Getting tax refunds for international tourists, based on their purchases made in Korea, has now become faster and easier.
A series of dedicated computer terminals, solely to handle tax refunds, started operations on September 29 to expedite tax refunds for international tourists upon their departure from the country, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).
The terminals, which only deal with tax refunds, reduce the average length of time to receive a refund to 40 seconds, from the previous five minutes. It has also cut down on the number of errors, such as loses of information. Due to difficulties in processing all the tax refund requests with a limited number of employees, 21 of these automated kiosks were put in place in the departure area at Incheon International Airport. For tax refunds of less than KRW 10,000, tourists can claim their refund at the machine without visiting a customs inspection desk in order to save time.
Now, international tourists can shop duty free at 6,000 locations, including department stores, discount stores and fashion malls in Dongdaemun, and claim their tax refund on their purchases as they depart the country.
With the recent rapid increase in the number of international tourists, the number of tax refunds has reached 85,817 in August and the amount of the tax refunds hit KRW 57.9 billion between January and August this year.
The culture ministry and the Korea Customs Service intend to improve their tax refund system even further to expedite the process.
By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr
A series of dedicated computer terminals, solely to handle tax refunds, started operations on September 29 to expedite tax refunds for international tourists upon their departure from the country, announced the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST).
The terminals, which only deal with tax refunds, reduce the average length of time to receive a refund to 40 seconds, from the previous five minutes. It has also cut down on the number of errors, such as loses of information. Due to difficulties in processing all the tax refund requests with a limited number of employees, 21 of these automated kiosks were put in place in the departure area at Incheon International Airport. For tax refunds of less than KRW 10,000, tourists can claim their refund at the machine without visiting a customs inspection desk in order to save time.
Kiosks at Incheon International Airport allow international tourists to claim tax refunds of less than KRW 10,000 as they depart the country. (photos courtesy of the Korea Customs Service)
Now, international tourists can shop duty free at 6,000 locations, including department stores, discount stores and fashion malls in Dongdaemun, and claim their tax refund on their purchases as they depart the country.
With the recent rapid increase in the number of international tourists, the number of tax refunds has reached 85,817 in August and the amount of the tax refunds hit KRW 57.9 billion between January and August this year.
The culture ministry and the Korea Customs Service intend to improve their tax refund system even further to expedite the process.
By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr
