Finance Ministry to facilitate VAT refund services for third-country nationals

Non-EU nationals will be receiving their VAT refund on items bought in Malta in a more expeditious way, thanks to an agreement signed today at the Ministry for Finance.

Through this agreement, international tax free shopping operator Fintrax Group will be setting up an office under the brand Premier Tax Free at Malta International Airport, in order to provide an improved service. Currently, the processing of such refunds involves a great deal of bureaucracy, whereby such processing is currently taking over six months to complete.

Following the issuance of a legal notice in 2015, Fintrax Group was selected following an international request for proposals.

Premier Tax Free will be vetting applications for and issuing such refunds, marketing the scheme to non-residents and local retail outlets, as well as providing a scheme to retailers to participate in international marketing of the VAT Refund Scheme.

Fintrax Group is one of the world’s leading tax free shopping companies with over 30 years’ experience. Through Premier Tax Free it provides refund services to international shoppers via hundreds of refund points spanning across 31 countries.

Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna said that, “thanks to this agreement, the government will be seeking to attract more business to our retail outlets and continue in its drive to eliminate bureaucracy.”