Checklist for activating Real Tax Free in your store in Spain
checklist-for-activating-real-tax-free-in-your-store-in-spain
Checklist for activating Real Tax Free in your store in Spain
With STAMP Real Tax Free, eligible travellers can pay the taxable amount at checkout. STAMP places a pre-authorisation on their card for the amount equivalent to VAT. The store issues the VAT-inclusive invoice and the electronic refund document (DER), which the traveller must have validated by customs.
This guide is for retailers in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. For transactions involving the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, we need to wait for specific documentation before confirming the applicable STAMP process.
Before you start
1. Prepare access and store procedures
Confirm with STAMP how to access the platform and who will be responsible for it in your store. Make sure your team knows how to start a transaction, help a customer register and request support if a problem arises.
If you want to integrate STAMP with your point-of-sale system, check compatibility, configuration and the necessary testing with STAMP and your provider before using it.
2. Review how to issue the invoice and DER
In Spain, the retailer must issue an invoice and a DER, the electronic refund document. These are separate documents. Confirm with STAMP and your tax adviser how they are issued in your store, who checks the information and how errors are corrected.
3. Prepare your team to register travellers
Show your team how to present the STAMP QR code and help customers who have difficulty registering. STAMP’s system and registration process include eligibility checks.
The retailer must verify the traveller’s identity and residence before issuing the DER. Confirm with STAMP how this check is covered by your store’s process.
During the sale
1. Invite the customer to register
Show the QR code so the customer can start registering on their phone. If they cannot complete it, help them using the process agreed with STAMP.
2. Check the transaction details
Before completing the sale, check the customer’s details, the products and the amounts. Issue the invoice and DER according to your store’s agreed process, and give the traveller the documents they need.
With Real Tax Free, the customer pays the taxable amount at checkout. STAMP places a pre-authorisation on their card for the VAT-equivalent amount as security and manages the payment commitment linked to the DER.
3. Explain customs validation
For purchases covered by this guide, remind the customer to take the goods with them and obtain customs validation of the DER when leaving the European Union.
For transactions involving the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, wait for the specific documentation and consult STAMP before explaining the procedure to the customer.
If something goes wrong
The customer cannot register. Help them complete the process. If the problem continues, contact the person responsible in your store or STAMP.
There is an error on the invoice or DER. Stop the transaction and consult STAMP and your tax adviser before cancelling, correcting or reissuing the documentation.
The card cannot be used to complete the transaction. First check the transaction’s status. If your store offers a traditional Tax Free process, you can offer it as an alternative: the customer pays VAT at purchase and requests a refund after validation, according to the applicable procedure.
The transaction remains pending or another problem occurs. Before attempting the payment again or starting a new transaction, check its status with STAMP to avoid duplicates.
What STAMP guarantees the retailer
For every Real Tax Free transaction, STAMP guarantees the retailer payment of the VAT-equivalent amount, even if the traveller does not complete customs validation. STAMP manages the transaction and collection risk; the store remains responsible for issuing the invoice, and the traveller remains responsible for completing the required validation.
