Taipei, April 24 (CNA) Overseas visitors will be able to use credit cards to apply for value added tax (VAT) refunds in Taiwan from May 1, according to the National Credit Card Center (NCCC).
Electronic machines designed to issue VAT refunds will be in operation at Taiwan's nine airports and seven seaports starting on May 1, and overseas visitors can operate them with their credit cards to get tax refunds.
NCCC general manager Lin Dong-liang said the new approach, which was patterned after tax-refunding systems in Singapore, will make getting a tax refund more convenient and save visitors time.
The electronic machines will be set up at Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Songshan Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport, and at airports in Taichung in central Taiwan, in Hualien and Taitung in the east, in Tainan and Chiayi in the south, and at Magong Airport in outlying Penghu County.
The seven seaports that will have the machines are the ports of Taipei and Keelung in the north, Su'ao and Hualien ports in the east, Tainan's Anping Pier in the south, and the offshore Shuitou Pier in Kinmen County and Magong Port in Penghu.
The electronic machines are being supplied by Chunghwa Telecom Co., which will charge a transaction fee of 14 percent for tax refunds issued through the machines.
Although the transaction fee may seem high, some visitors may prefer paying it instead of having to endure long lines at airports or seaports to collect their refunds before leaving Taiwan.
According to new regulations that will also take effect on May 1, overseas visitors who spend at least NT$2,000 (US$62) in a single day on purchases at an authorized Tax Refund Shopping (TRS) enterprise can get a refund of the 5 percent VAT tax within 90 days of the purchase. (Courtesy of CNA)
