Dubai has gone from tax-free to tax refund.
My understanding was, for tourists at least, that you paid no tax on goods and services. This is no longer the case, except that if you are just visiting the United Arab Emirates and leave the country within 90 days, then you can claim a refund.
Dubai put a value-added-tax (VAT), of five percent, on most purchases, which applies to residents and tourists alike (for comparison, in Egypt and Jordan it is around 15%). For instance, you can no longer buy electronics tax-free at point-of-sale.
The story is that I bought a high-specification laptop, with an English and Arabic keyboard (naturally), from Virgin Megastore. They added my passport number to the Planet Tax Free system and informed me that the refund would be automatic when I pass through the electronic gate at the airport, but this did not happen.
I learned later that I was suppose to get the refund processed before check-in, at the airport, and that I might need to show the purchased item in an unused state. That last bit would of been a inconvenience for me as I wanted to test the laptop in the hotel before taking the device out of the country. Never mind.
Could be that the system will change again, i.e. it will be automatic in future. I hope so. That would make Dubai an attractive shopping destination again.
In conclusion, I missed out on a tax refund of around $70. Oh well, at least I can continue to write using Arabic script.
Arabian Misadventures 