Tax-free shopping lets a traveler who lives outside the European Union get back the VAT paid on purchases made in France. You must be at least 16, stay in France for less than six months, spend more than €100 including tax in the same store (or group of stores) within three days at most, then have the export sales form validated by customs, at a PABLO kiosk or a customs desk, when you leave the EU. Residents of the US and UK live outside the EU, so the residence condition applies to them.
This guide relies only on two official French pages consulted on 23 October 2026: the economie.gouv.fr page for tourists and the « Tax-free sales to tourists » page of Service-Public Entreprendre. The rules are reproduced as written there; if in doubt, French customs answers questions free of charge (contact details at the bottom of the page).
Tax-free shopping in France: key points
- Who: usual residence outside the EU, minimum age 16, stay in France of less than six months.
- Amount: more than €100 including tax, over three days at most, in a single store or group of stores.
- Document: the export sales form (BVE, « bordereau de vente à l’exportation »), with a barcode, issued by the retailer.
- On departure: validation at a PABLO kiosk or a customs desk, before checking in your bags, with your passport, the goods and your ticket.
- Deadline: validation before the end of the third month following the month of purchase (economie.gouv.fr).
- Optional for the retailer: a store is not obliged to sell tax-free.
- Refund: often partial, because handling fees may be deducted; the amount must be shown to you.
Who can claim tax-free shopping?
The three conditions apply together: your usual residence is in a country outside the EU, you are at least 16, and you are in France for less than six months. What counts is residence, not nationality: a French citizen who lives permanently outside the EU can claim, while a foreigner who lives in France or elsewhere in the EU cannot. A US or UK resident, living outside the EU, meets the residence condition if the other conditions are met.
The retailer checks your age and residence at the time of purchase with a valid identity document: passport, residence permit, tourist visa, consular card or resident permit. An identity card can be enough, for example for a resident of a Schengen country outside the EU, such as Switzerland.
Territories: who counts as « outside the EU » for tax-free shopping?
| Situation | Tax-free shopping | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas collectivities (French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy) | Possible | economie.gouv.fr |
| Overseas departments and regions (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, La Réunion, Mayotte) | Possible: Service-Public says residence outside the EU « also includes » the overseas departments and regions | Service-Public |
| Andorra, San Marino, Vatican City | Possible | economie.gouv.fr, Service-Public |
| Channel Islands, Faroe Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, Gibraltar, Dutch part of Saint-Martin, Heligoland and Büsingen, Livigno, Campione d’Italia, Mount Athos, Åland Islands, Greenland | Possible | Service-Public |
| Monaco | Not possible (treated as part of the EU for VAT) | Service-Public |
| Northern Ireland | Not possible for exports of goods | Service-Public |
Others are also excluded depending on their status: transport company staff, people leaving to take up a post in a non-EU country (economie.gouv.fr), members of diplomatic and consular missions in France or the EU, and students and trainees who stay in France or the EU more than six months a year (Service-Public).
Traveling from Switzerland or Andorra? See also our guides to traveling to Switzerland and traveling to Andorra.
Which purchases qualify?
- The goods must be carried in your personal luggage out of the EU: tax-free shopping is not possible if you hand them to a carrier.
- They must not be consumed or used in the EU before you leave.
- The purchase must be personal and for tourist use: a purchase for professional or commercial use is excluded. Service-Public says that commercial character is « generally assumed » from 50 identical units.
- There is no limit on the number of products bought (economie.gouv.fr).
- Amount: more than €100 including tax, over three consecutive days at most from the first purchase. Several shops can be added together if they are in the same city under the same intra-community VAT number, or in the same shopping center with all transactions on the same form (Service-Public).
| Category | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Perfume, chocolate, tableware, e-cigarettes and e-liquids | Eligible (examples given) | Service-Public |
| Alcoholic drinks | Eligible with extra formalities (till receipt above a certain quantity) | Service-Public |
| Category C and D weapons and ammunition | Eligible with an export authorization or license | Service-Public |
| Electric-assist bicycles and devices | Eligible if the motor is 250 W maximum, assistance only, cutting out above 25 km/h (16 mph) | Service-Public |
| Manufactured tobacco, category A and B weapons and ammunition, cultural property, petroleum products | Excluded | economie.gouv.fr, Service-Public |
| Private vehicles and certain private means of transport (karts, snowmobiles, microlights…) | Excluded | economie.gouv.fr, Service-Public |
| Services | Excluded (examples given by Service-Public) | Service-Public |
Your home country sets its own customs allowances for what you bring back: check CBP in the US or HMRC in the UK before you shop.
The procedure, step by step
- Check that the store offers tax-free shopping: it is optional. Stores that offer it may display an « electronic tax-free » (« Détaxe électronique ») sticker.
- Show your passport and an official document proving your usual residence outside the EU at the time of purchase. You pay the price including tax.
