A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will then pay duties and taxes in their destination country (depending on its personal exemption limits and tariff regime). Which products can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refunding the duty component.
Tax Free World Association (TFWA) announced that in 2011 Asia-Pacific, with 35 percent of global duty-free and travel retail sales, has more duty free than Europe or the Americas, with these regions accounting for 34 percent and 23 percent respectively. 31 percent of sales came from the fragrances and cosmetics category, followed by the wine and spirit category with 17 percent and then comes tobacco products.[1]
Some countries impose duty on goods brought into the country, although they had been bought duty-free in another country, or when the value or quantity of such goods exceed an allowed limit. Duty-free shops are often found in the international zone of international airports, sea ports, and train stations but goods can also be bought duty-free on board airplanes and passenger ships. They are not as commonly available for road or train travelers, although several border crossings between the United States and both Canada and Mexico have duty-free shops for car travelers. In some countries, any shop can participate in a reimbursement system, such as Global Blue and Premier Tax Free, wherein a sum equivalent to the tax is paid, but then the goods are presented to customs and the sum reimbursed on exit.
Duty-free are abolished for intra-EU (inside the EU tax union) travelers but are retained for travelers whose final destination is outside the EU. They also sell to intra-EU travelers but with appropriate taxes. The world's largest airport by duty-free sales is South Korea's Incheon Airport, with US$1.85 billion in 2016,[2] narrowly overtaking Dubai Duty Free with 2016 sales of $1.82 billion.[3] Haikou International Duty-Free City Shopping Complex is the world's biggest stand-alone duty-free store in terms of physical size. Located in Haikou, Hainan, China, the buildings have a total area of 280,000 square meters.[4][5]
- ^ "And the world's most lucrative airports are..." June 14, 2012. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
- ^ "Incheon Airport duty free sales hit US$2bn in 2016 | Travel Retail Business". January 16, 2017. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
- ^ Reporter, Cleofe Maceda, Senior Web (January 5, 2017). "Dubai Duty Free sales drop on currency fluctuations". GulfNews. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "World's largest stand-alone duty-free store opens in China". Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ "World's largest duty-free complex opens in Hainan". Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.