For the first time, as from July 1 2006, foreign tourists that leave the country through air or sea may claim a Mexican value-added tax refund for the acquisition of merchandise to be exported, provided several conditions are met.

The Mexican tax authorities published in July 2006 regulations giving rules for Mexican entities willing to obtain a concession to manage this process, which include, among others, the requirement that the Mexican entity must audit its financial statements for tax purposes by a Mexican certified public accountant.

Foreign tourists that wish to obtain the VAT refund must submit their request before one of the authorized concessionaries, including the following documentation:

• the VAT refund format issued by the concessionary;
• a hard copy of the e-invoice issued for the acquisition of the merchandise;
• an original passport; and
• an inbound and outbound air or maritime ticket.

In addition, the Mexican customs authority will verify that the merchandise for which the VAT refund is requested is actually leaving the country.

The sellers of the merchandise for which a refund will be requested, must include the following special information (in addition to all the regular information) in the e-invoice:

• name of the foreign tourist;
• country of origin;
• passport number;
• the following special tax ID number – XEXX010101000; and
• the type and number of electronic media for payment (credit or debit card for example).

Roberto del Toro (roberto.del.toro@mx.pwc.com), Mexico City and David Cuellar (david.cuellar@mx.pwc.com or david.z.cuellar@uk.pwc.com), London