MILAN, Feb 17 (Class Editori) - The digital invoices provided in the framework of Otello 2.0 in Lombardy have amounted to more than 1.6 million. It is the system developed to digitalize the process to obtain a “customs visa”, which has to be affixed on the invoice in order to have the right to immediate relief or later VAT refund on the goods bought in Italy by extra-UE individuals. Data are giving an insight of a market in which Chinese tourists are taking the lion’s part, by monopolizing almost one third of the value.
According to the data of the Customs and Monopolies Agency that classxhsilkroad.it can disclose, the total value of goods passed through the crossing points in Lombardy by more than 666 thousands travelers has exceeded €1.3 billion. Three fourths of the invoices have passed through Malpensa crossing point. At the airport, the prevailing nationality is the Chinese one, followed by Russian, Americans and citizens of the UAE. Chinese are ranking first also in Linate - followed by the Japanese – and in Chiasso crossing point.
Taking these data into account, estimating that Lombardy alone can count on 20% of all sales subjected to TaxFree in Italy and adding to these data all the sales validated in all the other crossing points (Fiumicino is ranking first), or passed through other EU areas or issued for fulfilled but not validated sales, insiders are supposing that the turnover of the sector can account for €6.5 billion.
Tax free shopping is exempting international tourists from VAT payment on purchased goods. On a global scale, the market is worth about $60 million. 80% of the expenditure has been focused on Europe; Italy together with France is the country where it is mostly common.
Concerning Chinese people, they are representing about 40% of costumers, with a growing trend. The sector is being controlled by established realities such as Global Blue, which has recently been subject to a merger operation of $2.6 billion with Far Point, the SPAC of the hedge fund Third Point guided by Thomas Farley, the former president of the New York Stock Exchange. Among the investors there is also Ant Financial-the financial and digital payments arm of Alibaba- which will contribute up to $350 million together with other partners. Far Poit, instead, will contribute up to $650 million. The entire process should occur within the second quarter of 2020.
Moreover, beside Global Blue, new more streamlined initiatives such as the start-ups Stamp and Vatlynx are being developed, in order to simplify the procedures by making them cheaper. Currently, the commissions of financial intermediaries may rank between 30% and 50% of the VAT itself which, in Italy, is accounting for 22% of the final price. (all rights reserved)
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