Tourists visiting Taiwan are entitled to a partial tax refund when purchasing large-ticket items (such as laptops and mobile phones) and other cosmetic and beauty items that are generally far cheaper in Taiwan than places like Singapore.
When purchased from cooperating shops, purchases in excess of NT$2,000 (on the same day) are eligible for a 5% VAT tax refund when leaving Taiwan.
- Purchases must be made from a Tax Refund Shopping (TRS)-posted shop, and must be purchased by a foreign national. Remember to bring your passport when purchasing items, and also present the purchased items to customs officials for refund approval. After approval, bring the cheque to Bank of Taiwan (located very close-by and appears to be a money exchanger) to receive payout in any exchange-able currency.
- Refunds must be claimed within 30 days of purchase at the "Foreign Passenger VAT Refund Service Counter" at the following airports/seaports:
Taiwan Taoyuan Intl' Airport (both T1 and T2 have service), Keelung Harbour, Taichung Airport and Harbour, Hualien Airport and Harbour, Kaohsiung Airport and Harbour.
When shopping at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) in Xinyi Shopping District nearby Taipei 101, purchases between NT$3,000 and NT$20,000 may be eligible for a direct cash refund of 5% VAT tax. The counter is located at the foreign exchange desk, level B1 of building A9.
Official rules and regulations can be found on the Ministry of Tax website.
Contact information for the Tourism Authority is as follows:
Directorate General of Customs Information Centre at Taoyuan Airport : 0800-311-006 or (Intl' +886-3-3982308)
Taichung Travel Section : 0800-422-022 (Intl' +886-4-2254-0809)
Tainan Travel Section : 0800-611-011 (Intl' +886-6-226-5681)
Kaohsiung Travel Section :0800-711-765 (Intl' +886-7-281-1513)
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Tourist Service Center: (Intl' +866) 3-383-4631~2
Kaohsiung International Airport Tourist Service Center : (Intl' +866) 7-805-7888
Service Centre, Tourism Bureau :0800-011-765 or (Intl' +886-2-2717-3737)