The traveler must present the sales slip provided by the store as well as the goods that were purchased to the customs office at the customs office at the final point of exit from the European Union within a maximum period of three months following the date of purchase.
PABLO
The Pablo Procedure
Starting January 1, 2014, stores must issue PABLO sales slips (program for clearing slips by optical barcode reading). These computer slips, which have a barcode and the PABLO logo, must be scanned before departure.
Thanks to this electronic procedure which is now offered by the customs services, travelers are no longer obliged to go to the customs counter to have his or her PABLO slips validated before departure. They can now go to one of the PABLO terminals, which are self-service, with instructions in English on how to have his or her slip scanned and obtain the electronic signature for the slips to be processed.
These Kiosks make it possible for travelers to initiate the VAT refund process more quickly. Depending on the option that was chosen at the time of purchase, the traveler may request a refund of his or her VAT before departure.
I am leaving France, where can I find the PABLO terminals?
These terminals are available at the airports of Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, Orly, Lyon St-Exupéry, Marseille-Provence, Nice-Côte d’Azur, Geneva-Cointrin, the port of Marseille and the customs offices in Saint-Julien en Bardonnex, Pontarlier et Vallard (Swiss border). Travelers can choose to have the information on the terminal screens in English.
At Paris-Orly?
At the South terminal, departure level, gate G.
At Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle?
Terminal 1 : CDGVAL level, hall 6.
Terminal 2 A: near arrivals, exit gate 5.
Terminal 2 C: near arrivals, exit 12.
Terminal 2 D: near arrivals, exit 6.
Terminal 2 E: Departures level, exit door 4.
Terminal 2 F: Arrivals level.
Terminal 3: Departures level.
Generally speaking, the terminals will be located near the customs counters.
How to carry out the tax refund procedures with the PABLO slips before departure?
- Go to the PABLO terminal. If you are leaving from an airport, you must go to the PABLO terminal before you check-in your bags, with your passport, your plane ticket, the PABLO slip and the items that are concerned in hand;
- Place the barcode of your PABLO sales slip in front of the optical reader of the terminal in order for it to be read and validated;
- The electronic message that appears on the terminal screen that reads “OK slip confirmed” is equivalent to a customs stamp;
- An electronic confirmation will be sent to the merchant as soon as receipt of the slip has been stamped by PABLO, the merchant can then immediately initiate the reimbursement procedure.