Air travellers know why shops want to see their boarding passes - and they're revolting

Air travellers are refusing to show their boarding passes at airport shops after the Independent revealed that the information is used by stores to avoid paying VAT, without passing on the discount to customers.

The revolt comes amid mounting anger at the tax ruse, which this paper exposed on Saturday.

Passengers who had assumed they were legally obliged to present boarding passes when paying for goods in airport shops expressed astonishment that they were being inconvenienced to boost profits.

Dozens of readers have come forward to say they will refuse to show their boarding cards, and travellers have already reported protests in branches of WHSmith and Boots in airports including Heathrow.

Consumer champions backed the Independent’s campaign to end the rip-off. Money Saving Expert’s Martin Lewis said: “People withholding their boarding passes will force companies to take note and eventually take action.”

Sarah Pennells, of money website SavvyWoman, added: “If airport shops aren’t going to pass on the VAT saving, we should refuse to show our boarding cards. Shops aren’t being transparent. If they are not paying VAT on purchases made by passengers leaving the EU, they should be passing those savings on.”

Caroline Russell, the Green Party’s local transport spokeswoman, added: “It is wrong that airport shops, predominantly multi-million pound operations, continue to reclaim VAT without reducing prices for customers.”

Airport retailers demand boarding cards to avoid paying 20 per cent VAT on everything they sell to passengers who are travelling outside the EU, as there is no purchase tax due on such goods. Research by the Independent suggests most don’t pass savings on. There is no suggestion any chain is breaking the law.

Regular travellers expressed anger on social media, with some claiming shop staff had told them, inaccurately, that they could not make a purchase without showing their boarding cards. “That’s the last time I show an airport shop my boarding card on principle,” said one tweeter.

Backing the protest, Mr Lewis conceded that retailers have extra costs in airports but says they should hand back some of the reclaimed VAT to shoppers. “Why not share the tax?” he suggested.

Retailers said dual-pricing systems would be a “practical impossibility”.

More: The airport VAT scam: Retailers told to come clean after being accused of pocketing millions from discounts on duty-free sales