Tender for tax refund firm

Three-year concession renewable once

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) will hold a tender to hire a private firm for the management of the tax refund mechanism for tourists. The tenders will be opened on May 27.

The winning bidder will be awarded a concession to handle operations involving Value-Added Tax (VAT) refunds for non-residents for three years. Tourists departing from Lebanon are entitled to a refund of the 10 percent VAT on goods purchased during their stay.

Tax refund operations are currently handled by international firm Global Blue, previously Global Refund. “The tender aims to award these services to a new firm after the contract with Global Blue expired,” said an official at the MoF.

Global Blue won a concession to handle VAT refund activities in 2002. “The firm’s five-year contract timed out in 2007 and has been temporarily renewed ever since,” the official said. The contract that will be signed with the winning bidder is for three years, renewable once.

The value of VAT refunds to non-residents totals $13 million per year, according to the MoF’s estimates.