VAT Refund Funchal

Funchal is where we leave the EU so it is where we have to get our VAT refund forms stamped. Does anyone know if there is a Portugese Customs office at the port or how to get my forms stamped? Thanks.

I have seen this just languishing on the board, and unfortunately I don't have an answer for you. Have you posted this question on Trip Advisor on the boards for Funchal, there will be resident experts there who might be better at answering this question.

Funchal is where we leave the EU so it is where we have to get our VAT refund forms stamped. Does anyone know if there is a Portugese Customs office at the port or how to get my forms stamped? Thanks.

Are you leaving the EU and flying back to the US or are you possibly going to a country outside the EU before you return home, such as the UK or a non EU country? Only checking because if you have visited countries and made purchases within those countries in other currencies (or EU countries that do not use the euro?) as this can get complicated, though not impossible. Also, you have to hope there actually is someone AT the customs desk/office/room at the time you need them to be there to stamp your papers. You might have some time to wait, but often not a lot of time to wait around.

If you are in fact leaving the EU for home and you have VAT refunds to claim there should be a place to claim the refund in port - I'd contact the cruise line to see if they have a place in their terminal or if you need to visit another location. I just haven't been to Portugal yet but I've been through this routine before in Europe - especially the EU/non EU not yet returning to the US situation and NO, I never got the refund but not for lack of trying. I've heard similar stories too - it often comes down to the amount of money/VAT and time being lost/saved etc., for a big ticket item - luxury watch, it can really add up. For a few bottles of perfume or purses - less so though I don't mean to minimize any amount of money.

Here's a link for the VAT company that processes refunds:

http://www.globalblue.com/destinations/portugal/tax-free-shopping-in-portugal/

Have a wonderful cruise

Are you leaving the EU and flying back to the US or are you possibly going to a country outside the EU before you return home, such as the UK or a non EU country? Only checking because if you have visited countries and made purchases within those countries in other currencies (or EU countries that do not use the euro?) as this can get complicated, though not impossible. Also, you have to hope there actually is someone AT the customs desk/office/room at the time you need them to be there to stamp your papers. You might have some time to wait, but often not a lot of time to wait around.

 

If you are in fact leaving the EU for home and you have VAT refunds to claim there should be a place to claim the refund in port - I'd contact the cruise line to see if they have a place in their terminal or if you need to visit another location. I just haven't been to Portugal yet but I've been through this routine before in Europe - especially the EU/non EU not yet returning to the US situation and NO, I never got the refund but not for lack of trying. I've heard similar stories too - it often comes down to the amount of money/VAT and time being lost/saved etc., for a big ticket item - luxury watch, it can really add up. For a few bottles of perfume or purses - less so though I don't mean to minimize any amount of money.

 

Here's a link for the VAT company that processes refunds:

http://www.globalblue.com/destinations/portugal/tax-free-shopping-in-portugal/

 

Have a wonderful cruise

I believe Funchal (on the Portuguese island of Madeira) is the OP's final EU port-of-call before sailing across the Atlantic. It's therefore the EU exit point where a VAT refund application has to be lodged for all EU purchases - though perhaps try their luck at the previous port????.

There's certainly a refund desk at Funchal airport, but I don't think it would be handled there for a departure by ship.

Since there are rarely ships leaving the port for non-EU shores I doubt there's a permanently-manned "refund desk" at the cruise terminal.

But there's a customs/immigration office at the adjacent marina - this from http://www.conceptsailing.pl/rejs-funchal--madeira--,52,etap-rejsu-voyage.html?langID=EN

"Marina in Funchal is located in a main part of the port, mainly for local boats. All of the formalities can be carried out in the port offices at the reception. Guarda Fiscal Officers (customs clearance) and Policia Maritima (immigration) work from 09:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00 every day". Best bet might be to e-mail them at pf208.funchal@sef.pt

Or e-mail the port - their e-mail address on http://www.apram.pt/site/index.php/pt/contactos/morada-email-e-telefone

BTW, Colleen, the UK is still in the EU

And will stay in the EU if some who want the referendum to be ignored get their way. :mad:

But that's for a different forum :D

JB :)

I just haven't been to Portugal yet but I've been through this routine before in Europe - especially the EU/non EU not yet returning to the US situation and NO, I never got the refund but not for lack of trying.

Perhaps a dozen years ago, we used to be able to get our VAT refund leaving Italy because stores where we made a significant purchase used to provide a special envelope. We'd put the filled-in paperwork in the special envelope and drop it in a special VAT mailbox, not the mailbox for a country's postal system. We wouldn't leave the country with cash in hand but we'd eventually get our money.

That said, we haven't gotten any VAT refunds in a long, long time. The lines at the VAT office are simply too long. Waiting in them would put us at risk for boarding our flight.

Departing from Lisbon, passengers pass the VAT refund office before security and passport control. I'd estimate the VAT line involved at least a half hour wait. The line to get through passport control required an hour to move through the snake. The line for security added another 30 minutes. Unless you arrive at the airport 3+ hours in advance of flight time, you won't have time to do all three things. VAT is optional. Security and passport control are not.

I believe Funchal (on the Portuguese island of Madeira) is the OP's final EU port-of-call before sailing across the Atlantic. It's therefore the EU exit point where a VAT refund application has to be lodged for all EU purchases - though perhaps try their luck at the previous port????.

