Regulatory Updates

UAE VAT Tourist Refund Scheme 2026: Planet Payment Process, Eligible Purchases and How International Visitors Claim VAT Back at Airports

Traveler at airport duty-free shopping area, representing the UAE VAT tourist refund scheme and Planet Payment process

12 min read

Published: 22 September 2026

Quick answer: International visitors who are not UAE residents can reclaim 87% of the 5% VAT they paid on eligible purchases of AED 250 or more per store, minus a fixed AED 3.60 fee per claim. The refund runs through Planet, the Federal Tax Authority’s appointed operator, and is validated at a Planet desk or self-service kiosk before departure from any UAE international airport, land border, or seaport. Tourists get a digital tax-free tag at the point of sale, validate it at exit, and choose cash (up to AED 35,000 per 24 hours) or a card refund.

What Is the UAE VAT Tourist Refund Scheme

The UAE introduced VAT at 5% in January 2018. To keep the country attractive for shopping tourism, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) launched the Tax Refund for Tourists Scheme the same year, letting eligible non-resident visitors reclaim the VAT paid on goods they buy here and take out of the country when they leave. The scheme is not run directly by the FTA counter staff. It is operated end to end by Planet (formerly Planet Payment), the private company the FTA appointed as its exclusive digital tax-free operator under FTA Decision No. 2 of 2018 and its later amendments.

Everything runs through Planet’s digital system: the tag issued at the till, the validation at the airport kiosk, and the refund payout. There is no paper form to mail in and no separate government office to visit. The entire claim happens inside the shopping trip and the departure process.

Who Qualifies for a VAT Refund

Under Article 3 of the scheme’s implementing decision, a tourist is eligible if all of the following apply:

The visitor is at least 18 years old.
The visitor is not a resident of the UAE and does not hold UAE residency at the time of purchase or export.
The visitor is not a crew member on a flight or ship departing the UAE.
The goods purchased are physically taken out of the UAE within 90 days of the invoice date, and are not consumed fully or partly inside the UAE.

GCC nationals who are not UAE residents can also use the scheme with a valid GCC national ID. UAE residents, including expats on a UAE residence visa, are not eligible even if they are leaving the country permanently, because eligibility depends on residency status, not nationality or destination.

Which Purchases Are Eligible

Goods qualify for a refund when bought from a retailer registered with Planet’s tax-free system, which the FTA reports now covers more than 19,300 retail outlets across the UAE, from luxury boutiques and department stores to electronics chains and pharmacies. Look for the Planet Tax Free / “Tax Free Shopping” signage or sticker at the checkout counter, or simply ask the cashier before paying.

Minimum spend: the purchase must total at least AED 250 (exclusive of VAT) in a single transaction with the same retailer. Receipts from different shops or on different days cannot be combined to reach the AED 250 threshold.

Not eligible for a refund:
– Goods that are fully or partly consumed in the UAE (food, drinks consumed on-site, hotel stays, spa treatments).
– Motor vehicles, boats and aircraft.
– Goods excluded under Cabinet Decision provisions, such as goods not accompanied by the tourist at the point of export.
– Services (only goods qualify, not services like tours, transport, or entertainment).

Step-by-Step: How to Claim Your VAT Refund

Step 1: Ask for tax-free shopping at the till

Tell the cashier you want to claim a VAT refund before or while paying. Present your passport (or GCC national ID). The store’s Planet-connected terminal scans your travel document, links the purchase to your identity in the Planet system, and prints or attaches a digital tax-free tag, a small sticker carrying a QR code, to the back of your tax invoice.

This step cannot be done retroactively. If you forget to request the tag at the time of purchase, the transaction cannot be tagged later, even with the receipt in hand.

Step 2: Keep your invoices and goods together until departure

Hold on to the original tax invoices with the Planet tag attached, and keep the purchased goods accessible (not checked into luggage yet) in case Planet staff ask to inspect them at the airport.

Step 3: Validate at the airport, land border or seaport before check-in

Before you check in your baggage, visit a Planet validation point. At Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport and Sharjah International Airport, these are self-service kiosks in the departures area or manned desks near check-in. You will need:

Your original passport or GCC ID used at the time of purchase.
The tagged tax invoices.
The purchased goods (for possible physical inspection).
Your boarding pass or flight ticket.

Validation typically takes 3 to 5 minutes at a kiosk. Complete this step before you check in bags that contain the purchased items, since Planet staff may need to see the goods.

Time limit after validation: once your claim is validated, you must depart the UAE within 6 hours. If you miss your flight or delay beyond that window, the validation is cancelled and you must repeat the process with the goods and invoices presented again.

Step 4: Choose your refund method

After validation, you choose how to receive the refund:

Cash: available immediately at a Planet cash refund counter, capped at AED 35,000 per 24-hour period. Cash refunds average around 3 minutes to process.
Card refund: credited back to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or UnionPay, typically within 9 calendar days, with no maximum limit.
Digital wallets: WeChat Pay and AliPay refunds process instantly where supported.

How Much VAT You Actually Get Back

The refund is not the full 5% VAT. Planet deducts an administrative fee before paying out. As of FTA Decision No. 11 of 2026, effective 12 July 2026, the fixed per-claim fee was cut from AED 4.80 to AED 3.60. Combined with the 13% administrative percentage set under FTA Decision No. 9 of 2023 (which raised the tourist’s share from 85% to 87% of the VAT amount), the current formula is:

Refund = (87% of the VAT paid) minus AED 3.60 per claim.

