The FINANCIAL — The dilemma is this, which duty-free shop at which airport will offer you the lowest price for the product you need. Today the globe has become smaller as more and more people travel by air. Prices vary across countries and you have to be informed on what to buy and where to buy it to get the best value.
A Chanel No5 100ml perfume bottle will cost you USD 90 at UK airports, USD 89 at Istanbul Airport and USD 142 at Thai airports. Two weeks ago Martini Bianco was sold for EUR 5 at Vienna Airport while in Tbilisi it costs EUR 8 .
If you are a Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky fan we would advise you to visit Beijing Airport. There a bottle of Chivas Regal 1ltr 12 yr old Scotch Whisky would cost you only USD 22. If you have a lot of money, than you can buy it at MOSCOW Airport where the same whisky of the same size will cost you USD 76.
Chivas Regal costs USD 51 at Danish airports, Istanbul Airport – USD 38, Australian airports – USD 42, Thai airports – USD 34, Los Angeles Airport – USD 33.
A 200 pack of Marlboro cigarettes can be bought for USD 25 at Istanbul Airport, USD 39 at Danish airports, USD 13 at Bahrain Airport, USD 27 at Los Angeles Airport, USD 37 at Berlin Airport, USD 14 at Hong Kong. The lowest price you can buy this product for is USD 13 at Beijing Airport. The highest – USD 51 at Vienna Airport.
Smirnoff Red 1.125ltr Vodka will cost you USD 21 at Australian airports while Smirnoff Red 1ltrl Vodka will cost you USD 23 at Danish airports.
Duty-free shops were opened in February of 2007 at Tbilisi International Airport. These shops belong to Turkey’s largest duty free operator ATÜ registered in Georgia.
According to the Marketing Department of ATU Duty Free Georgia, Georgian prices for duty-free products are nearly the same in Tbilisi International and Istanbul airports. The products sold at the Tbilisi Airport duty free shops are supplied from Germany.
ATÜ is jointly owned by Unifree-German partnership (Gebr.Heinemann) and TAV Airports Holding, an airport operating company, which holds the concessions for the Tbilisi airport in Georgia and the Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir airports in Turkey. ATÜ operates a total of 41 different stores in the arrival and departure terminals. Duty free at the Istanbul Airport is the 17th biggest duty-free shop in the world, which has 774 staff members.
ATÜ is operating three separate duty-free stores in the terminal building of the Tbilisi International Airport. Shops are: Main shop, Vintage Shop and Accessory Shop
The stores are located in the Departures Terminal of the airport, the main store serving a general concept of main duty-free products such as perfume, cosmetics, liquor, cigarettes, chocolates, Turkish delight as well as other products, while the other store serves as a specialist for wine offering a great variety of the famous Teliani brand.
The products are allowed only for those who are leaving the country. This rule is a result of tax reductions.
“Duty Free” shopping means that no duty on items will be paid to the government (HM Revenue & Customs) and as such, items which are duty free must be exported. In Georgia duty-free shops don’t pay excise tax and VAT (value added tax).This means that products that you buy at a duty free shop is on average 10-15% lower than the original price. The savings for tax free prices do not apply to products for which no high street price comparison is displayed.
You’ll have to take into consideration certain rules while buying liquids at Tbilisi Airport Duty Free. You won’t be able to take delicious Georgian wine or any other bottled liquids with you unless packed in a special transparent plastic bag. The limit for one bag is 1,5 litres. But the good news is that you can take as many bags as you can carry.
The world’s first duty-free shop was established at Shannon Airport by Dr Brendan O’Regan in Ireland in 1950 and is in service to this date. It was designed to provide a service for Trans-Atlantic airline passengers typically travelling between Europe and North America whose flights stopped for refuelling on both outbound and inbound legs of their journeys. It was an immediate success.
Two American entrepreneurs, Robert Miller and Charles Feeney gave birth to the first official duty-free shopping in 1960.
The first DFS shops appeared in Hong Kong. Soon they spread to Europe and other places around the globe. Securing the exclusive concession for duty-free sales in Hawaii in the early 1960s created a business breakthrough for DFS, and the company was positioned to focus on emerging Japanese travellers. DFS continued to innovate, expanding into off-airport duty-free stores and large downtown Galleria stores and grew to become the world’s largest travel retailer in 1996.
The security rules vary for duty-free products across countries. Shops selling large bottles of liquids beyond security checkpoints at EU airports must put the products into special, sealed bags that are recognized throughout Europe.
On July 1, 1999 changes to the duty-free and tax-free laws that apply to European Union (EU) countries came into effect.
If you are flying outside the EU you are entitled to your full allowance of goods at tax and duty free prices.
If you are flying within the European Union you are entitled to tax free prices on fragrances, cosmetics and skincare; photographic and electrical goods; fashion and accessories; gifts, jewellery and souvenirs. There are no longer any allowance restrictions on these tax-free items.
Passengers who have purchased duty-free goods who are travelling to a final destination outside the tax territory of the EU may be requested to pay tax on their purchases on arrival at their destination. Passengers who buy liquids at duty-free shops outside the EU and make European stopovers before their final destinations do not comply with those rules.
Air passengers with transit connections in the European Union have to pour away thousands of litres of alcohol and perfume everyday because of differing security procedures for duty-free goods.
The case is often that liquors purchased at airports that are being connected through are confiscated or put in your checked luggage.
Written By Levan Lomtadze
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