Azerbaijan refunds over 108 million manats in VAT, tourist refunds fall 11%

In the January‑June period, Azerbaijan’s “Tax Free” scheme returned 4.36 million manats of value‑added tax to foreign visitors, a decline of 10.8% compared with the same period a year earlier. Tourist arrivals dropped 15.8% to 564,200, total tourist spending fell 22.9% to 944 million manats, and the average expenditure per visitor decreased 8.4% to 1,673.5 manats.

During the same half‑year, the state‑run “VAT refund” programme reimbursed more than 104.26 million manats to domestic consumers for purchases in retail, cultural, medical and hotel services, while the portion directed to foreign tourists through the Tax Free system accounted for about 4.36 million manats.