Contacts

On December 18, the Global Blue company officially begins its work on the territory of Kazakhstan to provide Tax Free services for foreign citizens.

The pilot project, with the support of JSC " NC "Kazakh Tourism", is being launched on the basis of the first local luxury mall Esentai Mall in Almaty. Shopping under the Tax Free system is part of the state strategy for positioning Kazakhstan as the leading shopping destination in the Central Asia, which attracts active international tourists. At the moment, there is an increase in foreign tourists in Kazakhstan and today the country receives about 6.5 million international travelers a year. The state plans to increase this figure to 9 million by 2025.

The Global Blue company was attracted by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan to launch the Tax Free system in the largest city of the country — Almaty. Thus, Almaty has become the starting point of this service in the country. Also, the government of Kazakhstan, represented by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and JSC NC Kazakh Tourism, is working on creating an expanded offer for tourists to cover all possible interests, including ethno, eco, event, and entertainment and shopping tourism, each of which is located in the immediate vicinity of Almaty.

"The introduction of the Tax Free system for the first time in the Central Asia is the key to attracting international tourists and an invitation to discover Almaty and new opportunities for luxury shopping. Esentai Mall is confident that the 40-year-old expertise and innovations of Global Blue will be a great support in strengthening our trading offers” " commented Olga Komissar, Marketing Director of Esentai Mall.

"The launch of the tax refund system is one of the systematic measures within the framework of the state program for the development of the tourism industry. This measure will give an influx of tourists from the markets of China and Arab countries. In the future, we plan to scale the project to other major cities of Kazakhstan, " said Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, Chairman of the Management Board of JSC NC Kazakh Tourism. 

"Global Blue is pleased to launch the Tax Free system in Kazakhstan. With its choice of luxury boutiques, Esentai Mall is the most organic place to implement a pilot project and we are sure that this will attract even more active shopping tourists to the country. We are proud to cooperate with Esentai Mall and the Government of Kazakhstan in the development of this project,” added Jorge Casal, Senior Vice President for New Markets Development and Public Relations at Global Blue. 

How will shopping using the Tax Free system work in Kazakhstan?

All tourists who have passports issued in foreign countries outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and purchase goods worth more than 50,500 tenge (approximately $130 in dollars), including clothing, watches and jewelry, technology and souvenirs, have the right to request a VAT refund for these items. Food and excisable goods are not such. After a month after filling out a special form, the tourist has three full months left to see this form in the customs control zone at the Almaty International Airport and send it back to Global Blue to receive a refund to a credit or debit card, or an electronic wallet.

It is expected that the introduction of the Tax Free system will help attract a large number of international tourists, in particular from China and the Middle East, and the Global Blue technology will increase cross-country traffic and make it easier to get a refund. Esentai Mall is the first luxury mall in Central Asia with an exclusive range of brands and products. Trading companies affiliated with Esentai Mall will instantly feel the effect of implementing the Global Blue expertise, receiving additional support in increasing traffic and profit. The innovative online issue solution Global Blue will help make shopping with the use of Free Cards easier, faster and more convenient, both for boutique employees and for customers. Through special travel services created by Global Blue, such as the Shop Tax Free application, all visitors will have access to information about the shopping center itself and to tracking their returns. In order to simplify shopping for tourists from China, a refund can be made to Union Pay cards or an Alipay wallet.