Uniqlo Japan offers tax-free service
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Uniqlo Japan will offer tax free shopping for overseas visitors to Japan at 31 large stores across the country.
The service debited last week and allows overseas shoppers to avoid Japan’s eight per cent consumption tax.
Uniqlo previously offered tax free shopping to overseas tourists at outlets within Haneda and Chubu international airports. But following a Japanese Government revision of the consumption tax exemption system for inbound tourists last October, Uniqlo launched tax free shopping on a trial basis at the Uniqlo Ginza flagship store and Shinjuku East Exit Store in December – including dedicated tax free check out points and increased multilingual staff.
Uniqlo describes the response as “overwhelmingly positive” encouraging it to expand the service to 31 additional stores popular with tourists. More stores will follow.
Government data shows the number of inbound tourists into Japan reached a record high in 2014.
To use the service customers require a non-Japanese passport (a copy or other forms of ID are unacceptable). Foreign residents of Japan are ineligible. Customers must present the purchased items and receipt to be eligible.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which specific stores offered tax-free shopping before the recent expansion?
Which specific stores offered tax-free shopping before the recent expansion?
Uniqlo previously offered tax-free shopping to overseas tourists at outlets located within Haneda and Chubu international airports. Also, trials were conducted at the Uniqlo Ginza flagship store and the Shinjuku East Exit Store.
Q.What is the key requirement for customers to be eligible for the tax-free service?
What is the key requirement for customers to be eligible for the tax-free service?
To use the service, customers must present a non-Japanese passport, as copies or other forms of identification are not accepted. They also need to show the purchased items and the corresponding receipt.
Q.Why did Uniqlo decide to expand its tax-free service to more stores across Japan?
Why did Uniqlo decide to expand its tax-free service to more stores across Japan?
The decision to expand was based on an 'overwhelmingly positive' response during the trial period. This, coupled with record high inbound tourist numbers in 2014, encouraged the company to extend the service.
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