PHU QUOC, 10 March 2015: Phu Quoc International Airport is the latest airport to be given the right to open a VAT refund service for foreigners and expatriate Vietnamese departing the country.
Tourism development is one of the priorities approved by the government for Phu Quoc Island.
Opening a VAT refund station for foreigners should help to promote the island as an international destination.
In other developments, the island has been given the right to develop casinos and late last year visitors were given visa-free entry if the island was the first point of entry to the country.
Foreigners will receive 85% of the value-added tax imposed on their purchases and the remaining 15% will be taken by the VAT refund office as a service fee.
They can only receive a refund for goods worth more than USD94 and purchased within 30 days of their exit date.
Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City were the first to be allowed to refund VAT to foreign visitors.
The VAT refund programme was then expanded to five more exit points; Danang International Airport and Danang port in central Danang City, Cam Ranh International Airport and Nha Trang port in coastal Khanh Hoa province, and Khanh Hoi International Seaport in Ho Chi Minh City, effective mid-last year.