Airport shops are not being straight with travellers, claims consumer affairs expert
SCOTTISH airport chiefs are in talks with duty-free stores after retailers were accused of not being straight with travellers over why they are checking boarding passes in their shops.
Items taken to destinations outside the EU are exempt from VAT, and retailers can avoid the tax if they produce evidence such as a scan of a boarding pass.
Retailers are not obliged to reduce the prices of zero-rated items, meaning savings may not always be passed on to customers. Passengers travelling outside Europe should benefit from the savings companies can make from the tax exemption, according to consumer-affairs expert Paul Lewis.
He said: “The problem here is that the retailers are not being straight with the public. They are asking to see passengers’ boarding cards but not telling them that this is so they can make more money by not paying the VAT on what they are selling.
“What they should be doing is passing on the savings that they make to the passengers who are travelling outside Europe.”
An HMRC spokesman said: “Airport tax or duty-free shops may treat the sale of goods to passengers intending to take them to non-EU destinations as zero-rated exports, provided they retain suitable evidence such as by scanning the boarding card.
“There is nothing in VAT law to require the production of a boarding pass to purchase goods in airport shops but without such evidence the supply cannot be zero-rated as an export. HMRC cannot comment on the commercial pricing policies of individual retailers nor about when their staff ask to see boarding passes.”
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: “All passengers can benefit from savings when shopping at the airport. Retailers generally indicate the level of savings by listing the high street and airport price on labels.”
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “It is right our business partners are responding to the questions being asked.”
A spokesman for Boots said: “We are claiming back VAT on a proportion of purchases made by customers flying to non-EU destinations in accordance with current VAT rules set by the HMRC. Showing a boarding card is not compulsory.”