Apple Store - Tax Refund - Global Blue

Hi Guys,

I was planing on buying a new notebook from Apple store soon and I was wondering is it possible to get Global Blue Tax Refund form in any Apple Store in Switzerland ?

I ask, because I can only use my student discount in Apple Store and not in Media Markt and other retail stores.

Tax Refund is not that much money, but combined with student pricing it's a nice discount that can go towards buying a nice case, backpack or even add some money and get solid state drive.

Thanks for your time

Sam

where do you live? i guess in CH? if so then you can not claim tax back from CH.

if you buy in DE and live in CH then its a different story.

So where exactly are you living Sam?

You will discover that for any sales tax claim you will need documentation, stamped at the shop when you buy the article.

So why not ask at the Apple shop? The agent Global Blue takes about 50% comission from the tax saved, so you might want to think about doing it yourself. Contact the border control for information when you come to Switzerland. We onll pay 8% tax here, but you might have to pay 20% sales tax in your home country.

Can you prove you are studying? Some companies give discount to students.

Clearly you are not studying Geograpghy or Mathematics.

For your question to make sense we need to know where you are, where you are resident and why you believe getting 8% back (less commission of VAT agent) and then paying a higher rate of VAT is an advantage...

AbFab maybe that he doesn't need to pay vat after all.
Certain amount are tax exempted for the goods that bought while you are abroad. So if it is under the limit, he doesn't need to pay CH tax as well as his country of origin. Assume that he is not Swiss and leaving CH.

Thank you everyone, very much for your help


I have ISIC (International Student Identification Card) which they do accept in Apple Stores (at least they did in Germany and Switzerland ). Thank you

I was wondering do they provide Global Blue Check at the Apple Store or not. I know for a fact that they do this it London. I don't live in CH or EU for that matter, so eligibility is not a problem I think (will be visiting soon CH). I tried finding Apple Stores e.mail addresses, but no luck. Maybe best course or action would be to wait until I arrive at the Zurich Airport and ask Global Blue Guys in person, maybe I can get Refund Form (so called Check) from them directly and then just fill it up myself.

Patsy Darling, you need to chill

Exactly, thank you

You can't get much from Apple for CHF300...

Yes, but for 3000 CHF you can I think you get 240 You can buy another SSD for that money and install it via Optibay where your optical drive is (was).. Sorry, sometimes the nerd in me gets a bit over the top

BTW, I LOVE your avatar, I'm a HUGE fan of the show.. I hope you got to see 2 new specials aired for Christmas and New Year

Of course, if you do a tax reclaim you would need to pay the tax in your country of residence. Most countries have a higher VAT percentage then Switzerland :+

AbFab, that is tax free limit for CH. not every single country has the same limit for shopping while abroad. Could be $500 or €500 or more or even less.

You haven't understood fully. Upto certain amount you are not liable for any tax for the goods you bought outside your country. This is legally allowed. Of course you do need to pay tax if you go over the limit. But upto that point you don't. I don't know which nationality of you or OP or the limit for the OP. But it could be that OP doesn't need to pay by this rule.

We're back to Geography and Mathematics. The way it works is that you pay the VAT (8%) in Switzerland and complete a form from a third party company who handle the reclaim and take a commission (often 25-40%) for doing this.

As you leave the country you get the form stamped on exit by the VAT desk and post the form. You wait 3 months and, if you are lucky, get 75% of the 8% back. I have sometimes actually never received the refund.

When you arrive at your destination (this is the Geography bit) you declare your purchase, obviously assuming that you spent above the limit (and as the OP lives in "..." we have no idea ) you pay the local VAT /Sales tax there. Or risk smuggling your iMac (we also have no idea what the OP wants to buy)...

Hi now I feel like I know you well.
Sorry for tailing you here.
You may know better. But you guys are sometimes very tough here.
I think maybe it is better not to say than to say the way like you said. Like geo n math things.

In reality terms you could be right or wrong. But you don't need to pin point where it hurts. Maybe I got your tone wrong.

Nonetheless,

One thing to clarify you can also get those tax back at the airport in the form of cash as well. I don't know here in CH whether they have refund desk at the airport or not. But when my family visited me they got it back immediately upon their departure in the U.K and France. So no waiting or missing the payment.

Second he could be that smuggle the product he buys here tax free if it is over the limit. But we don't need to tag him as such already n give tough words.

Why can we just tell him hey here only 8 bloody % tax on the product and it is not cheap here despite of 8% tax. Go n get it somewhere else where sales tax are high in order to take an advantage of tax free thing such as U.K and Germany for that matter. I know that even though U.K has 20% vat on, they still sell goods cheaper than CH. Especially electronic goods. I bought 2 of my computers in London. Don't you worry I bought with tax on but it was cheaper than anywhere in Europe(sorry , I cannot be certain but it was cheaper than Germany, France n Korea at least. ) But my hubby bought a laptop from somewhere else for 2 x more than it is in the U.K for the same specs only for a keyboard of his wish(dumm!!, I can be harsh on him!! )

Umm, where was I?!?!??


Back to the story,

And cheapest Apple notebook about 1,000 francs(I would go for better spec though ) so he gets all those discount he talked about then, he could be that under the tax free allowance. I am pretty much guessing anyway though.
(I am still struggling to make you to somehow if not somewhat think that it could be under the limit. It could be that he gets 23% off(googled 15%(?) student discount and 8% discount if he gets all)

Anyhow I won't tail you any more.
First of all, I could be wrong and second I am no help to the OP's question.
If I was OP, I could be upset despite of having post now and then, it is not actually a help to the question but exchange of this tax free and smuggling bit.


You all have a nice n pleasant Sunday!!!

Can one buy a Mac laptop at Apple CH with anything other than a Swiss keyboard? OP, do you want a Swiss keyboard?

I always buy my Macs refurbished, from Apple in the US. Best prices and with the dollar low against most currencies (especially CHF), it makes it an even bigger bargain. But probably not convenient if you do not want a US keyboard.

fduvall

In store you can only get Swiss keyboard, but you can get English keyboard if you order online. I have nothing against refurbs, they are good machines, but to order from USA isn't really convenient. If you live in the US or visiting often, one thing you might wanna look for are "open box deals" in some big retail chains. We don't have these in Europe, but I hear these deals come with a better price then refurb, but are literally new products, only opened, returned fast I personally don't really care to much about keyboard layout, because I hardly look at it while I type :P lol

So, I asked a simple, yes or no question and instead of yes or no answers I got some kind of passive - aggressive attitude There are some really nice people here, but some are just.........not cool..........