Offer VAT refunds in malls, says retail body

The five strategic locations are: Siam Paragon, CentralWorld, Central Chidlom, The Emporium and Robinson Sukhumvit malls.
Worawut’s call came after the Department selected three 7-Eleven convenience stores in Bangkok to offer the service under its pilot project “Downtown VAT Refund for Tourists”. The three 7-Eleven stories are at Lido (Siam Square), Bangkok Night Bazaar and Yaowarat.
The Counter Service Co Ltd, a payment service provider, is wholly owned by CP All.
“We would like the Revenue Department to review the decision and consider the five locations suggested by us to also be venues for the refund service, as those areas are crowded with tourists, and they represent 60 per cent of the total tax refund amount of Bt2.3 billion in 2017,” he said.
The TRA and its members said the five malls were suitable locations because they had good readiness in terms of strategy and were also convenient to tourists.
“According to our survey and based on experience, the VAT refund facility for tourists in a shopping complex offers great convenience. If the Revenue Department opens VAT refund centres at convenience stores, they may get wrong data on shopping by tourists,’’ Worawut said.
TRA director Chatrchai Toungratahaphan said that the opening of several locations for tourists’ VAT refunds would not have any negative impact on the Department as the investment would come from private companies.
“As the private sector, we would like to know why it has to be at only three locations,’’ Chatrchai said.
He said that the TRA and retailers, who are members of Vat Refund Centre (Thailand) Co, had been in talks with the Department for almost a year. It was agreed from the beginning that having these five locations should provide convenience to tourists in order to ensure the project’s success.
Chatrchai said he believed that if the Revenue Department trialled the Downtown VAT Refund for Tourists at the suggested five locations, the number of tourists claiming tax refunds would increase by 10 per cent. Currently, there are 900,000 PP 10 tax refund certificates issued to tourists at the five retail locations.
Worawut said that the joint venture company had proposed five VAT refund centres at tourist locations because no other country offered VAT refunds to tourists at service counters in convenience stores. All other countries have located VAT refund counters for tourists in department stores or shopping malls.
“The five strategic locations in shopping areas is the answer specified by the Revenue Department, as it is an area with most stores registered to issue VAT Refund for Tourists,” he said. “This reduces congestion for tourists at airports, which convenience stores may not achieve as well.”
He added that the five department stores and malls had permission to issue the PP10 tax refund certificate specified by the Revenue Department, and had the systems required to issue it. This would be better than a small store not in the system.
The limited service counter space at convenience stores cannot serve the large number of people claiming VAT refunds, he said. This would inconvenience tourists who may have to wait in long queues.