This Is The Real Reason You Have To Show Your Boarding Pass In Airport Shops

Have you ever thought about why you’re asked to show your boarding pass when you buy something in an airport? You know, when you’re stocking up on Mentos, flight stockings and impractical minis? I always thought it was in case some rogue person had managed to get through the mulitple layers of security, just so they can bag some duty-free bargains, but it turns out that isn’t the reason. I know, I was as shocked as you are.

The Independent has reported the reason is so that stores can avoid a 20% VAT on everything they sell to customers who are travelling outside the EU and on top of that, showing your boarding pass isn’t actually a legal requirement. This is all well and good if it means that we’re benefiting from this tax-dodge. Except we’re not.

Speaking to The Independent, consumer affairs expert, Paul Lewis, said: ‘They’re asking to see passengers’ boarding cards but not telling them that this is so they can make more money by not paying the VAT on what they’re selling. What of course they should be doing is passing on the savings that they make to the passengers who are travelling outside Europe.’

‘There is an assumption that duty free means cheaper. But that’s not the case,’ Guy Anker, managing editor of Money Saving Expert, told The Independent. ‘All it means is that the stores themselves are not paying the duty. And they may not be passing that on to consumers – even though they make it out to be cheaper. The important thing here is for consumers to do basic checks online to see if they really are getting value for money.’

So there are two things to take away from these findings:

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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.