VAT refund at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport

Procedure

In Spain, the entire VAT refund process for travellers is digital, through using he DIVA system:

• When shopping, ask the vendor for the electronic tax free form (called the “electronic reimbursement document”).
• When leaving Spain, before checking your baggage, you must electronically validate the electronic reimbursement documents for the purchases. To do so, go to the DIVA screens in the airport check-in areas.
• Always remember to carry:
  1. Passport.
  2. The receipts and the DIVA form.
  3. The goods for which you are requesting the refund. Without goods, there is no stamp.
  4. Boarding card or ticket.

Using the DIVA screens

1. Select the language.
2. Scan the barcode on the form with the optical reader.
3. The system can give two results:
   • Your DIVA tax free form has been stamped. The processing is finished.
   • Your DIVA tax free form cannot be validated. In this case, you must go to the Civil Guard’s receipt stamping office next to the screens.

No physical document is issued with the validation result. You can check the status of the process using the CSV (secure verification code) number on the form by accessing: https://www.agenciatributaria.gob.es/AEAT.sede/tramitacion/ZZ05.shtml

Once the validation has been confirmed on the screen or at the office, you can obtain the refund directly at the Tax Free offices in the boarding areas.

Requirements for requesting a VAT refund

• Habitual residence outside of the European Union (or in the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla).
• Your purchases must be personal; not for commercial purposes.
• You are required to leave the European Union within the three months following your purchases.

If you cannot validate the tax-free DIVA form on the screens, you must show the documentation and goods to the officers at the Civil Guard’s receipt stamping office. The offices, located next to the DIVA screens, are open from 07:00 to 22:00. At other times, you must go to the customs area in Hall 1 (Terminal T1) or Hall 11 (Terminal T4).

T1 office hours: 07:00 to 22:00

T4 office hours: 07:00 to 22:00

T4 Satellite office hours: 24 hours