Tender for a new VAT refund company

Global Blue handled this post for the past 11 years

The Tender Department of the Central Inspection Bureau has announced a tender to assign the handling of tourist VAT refunds to a new company.

Global Blue has been handling this operation, for the last eleven years. The contract is renewable every three years. In the last tender, Global Blue had faced no competition, and was awarded the contract by default.

The tax refund company is reimbursed with a defined percentage on the value of transactions it handles at the airport and other borders.

The tender will be held on March 3, 2014. Companies interested in participating should present their offers to the Directorate, before March 2, with a guarantee payment of around $267,000. The Directorate will study each file, reviewing applicants' experiences in different foreign countries to assess it.

For the present, only one competitor to Global Blue has shown interest. There are around five companies, worldwide, that specialize in this kind of work.