Purchase price (incl. 5% VAT)	VAT paid	87% of VAT	Minus AED 3.60 fee	Approximate refund
AED 262.50 (min. eligible, AED 250 + VAT)	AED 12.50	AED 10.88	AED 7.28	~AED 7
AED 1,050	AED 50	AED 43.50	AED 39.90	~AED 40
AED 5,250	AED 250	AED 217.50	AED 213.90	~AED 214
AED 21,000	AED 1,000	AED 870	AED 866.40	~AED 866

Figures are approximate and rounded; Planet’s system calculates the exact amount per claim at validation.

Common Mistakes That Cause a Refund to Be Rejected

Forgetting to request the tax-free tag at checkout. This is the single most common reason tourists lose a refund. The tag must be issued at the point of sale.
Checking in luggage with the goods before validating. If Planet staff cannot inspect the physical goods, the claim can be refused.
Missing the 90-day export window. Invoices older than 90 days from the purchase date are no longer eligible for validation.
Buying below AED 250 per store and expecting to combine receipts. The threshold applies per retailer, per transaction.
Leaving validation until after the 6-hour departure window has started elsewhere. Validating and then not departing within 6 hours cancels the approval.
Traveling with someone else’s passport used at purchase. The passport presented at validation must match the one scanned at the till.

How Retailers Register in the Planet Tax-Free Scheme

Retailers who want to offer tax-free shopping to tourists must register directly with Planet, not with the FTA counter service. The FTA’s own retailer registration page describes the process as an application through Planet’s retailer portal, after which the store receives point-of-sale integration (either a dedicated terminal or a plug-in to the store’s existing till system) that talks to Planet’s central system in real time. Once live, every eligible sale over AED 250 can be tagged on the spot.

For UAE businesses, joining the scheme is a marketing and footfall decision as much as a compliance one: shoppers actively look for the Planet Tax Free sign, especially in malls and jewellery, electronics and fashion retail, where tourist spend is highest. Retailers do not pay VAT twice or lose revenue by joining. Planet’s administrative fee is deducted from the tourist’s refund, not charged back to the store, though retailers typically pay Planet a service fee as part of their commercial agreement to access the network.

Tracking Your Claim After Validation

Once a purchase is tagged and later validated at departure, tourists can track the status of a claim through Planet’s tourist portal or app using the passport number and tag details. This is useful for card refunds, which take up to 9 calendar days to reflect, since it lets a traveler confirm the claim was processed rather than simply waiting on a bank statement. If a card refund has not appeared after 9 calendar days, Planet’s customer support can look up the claim using the tax-free tag reference printed on the original invoice.

What Businesses Selling to Tourists Should Know About VAT Compliance

Joining the tourist refund scheme does not change how a retailer accounts for VAT on its own FTA return. The store still charges 5% VAT at the point of sale and reports the full output VAT in its normal VAT return, exactly as it would for any other taxable supply. The refund paid to the tourist afterward is handled entirely within Planet’s system and does not require the retailer to issue a credit note or amend its VAT return. Retailers considering joining the scheme, or reviewing how tourist sales interact with their existing VAT position, should still keep normal FTA compliance current, since Planet’s system operates alongside standard VAT obligations, not instead of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the UAE VAT refund available to UAE residents?
No. The scheme is only for non-resident tourists. Holders of a UAE residence visa, including expat employees and their dependents, are not eligible even when departing the UAE permanently.

What is the minimum purchase amount to qualify?
AED 250, exclusive of VAT, spent with the same retailer in a single transaction. You cannot combine bills from different shops.

Do I need to validate at the airport in person, or can it be done online?
Validation must happen at a physical Planet touchpoint, a self-service kiosk or manned desk, at an international airport, land border, or seaport before you leave the UAE. It cannot be completed online.

Can I claim a VAT refund after I have already left the UAE?
No. Export validation must be completed before departure. If you already export validated your tag but have not yet claimed the payout, you generally have up to one year from the validation date to claim it.

What if I did not get a tax-free tag at the time of purchase?
The tag cannot be added retroactively. Always ask for tax-free shopping and present your passport before or during payment at a Planet-registered store.

How much of the VAT do I actually get back in 2026?
87% of the VAT paid, minus a fixed AED 3.60 administrative fee per claim, following FTA Decision No. 11 of 2026 effective 12 July 2026, which lowered the fixed fee from AED 4.80.

Is there a limit on how much cash I can get back?
Cash refunds are capped at AED 35,000 per 24-hour period. Card and digital wallet refunds have no cap.

Which goods are excluded from the scheme?
Goods consumed in the UAE (food, drinks, hotel services), motor vehicles, boats, aircraft, and any goods not physically exported with the tourist do not qualify.

Can GCC nationals use this scheme?
Yes, GCC nationals who are not UAE residents can claim a refund using a valid GCC national ID in place of a passport.

What happens if I miss the 6-hour departure window after validating?
The validation approval is cancelled automatically. You must repeat the validation process, presenting the goods and tagged invoices again, before a new approval and departure window starts.

Practical Tips for a Smooth Refund

Ask “is this tax-free shopping?” at every store before you pay, even if you are not sure the total will reach AED 250.
Keep tagged invoices in one place, ideally a single envelope or folder, separate from other paperwork.
Arrive at the airport with enough time to validate before check-in, especially during peak travel seasons when kiosk queues build up.
Choose the card refund if you are not departing immediately or want to avoid carrying cash, since the AED 35,000 cash cap rarely matters for typical tourist spending but the processing convenience does.
Photograph your tagged invoices as a backup in case a physical copy is misplaced before validation.

If your business sells to international tourists and you want to register as a retailer in the FTA’s tourist refund scheme, or if you need help with VAT compliance more broadly, from VAT registration to VAT return filing, Qaspro Global’s tax team can guide you through the FTA’s exact requirements. For guidance on your own visa and PRO paperwork while doing business or traveling in the UAE, our partner site Yalah Dubai covers UAE visas, DEWA and residency in plain language.