So I went shopping in Lörrach last Friday and bought up to my max, so able to claim €40 or so back in MWST.

Get to the Reinach border - after queuing for ages - get to the border and front of the queue.

Border guy: Pass(port) or ID
Me: but you have my C permit (which up to now has always been fine)
Border guy: No. Pass or ID.

Anyway to cut a short story shorter he rejected the claim.

Anyone know if I can get another form from the shop and try again? Ultimately, I could go to the shop, ask for a refund and buy the goods again.

Also what's with the passport crap? The UK passport does not give your address - a "discussion" I've already had with another of his colleagues previously - so for the purposes of VAT claims based on residency in CH is thus pretty useless. So is this a new requirement?

Sorry, couldn't find another appropriate thread...

Bad luck Carlos....

I would have turned back and tried the crossing at Rheinfelden. Also, theoretically you have three months to export the goods...so if you still have it all together and the receipt you could try again. You would just have to say that you stored it somewhere (once it has left the country that is that according to the rules...).

Anyway, here is a copy of the rules. In art 3.2 it says you need a "Pass or Grenzübertrittspapier" and I am not certain that a residence permit would qualify as such.

And this is the same for us Swiss. You have to show your identity card or passport if asked. Punkt Schluss. These guys have more power than the police. You are lucky they didn't decide to take your car apart to 'teach you a lesson' :0 They can insist on seeing your driving license and car insurance documents too.

Mind you, I never did carry my (British) passport either when going back and forth on a practically daily basis. Now I have a Swiss identity card, so I keep it in my wallet, just in case. Fact is, they are well within their rights to ask - and yes, a pain.

Never travel without your passport, unless you want a hassel.

...and never argue with a boarder guard. They have the power to search you

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/00426/01...n6w==&typ=.pdf

Makes sense that a Swiss citizen has to show an identity card - you don't need a residency permit. For a non-citizen, Swiss resident, the residency permit would seem to be critical....but i guess they're just being a stickler for both permit and passport as cross validation, or maybe they've been told to "crack down". Sucks though.

If you have your original receipt, can you ask the store for another form?

I can never get my act together to deal with this stuff when we come back from the Netherlands. That, and since there's no longer a zoll at the border (when we drive), we have to figure out where they are now.

I thought that you need to get the papers stamped when you leave the EU, which would mean that the German/Swiss crossing would be the place to have your papers stamped.

Huh. Really? I'll try it and see. Thanks!

you show passport and receipt/paperwork to the Germans (inside at a counter at the boarder crossing). this gets you the stamp. The Swiss have nothing to do with the stamp....

Well, exporting stuff from the Netherlands to Germany for example wouldn't qualify for the refund as both countries are within the EU. Important to get the tax back is the fact that the goods have left the EU. So in a case like the one you mentioned the Germans would stamp the papers to confirm that you have exported the goods from the EU to outside the EU, thereby qualifying for the tax refund.

& they can put on the rubber gloves

I very regularly shop over the border (Lorrach or Weil am Rhine or Stuttgart) claiming the tax back.

I've never had to show my passport in three years.

I usually carry only my permit when travelling near the border and only my passport (such as now; I'm in London) when travelling far. I carry both only when I'm travelling far but still want to claim tax back at the border (such as when I go to Stuttgart or Berlin). When travelling within Switzerland I carry neither.

IMV he was being an arse, i know at the weil border they have a sign saying tax forms stamped only with a swiss ID or a B /C permit. no mention of a passport.

Not too much of a problem, all the shops know this happens and if you go back to the shop they will most likely give you a new recipt with the new date on it.

As I understand it, you are required to carry a passport or national identity card when travelling in the Schengen area and the customs officer was correct in refusing your claim, since you did not have the required documentation.

This was the explanation I got from a neighbour of mine who worked as a customs officer when I had a claim rejected about 18 months ago...

Has there ever been a study of the types that become boarder guards? (in any country) I'm sure being bullied at school would be a common thread amongst them.

(I bet most of them wear a mobile phone on their belt when in civvies as well )

What lesson exactly. Let's look at some facts here.

1) I regularly cross-order shop with my C permit, which as a Brit is the only "official" proof of address I own
2) I did it argue
3) as someone who lives in CH, I am legitimately allowed to cross border shop
4) I had goods to the value of €200
5) I was leaving Germany - in this instance it would be unlikely to be searched - it is usually on entry that this happens
6) this was 1700 hrs on a Friday and it was raining - highly unlikely that a jobsworth like that would get off his posterior...
7) I had my driver's licence and papers, so not an issue anyway

Edit (to your edit ): I am not arguing about their rights to do all this. This is clear to me, but for a Brit, the passport holds no value. I've had this discussion with a border guard who was annoyed that my passport did not have my address in it. Like, you know, WTF am I supposed to do about it, put it in using a marker pen?

In the UK it is not a legal requirement. Neither in CH. Indeed to come in to CH a C permit would hold more value than a passport IMO.

At the moment I think I'll call the shop to see if they can issue another form and take it from there. They have no way of proving that I did not drive back into Germany and/or France for that matter.

TBH, I can imagine that some of these guys are just pissed that we can do this and want to make it as difficult as possible - after all it is lost revenue to the State, but at the same time, can imagine that places like Lörrach thrive on the currency "we" bring.

Unless the tax free value is over 300 CHF (for non-controlled goods) and then you really do need a Swiss stamp too.

Hey, I am on your side actually honest. He was being an **rse - but the law is on his side, and your IMO is irrelevant here or mine for that matter My 'lesson' was tongue and cheek- but it is true that he could have searched the car very thoroughly and caused you to wait for a long time- and be even more of an **rse if he'd wanted to, they have almost total power- and yes - it is a total pain, but the reality.

Personally I couldn't be asked (that's how I spell it) to get the VAT back on this occasion- and just make sure I have the right documentation next time- they have good memories A pain, frustrating, whatever, not the end of the world- and again, the law is on his side (whatever you or I think of it, sadly).

Just carrying a permit is not good outside of Switzerland, even here I used to carry both on me, saves a lot of hassle. Anytime you go out of Switzerland you should carry a Pass as just a C or B permit is not a good enough identification for Police or Customs. My Identity card and Drivers licence from here doesn't have an address either, just shows I'm from here, so it's just like the guy with the British pass. ( U.S. pass does show an address, pass from here doesn't) We also have to claim anything bought on the Austrian side before crossing into here and get it stamped. On the Swiss side we have to declare it and show the stamp on the papers.
You were lucky they didn't make you stay out of Switzerland till someone brought your legal Pass to you, it has happened before from what I was told years ago.

Actually boarder guards are unlikely to be bullied at school (they were probably doing the bullying), although boarders do have a reputation for being unruly. The same cannot be said of borders though...

Your comment is really unwarranted. I guess you would apply that logic to everyone who is in a position of authority such as police, airport security, etc. Their job is to uphold the law and the rules & regulations that are in place.. That means sometimes saying no to people like us who always think that exceptions should be made. Yes, sometimes they will look the other way, but that doesn't mean that we should come to expect it.