Shop tax-free at SEVEN

Anyone whose permanent home is outside the EU. It is about where you live, not your passport. A UK citizen living in Germany does not qualify, while a German citizen living outside the EU does. The customs officer confirms your residence when they stamp your form at the airport. If you are a UK resident and live in England, Scotland or Wales you can claim. Unfortunately if you live in Northern Ireland you cannot claim, as Northern Ireland stayed inside the EU VAT territory for goods, under the Windsor Framework arrangement, while the rest of the UK left it. It is one of those oddities of Brexit that we all live with now.

Yes. Your purchase needs to come to more than €50 including VAT in a single transaction. It can be any mix of products: records, DJ gear, headphones, books or merch.

It works on anything you buy in our Berlin store, and on an online order you collect in person. The rule is that you have to carry the goods out of the EU in your own luggage, so bring your passport when you pay in store or when you come to collect, and ask us for tax-free shopping. Orders we post out to you are not eligible, because the goods do not leave in your personal luggage.

The full 19% German VAT you paid, with no handling fee. We run the whole process ourselves rather than through an outside operator, so there is no commission or service charge taken off your refund. Providers such as Global Blue or Planet keep a cut; at SEVEN there is nothing to deduct.

Back to the same card you paid with, once your stamped form arrives with us. It usually lands within a few days, and within 7 days at the latest.

By the end of the third month after the month you bought them. For example, something bought in March must leave the EU by the end of June.

If you fly out of Berlin, that is BER (Berlin Brandenburg Airport). Look for the Customs (Zoll) desk before security and bag-drop. If you are connecting through another EU country, get the stamp at the last EU airport you leave from.

At the last airport where you actually leave the EU. For example, flying Berlin to London to New York, you get it stamped in Berlin, because the UK is outside the EU. Flying Berlin to Amsterdam to Los Angeles, you get it stamped in Amsterdam, because that is your last stop inside the EU.

BER has digital customs kiosks that make the process quick, four in Terminal 1 and two in Terminal 2, and most travellers are handled entirely at the kiosk. Only some people are asked to see a customs officer in person for a visual check, usually for higher-value purchases (roughly over €1,000) or an occasional spot check. In Terminal 1 the four kiosks are on Departures Level 2, after check-in and before the security gates, next to the Zoll (Customs) office; the signage reads "Tax Refund / Erstattung", they are open 05:00 to 23:00 daily, and staff speak English and German. In Terminal 2 the two kiosks are on the Departures level before security screening; if the kiosk flags you for a manual check, it is a short walk of about 10 minutes to Terminal 1, where the customs officers are based.

Yes. Getting your form stamped is an extra step, so allow around 30 minutes on top of your usual check-in time. BER tends to be faster and more efficient than Munich or Frankfurt thanks to its new digital kiosks, and generally quicker than Paris or London too, where there are far more tax-free shoppers. Do leave a little extra at Christmas though, as it obviously gets busier then.

Either works. At the airport you visit the Customs (Zoll) desk and they stamp the form we gave you, but only after they actually see the goods, so it is easiest if the items are in your hand luggage. If you would rather put them in your hold luggage, go to check-in first, tell the attendant you need to take those items to the customs desk for a tax-free refund, and they will tag your bag and hand it back to you. Explain this before your bag disappears off down the conveyor belt. Then take the bag to the customs desk, show your form and the goods, get the form stamped, and drop the bag back at check-in. The check-in staff are very used to this, so do not worry.

Unfortunately not. The tax-free shopping scheme for visitors only applies to things you take home in your personal luggage. The customs officer at the airport needs to see the goods in person before they stamp your form, so anything posted or shipped separately does not qualify.

Without the customs stamp we cannot refund the VAT. The stamp is the proof the law requires that the goods actually left the EU. Please get it before you check your bags, and keep a photo of the stamped form before you post it back to us, just in case.