The Tax Free operator who came to Russia for FIFA 2018 left the Russian business
Switzerland’s Global Blue, one of the world’s largest tax-exempt operating systems, has exited a Russian reverse venture (JV), transferring a 51% stake to a partner. About it story in the company’s quarterly report. According to the document, this happened on July 11.
On leaving Russia, Global Blue called the large-scale sanctions imposed against Russia, as well as restrictions imposed by the country itself. In addition, the company fears a dependency that could significantly reduce Global Blue’s business in Russia. The deal provides for an option to buy back the stake within the period specified in the report.
The fact that Global Blue is considering the sale of a stake in the joint venture, the company announced in the report for the financial year 2021/2022, which ended in March. The German edition notes that the “special operation” * and the restriction on the restriction of flights in Russia from a number of countries, the cessation of work in the country of international payment systems Visa and Mastercard, as well as limiting the number of luxury goods in Russia. All this happens not only for the availability of goods in Russian stores, but also for export to residents in European markets, sometimes in the report.
How wrote RBC in 2018, Russia remained one of the dangerous countries where Global Blue did not work immediately, but with a public entrepreneur – Ruben Vardanyan. The day before, on September 1, Vardanyan announced his initiative regarding Russian citizenship and moving to Artsakh (as the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is called in Armenia). In his opinion, apathy and a feeling of abandonment arose among the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, so the businessmen made such a decision and the emissions of “Armenians of the whole world” to be “together with Artsakh.”
According to SPARK, the revenue of Global Blue LLC in 2021 amounted to 161.2 million rubles, and net profit – 66.8 million rubles.
The company entered the Russian market in 2018, when, on the eve of the World Cup in Russia, the Tax Free system was launched in pilot mode. Tax Free is a system that allows foreigners to receive compensation in the amount of 18% if they bought goods with a total value of more than 10,000 rubles during the day. Thus, there is a refund of Russian VAT. At the same time, foreign tourists need to pay the cost of services of intermediaries who return the tax. VAT refund does not apply to excisable goods, including alcohol and tobacco.
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