Mere days after 25 European consumer organisations filed a complaint against Shein over misleading practices at the beginning of the month, the Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant finds itself in the crosshairs again. This time, the online shopping giant faces a High Court lawsuit with documents accusing it of “manipulating customs declarations for...
Jun 19, 2025
It is no secret by now that retailers across London remain unhappy about the UK government’s decision to scrap tax-free shopping incentives for tourists. The resulting impact of the move was further emphasised in a new report by the New West End Company (NWEC), which represents the retail landscape for the West End district of London. In its...
Sep 16, 2024
A new report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has said that the UK’s widely debated ‘tourist tax’ is costing the region’s economy 11.1 billion pounds in lost gross domestic product (GDP). Cebr said that it had used tourist data released by the government last week to analyse the impact of scrapping the VAT-free shopping...
Jan 30, 2024
In Westminster Hall last week, Members of Parliament convened to discuss tax-free shopping for international visitors. The debate has sparked a wide range of opinions amongst the UK’s retailers, with the majority advocating for aVAT-free shopping scheme to attract foreign visitors and remain competitive against other European destinations. Hugh...
Sep 12, 2023
The absence of spending by Chinese shoppers due to the tourist tax is taking a toll on the UK, costing the nation an estimated 750 million pounds annually. A recent report from the Association of International Retail (AIR) has corroborated what many businesses have been emphasizing for months: high-spending Chinese tourists are now choosing to...
Sep 3, 2023
Burberry chair Gerry Murphy has accused UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of making a grave mistake in removing the VAT refund for foreign shoppers, claiming that it has made the UK the least attractive shopping destination in Europe. Mr Murphy alluded that tourists can shop tax-free in other cities such as Paris, Milan, and Amsterdam, making the UK...
Apr 25, 2023
In order to boost its growing textile sector, Pakistan's commerce ministry has promised to do away with value added tax (VAT) for textiles and make it zero from July 1 2016. Federal commerce minister Khurram Dastgir Khan made the announcement at the 15th Textile Asia 2016 exhibition, an international B2B textile and machinery show, which took...
Apr 4, 2016
Airport shopping used to be a pre-holiday pleasure, but UK retailers are facing calls to be more honest with airport customers as they collect millions of pounds in VAT discounts on duty-free items without passing on the savings. Many stores in airports across the UK now demand that passengers present their boarding cards at checkouts before...
Aug 11, 2015