- Collect the export sales form (BVE) with a barcode, printed or sent by email. The retailer must tell you the amount of VAT refunded, any handling fees and the exit formalities. Service-Public says it must give it to you no later than three days after the purchase.
- Do not unpack or use the items before leaving the EU.
- On departure, before checking in your bags, scan the BVE barcode at a PABLO kiosk or present it at the customs desk, with your passport, all the goods listed on the form and your ticket (and, if you hold EU nationality, proof of residence outside the EU).
- Refund: electronic validation informs the retailer, who refunds the VAT (by card or bank transfer, for example). For a cash refund, go to the refund office near the validation point, shown by the kiosk or by signs.
Validation takes place where you leave the EU for good: port, airport, border station or road exit point. PABLO kiosks are generally in international airports, ports and border stations.
You leave the EU through another country
If you leave through an EU member state other than France, Service-Public says the retailer must tell you that you need to present a paper copy of the BVE. Ask for it at the time of purchase.
No kiosk, or a kiosk out of order
Validation can be manual: customs stamps the BVE, which you then send back to the retailer to be refunded. Exceptionally, if you could not obtain any validation for a reason beyond your control (kiosks unavailable, no customs service), a retroactive validation is possible at the French embassy or a French consular service in the country where you live.
Common mistakes: our table based on the official rules
Destination de Voyage summary: each mistake below matches a rule written on economie.gouv.fr or Service-Public.
| Mistake | Consequence | Official rule |
|---|---|---|
| Using or wearing an item before leaving the EU | In case of a check, a missing or used item cancels the whole form | Service-Public |
| Putting purchases in checked luggage before the kiosk | You cannot show the goods | Validation before check-in, goods to be presented (economie.gouv.fr) |
| Validating in Paris when you leave the EU from Frankfurt or Madrid | Validation in the wrong place | Validation at the point of final exit from the EU (Service-Public) |
| Leaving through another country without a paper BVE | Formalities cannot be completed | Paper version required if leaving through another member state (Service-Public) |
| Shipping purchases through a carrier | No tax-free shopping | Goods carried by the buyer in their luggage (Service-Public) |
| Adding up purchases from unrelated shops | €100 threshold not reached | Same store or group, same VAT number in the same city, or same shopping center on a single form |
| Spreading purchases over a week | Threshold not reached | Three days at most from the first purchase |
| Presenting a till receipt instead of the BVE | No validation | The BVE is the only document required; an invoice or receipt is not enough (Service-Public) |
| Waiting too long to validate | Refund lost | Validation before the end of the third month following the month of purchase (economie.gouv.fr) |
| Living in France or the EU, even with a foreign passport | No right to tax-free shopping; possible fine | Fine of €300 to €3,700 if validation is obtained without meeting the conditions (Service-Public) |
| Demanding tax-free shopping from a store that does not offer it | Legitimate refusal | Optional service for the retailer |
| Expecting to get all the VAT back | Smaller amount | Handling fees possible, to be shown by the seller |
Tax-free shopping outside France
This guide covers France only. Other countries set their own tax-free rules, so check with the authorities of the country you are visiting. Before you travel, see our section on travel entry requirements, and our currency converter to estimate your purchases in foreign currency.
Frequently asked questions
How does tax-free shopping work?
A tourist living outside the EU pays the price including tax, receives an export sales form, has it validated by customs (PABLO kiosk or desk) when leaving the EU, then the retailer or operator refunds the VAT.
What is the minimum amount for tax-free shopping?
More than €100 including tax, spent within three days at most in a single store or group of stores.
How do I get the refund?
After electronic validation, the refund is made by the method chosen at purchase (card, bank transfer…). For a cash refund, go to the refund office near the validation point.
How do I do tax-free shopping at the airport?
Before checking in your bags, scan the form’s barcode at a PABLO kiosk or present it at the customs desk, with your passport, the goods and your ticket.
Can US and UK residents claim tax-free shopping in France?
Yes if their usual residence is outside the EU and they meet the other conditions (age 16, stay under six months, more than €100 including tax). The conditions concern residence, not nationality.
How long do I have to validate the form?
Until the end of the third month following the month of purchase, according to economie.gouv.fr.
Can residents of the French overseas departments or Polynesia claim?
Overseas collectivities such as French Polynesia are treated as non-EU territories; Service-Public says residence outside the EU also includes the overseas departments and regions.
Our sources
- economie.gouv.fr, « Tourists: how to benefit from tax-free shopping when making a purchase » (written 25 August 2026), consulted on 23 October 2026.
- Entreprendre Service-Public, « Tax-free sales to tourists » (checked 8 October 2025), consulted on 23 October 2026.
- Infos Douane Service (French customs information line), 0 800 94 40 40 (free, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 6 pm excluding public holidays); from abroad and overseas: +33 1 72 40 78 50 (contact details published by economie.gouv.fr).
- Our methodology
Updated October 2026.