 

There's certainly a refund desk at Funchal airport, but I don't think it would be handled there for a departure by ship.

 

Since there are rarely ships leaving the port for non-EU shores I doubt there's a permanently-manned "refund desk" at the cruise terminal.

But there's a customs/immigration office at the adjacent marina - this from http://www.conceptsailing.pl/rejs-funchal--madeira--,52,etap-rejsu-voyage.html?langID=EN

"Marina in Funchal is located in a main part of the port, mainly for local boats. All of the formalities can be carried out in the port offices at the reception. Guarda Fiscal Officers (customs clearance) and Policia Maritima (immigration) work from 09:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00 every day". Best bet might be to e-mail them at pf208.funchal@sef.pt

 

Or e-mail the port - their e-mail address on http://www.apram.pt/site/index.php/pt/contactos/morada-email-e-telefone

 

BTW, Colleen, the UK is still in the EU

And will stay in the EU if some who want the referendum to be ignored get their way. :mad:

But that's for a different forum :D

 

JB :)

Thanks, yes of course the UK is in the EU, JB - guess I meant to write the "euro" which the UK hasn't ever been a part of and I didn't write that. Indeed I know the the UK High Court just had an interesting vote ;) and so perhaps maybe the UK might remain in the EU. As an interested "colonist" I keep my eyes/ears focused on the Brexit/post-Brexit news.

And yes, all for a different forum though certain things do cross-over into travel don't they? Passports, customs etc. I think I'm still so flustered from running around that small Italian airport trying to find a customs official to stamp my papers (because no one in Gatwick would or should have) that it perturbs me to this day and hence, I made the Sterling/Euro mixup with EU/non-EU :eek:

As to the departure port and customs - I still don't know what the absolute final answer would be but I defer to you and your experience in the port. The whim and whimsy of the agents befuddle me to no end though, from country to country - maybe CR7 will be playing that day (or sidelined?) and someone will be there stamping away anything. He's from Madeira!

Perhaps a dozen years ago, we used to be able to get our VAT refund leaving Italy because stores where we made a significant purchase used to provide a special envelope. We'd put the filled-in paperwork in the special envelope and drop it in a special VAT mailbox, not the mailbox for a country's postal system. We wouldn't leave the country with cash in hand but we'd eventually get our money.

 

That said, we haven't gotten any VAT refunds in a long, long time. The lines at the VAT office are simply too long. Waiting in them would put us at risk for boarding our flight.

 

Departing from Lisbon, passengers pass the VAT refund office before security and passport control. I'd estimate the VAT line involved at least a half hour wait. The line to get through passport control required an hour to move through the snake. The line for security added another 30 minutes. Unless you arrive at the airport 3+ hours in advance of flight time, you won't have time to do all three things. VAT is optional. Security and passport control are not.

Love the envelope system - in fact, that's what Global Blue gave me most recently at John Lewis in London and I wished they'd utilize that system. As it was, John Lewis handled it wonderfully but they're quite a nice store - it was dreamy being there though my purchases weren't very grand compared to what they must see! For a brief moment I thought the process would be easier - it was in the store - after that...no dice. And yet the mailing/lock box system makes a lot of sense if one is willing to wait it out though I can imagine easily the flaws in that system.

As for the rest of what you wrote - I get that too - abandoning the quest. As I wrote in my first reply to the OP, if and unless the purchase is on a grand scale the duty isn't usually worth chasing down. The advantage most of the time to duty free shopping comes only in the original purchase price IF AND WHEN you already know that the purchase price is already much below what one could buy the item for if one shopped around elsewhere at home etc. This requires being a great shopper, price awareness etc because as is often the case at big box stores, warehouse or outlet shopping, duty free etc (I know we're talking about VAT refunds here) doesn't make some or all of the purchases worth while (outside of memories of sentiment which ARE worthwhile!!) as there aren't any savings at all. The VAT refund is difficult/impossible to get etc. etc., as many of us have experienced.

We shop, travel, live and learn - thanks for sharing your story! :)

Madeira and the Azores are special territories of the EU not an integral part of the EU, so these refunds may not be available here. It's the same in UK re the status of the Channel isles, Jersey and Guernsey. You may need do this at an earlier port.

Madeira and the Azores are special territories of the EU not an integral part of the EU, so these refunds may not be available here. It's the same in UK re the status of the Channel isles, Jersey and Guernsey. You may need do this at an earlier port.

This is where life gets complicated.

You may be right .............. but I suspect you may be wrong :p

I say that because Madeira is certainly inside the duty zone.

And I'm guessing it's the same with VAT.

So Brits can bring back large quantities of EU duty-paid booze & smokes, rather than the miserly duty-free one litre of hooch & 200 smokes from places like the Channel Islands.

I did that one time on a Thomson's Canaries fly-cruise which included a port-of-call at Funchal.

Knowing that Her Majesty's finest target aircraft from the Canaries I was expecting one of their four-legged staff to sniff out my suitcase-full of cigs - and I was hoping to spoil their day by showing them the Funchal receipt & the Portuguese duty-paid closures on the packs.

But of course you never get challenged when you're within your rights. :rolleyes:

JB :)