Tax-Free Processes

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This topic describes how a tax-free sale is completed at the POS in Europe. The POS connects to Planet after the transaction is paid to issue and finalize the Tax Free voucher.

To monitor the requests sent to Planet and the responses received, open the log entries from Planet Tax Setup > Action > Processing > Get Log Entries.

The process consists of the following steps.

Send a Tax-Free Request

After the shopper details are registered and payment is completed, the POS sends a tax-free request to Planet to initiate the Tax Free process. In non-silent stores, the Planet Shopper page opens automatically to display tax refund details for verification.

Set Tax-Free

There are two ways to send the tax-free request to Planet.

Manual request from the transaction list

After the sale is completed, the cashier sends the tax-free request from the transaction list. Use a POS button assigned to the SET_TAXFREE command to trigger the request.
Automatic request during payment

When payment is completed, the tax-free request is sent automatically if either of the following is true:
- The card BIN is recognized by Planet as eligible for Tax Free.
- The shopper registered on the transaction is eligible based on country.

For BIN-based eligibility, the Bin Eligibility option must be enabled on the Europe Setup page.

When Confirm Eligibility is enabled, the cashier is prompted to confirm before the tax-free request is sent. When it is disabled, the request is sent automatically for eligible shoppers without confirmation.

Verify Tax-Free Information on the Planet Shopper Page

In silent mode, the Tax Free process runs without prompting the shopper for input.

In a non-silent store, the Planet Shopper page is displayed, allowing verification of purchase, shopper, and refund details, as well as the summary and signature, to confirm Tax Free eligibility.

Purchase information
Shopper information
The required shopper information is automatically entered (or scan the travel document).
Refund information
Select the refund type for the shopper:
- Digital Wallet
- Credit Card (use a terminal for tokenization or enter card details manually)
- Cash
- Print the form and choose later
Summary and Signature

After the refund type is confirmed, verify the summary and capture the shopper's signature.

After verification, return to the POS. If the system does not automatically redirect back to the POS, close the Planet window manually to finalize the Tax Free form.

Tax-Free Refund Reply

Once the tax-free information is confirmed, Planet sends a refund reply to the POS.

As part of this step, two receipts are printed:

A normal receipt
A tax-free receipt (txt format)

The tax-free receipt includes retailer details and declaration, customer details and declaration, refund amount, tax-free form or voucher number, and a signature section for official use at export. When the reply is received, the POS saves the refund details, making them available for actions such as reprinting, voiding, or retrieving the Tax Free voucher status. The Tax Free process is completed and the POS is ready for a new sale.

Commit Tax-Free

To complete the Tax Free process, the POS sends a commit request to Planet. After the commit is completed, the Tax Free voucher is finalized and officially registered with Planet. The transaction is locked and can no longer be changed, which ensures that the tax-free data remains consistent between the POS and Planet.

Get Tax-Free Status

You can retrieve the Tax Free status for a previously sent request. On the POS, open the transaction list, select the relevant transaction, and press the button assigned to the GET_TAXFREE_STATUS command. A window displays the voucher information, status information, and detailed status flags.

Reprint Tax-Free Voucher

To reprint a Tax Free voucher, open the transaction list on the POS, select the relevant transaction, and press the button assigned to the REPRINT_TAXFREE command.

The maximum number of times a voucher may be reprinted is controlled by the Max Voucher Print Count setting on the Europe Setup page.

Void Tax-Free

To void a Tax Free voucher, open the transaction list on the POS, select the relevant transaction, and press the button assigned to the VOID_TAXFREE command. Whether voiding is allowed depends on the current voucher status returned by Planet.