, etc.
2. Travelers can obtain a VAT refund directly through participating businesses located in the boarding area. To do so, they will present the invoices processed by customs and will receive an immediate refund of the VAT shown on the invoice, less the authorized commission.
How does DIVA work?
The DIVA system is based on stores sending the corresponding tax-free sales invoices to the Tax Agency (electronic refund document).
When leaving the territory of the Union through a Spanish port or airport, the traveler will present themselves at the VAT with the digital invoice and the goods purchased, for digital stamping, and at these VAT stamping points there will be technology that will allow the automated stamping of electronic refund documents.
Advantages of DIVA
• For the traveler, the refund procedure will be more agile and faster with DIVA, since the Tax Agency will have the information on tax-free.
• For the merchant, DIVA will boost sales and simplify the VAT refund process for their customers, as VAT refund documents will be available in the Tax Administration system.
• For customs, DIVA will improve the management of VAT refund risks.
The current presence of the DIVA
For now, the DIVA system is voluntary. However, it is already operational at the customs offices of the airports in Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Cadiz, Asturias, Santander, Alicante, Castellon, Valencia, Girona, Lleida, Palma, Ibiza, and Vizcaya. In the near future, it will likely be operational at all airports on the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.
At Àmbit Assessor we are experts in national and international taxation and we would be happy to help you.
Maribel Isart
Fiscal Area
Àmbit Assesor
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A Àmbit Assessor, SL has 40 years dedicated to the tax, comptable and labor consultancy of the Pime.
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