Travel
- Arriving in Espoo
- Charter Buses
- Getting around Espoo
- Maps and Location
- Practical Hints
- Banking
- Clothing
- Disabled travellers
- Drinking Water
- Driving in Finland
- Electricity
- Emergencies
- Food and drink
- Foreign Exhange
- Lost Property
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Mosquitoes
- Pharmacies
- Police Stations
- Postal Services
- Public and National Holidays
- Restaurants
- Shopping Hours
- Smoking
- Tax Free Shopping
- Taxis
- Telephone
- Time Zone
- Tipping
Tax Free Shopping
Anyone permanently resident outside the EU and Norway can shop tax free in Finland, thus saving about 13 (max. 16) per cent on purchases of over 40 euros. Stores with TAX FREE SHOPPING signs will provide customers with a cheque covering the VAT refund; this can be cashed on leaving the last EU country visited.
The cheque, together with the goods purchased, should be presented at the point of departure. The refund will be paid in cash. Tax-free purchases must be taken out of Finland or the EU in unused condition. If the goods are carried out of the EU from any country other than Finland, Sweden, Norway or Denmark, the cheque must be stamped by the customs upon departure from the last EU country. The cheque can also be cashed at Global Refund offices at all main airports.Export service: Goods can be sent direct to an address abroad or to a traveller's plane or ship.
The sales tax of 23 per cent is then deducted.Value added tax is added to invoices and normally included in the displayed total price for goods and products in Finnish shops and restaurants. The standard rate for VAT, the initials for which are ALV in Finnish, is 23 per cent, with a rate of 13 per cent for food and animal feed and 9 per cent for transport.
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