Schiphol Travel Forum

I hope pieter_jan_v picks up on this one. He has a fine Schiphol page :-)

My question:
I am Dutch and leaving Schiphol (Amsterdam airport) in a few weeks to go to Malta.
Can I go tax free shopping at Schiphol if my destination is Malta?
European citizens cannot do this anymore if they are travelling within the EU but I am unsure of the status of Malta at this particular time.
Thanks for replying!

Niet heet genoeg in Nederland?
XXXDW

Actually, it is at least some 4 degr. Celsius cooler in Malta than it is in The Netherlands during the day, at the mo !

Thanks Anke Thea!

Is the text at http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/2f01c/6fbd0/a/ not clear enough (it has a telephone number and URL too)?

I am not gonna add a list of all non-EU countries. By looking at your Eurocoin collection you must know which countries are EU-member state.

PJ ;-)

Yes, I do know that. But not every EU country uses the Euro currency (UK for example). Malta has joined or will join the EU. I'm not sure and had hoped someone would know.

My question is serious but ok then... I'll try and get an answer somehow.

Yes you can do some tax free shopping, even when travellling within the EU. You just won't get anything tax free that concerns alcoholic drinks and cigarettes. Have a great time in Malta AT!

Okay so what I wrote is not entirely true. Since 1999 you do pay taxes again. But the shops at Schiphol behind customs have reduced their prices, so that will compensate the taxes you pay. In the end you pay the same price.

thanks Martin.
The information I seem to need is at http://www.schiphol.nl/tax_free.html

According to this website, EU destinatons are:
The following are EU destinations:

"Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. The Canary Islands and the British Channel Islands are classified as non-EU destinations."

But the information could be outdated (one never knows). Although Malta is a new EU member, it is not classified as a EU destination, thus I could shop tax free. I think....
oh well, I'll see when I get there and then I'll answer my rare travel question on this forum myself then!

Yes, you're right but it doesn't matter, since you pay the same price anyway, taxfree or not ;-) Unless you buy tobacco or alcoholic drinks, then you do pay more! If you do want to buy such things its probably much cheaper in Malta anyway and better to import it from there.

Thanks again Martin. I haven't a clue how prices for alcohol and tobacco are in Malta.

Hi Anne Thea!

I am pretty much sure that as Malta is not formerly a EU member, you may be able to do your "traditional" tax free at Schiphol. But .. you know? We will travel to Malta ourselves next week and will be back on August 18th. So we'll be your ultimate testcase!
Bye,
Kees

awww Kees, that's nice ! I think we should continue in the Malta forum hehehe....

Malta will be a future EU-member, starting may in 2004. Taxfree shopping should be possible until then I guess.

may i know how can i buy memorable gifts for my relatives of india.
I am indian i wish to purchaze good things at reasonable price?
is malta costly? what is the price of gold at malta?
pleaswe reply soon.

There are jewelry shop around and the price of gold may be lower than on the European continent.

For some examples see: http://merchant.di-ve.com/diveseller/page55.html

PJ