The changeover to digital transactions is being implemented by a government decree based on June 2020. VAT Refunds for Foreign Travellers Act.
Global Blue Lithuania, the largest tax refund company in Lithuania, has already launched the digital process of the Tax-Free Shopping service in some outlets in mid-summer and is fully prepared to switch to digital transactions from 1 October.
„Once all the upgrades have been implemented, Global Blue merchants will share the information of exported goods directly with the State Tax Inspectorate in real-time by issuing a Tax-Free form to the buyer. In parallel, another change will be implemented: Lithuanian Customs will introduce digital export confirmation procedures and use electronic export confirmation stamps instead of the usual ink stamps. This will further reduce the risk of forgery of customs stamps and human error in export confirmation, which has been experienced by shoppers wishing to use the Tax-Free Shopping service,“ says Denis Grinevičius, CEO of Global Blue Lithuania.
In Lithuania, foreign buyers can get up to 14% of the amount paid for their purchases back. Global Blue's data from July 2021 to June 2022 shows that the Tax-Free Shopping service is recovering from the pandemic. Traditionally, Belarusian shoppers have been the most frequent shoppers in Lithuania during the period, accounting for almost 46% of the total. Israeli shoppers moved up from fourth place to second place and now account for almost 19% of all foreign shoppers in Lithuania who want to reclaim VAT on their purchases. Despite the war, Ukrainian shoppers account for 8.9% of all users of the service in Lithuania and rank third among Tax-Free Shopping users in Lithuania.
Key changes for traders providing the Tax-Free Shopping service:
– handwritten Tax-Free forms are no longer issued and completed – documents are issued electronically only;
– each Tax-Free form is supplemented by the buyer's date of birth and the buyer's contact details, such as a valid mobile phone number or email address;
– a detailed description of the goods is now necessary;
– if the Tax-Free form is issued based on a fiscal cash register receipt provided by the customer, the cash register number must be entered on the form;
– the signature of the seller is no longer required on Tax-Free forms.
– Tax-Free digital forms are provided to customers at the time of issue, at the point of sale, by SMS or email with a link to a pdf document which does not need to be printed and handed over to the customer but can be completed by the customer;
– during the export clearance procedures at the customs offices of the Republic of Lithuania, the digital (if the traveller chooses not to print) Tax-Free forms submitted by travellers will be marked with an electronic customs stamp. Global Blue is a market-leading tax refund company with more than 300,000 partners worldwide. The company provides Tax-Free Shopping and other services. Global Blue Lithuania has been operating since 1993. In addition to Tax-Free Shopping, the company provides Lithuanian traders with an analysis of foreign buyers.
