International visitors to South Africa may claim back 15% Value Added Tax paid on items that they plan to take out of the country. Tourism Update breaks down the tax refund process for tourists to South Africa.

VAT refund for tourists

Visitors departing for their home countries from a designated commercial port of departure, such as OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, Cape Town International, or King Shaka International Airport north of Durban are able to claim up to 15% VAT on paid goods during their stay, provided the goods are declared on departure.

The three-step process is as follows:

Step one: when making a purchase, travellers must identify themselves to the shop assistant as a foreign visitor and then request a tax invoice for the purchase. If the amount exceeds R5 000, name and permanent foreign address must appear on the tax invoice. For purchases exceeding R10 000, proof of payment, such as credit card receipt will need to be retained.

Step two: On final departure from one of South Africa’s main airports, the goods should be presented to customs officials in the departure hall at designated VAT Refund Administrator (VRA) counters. In Cape Town the inspection is only done in the arrivals hall at the VRA counters.

Step three: Once the goods have been inspected, visitors can present their claim at one of the marked VAT Refund Offices, along with their passport, boarding pass and customs-stamped tax invoice.

The refund will be processed and usually loaded on to a VAT Refund Card between three days and three months after departure, depending on the amount. This card can be used to makes purchases or cash withdrawals from any ATM bearing the MasterCard Acceptance Mark (outside the common monetary area of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland). There are some geographical regions where use of the card is also prohibited, therefore visitors are urged to check the list on the Tax Refunds website.  In addition, there are a number of countries and geographical regions where the use of the card is currently prohibited. Visitors are asked to verify the list of countries and regions on the website. Various alternative payment methods are also available should the VAT Refund Card payment method by unavailable or uneconomic.

Refunds for R3 000 and below are usually loaded onto the card within three days of the traveller’s date of departure, unless there is an invoice for over R10 000. Refunds for greater amounts are loaded once the claim has been approved by the South African Revenue Service, and can take up to three months.

Postal Refund Claims

Due to various unforeseen circumstances, such as late arrival at the airport, some travellers are not able to process their VAT refunds prior to departure from South Africa. In such circumstances travellers are able to submit their VAT refund application as a postal refund claim. Therefore, it is possible to have the VAT refund forms stamped by the customs officer of the traveller’s home country in arrival. In addition, travellers can have their form stamped at any South African Representation Office abroad (Embassy, High Commission, Consulate) provided the goods are presented for inspection together with the relevant invoices.

For goods already inspected by the RSA Customs or the VRA, travellers are required to submit the original tax invoice(s) endorsed by the RSA Customs or VRA, a copy of their passport showing personal details as well as entry and exit stamps into and from South Africa, a letter of explanation as to why they were unable to submit their claim on departure, and a completed postal refund application form.

For goods not inspected by RSA Customs or the VAT Refund Administrator, travellers, in addition to the documents mentioned above, are required to submit an original export declaration form, which should be signed and endorsed by a customs official on arrival in their home country. The customs official is then required to confirm that the goods have been imported into the traveller’s home country.

The relevant office does not assume any responsibility for the posting of the application nor the processing of the application. This process can take up to three months.

A useful tool to calculate the value of the VAT Refund, is to use the available calculator. To access it, click here. 

Please contact Editor@tourismupdate.co.za if any of your international clients have found the VAT refund process difficult, and/or have any experienced delays in refunds being paid out.