System and method for recovering refundable taxes

An automated method of refunding tax, e.g. VAT or sales tax, made using an electronic payment card, e.g. debit or credit card, comprises determining from transaction records whether a transaction is eligible for a refund e.g. by determining whether the transaction is within predetermined limits e.g. maximum and minimum values, is a cross-border transaction, relates to a product category eligible for refund and the merchant is registered is a relevant tax refund scheme e.g. VAT Retail Export Scheme. This may be done using a merchant ID, Bank Identification Number (BIN) and associated country and user ID from a stakeholder database with which a user pre-registers, providing e.g. card details, passport information and flight information. The purchases for which refunds are available are displayed to a user 2, who selects which refunds to apply for (Figure 5), the total value being automatically calculated and an administration fee may be deducted and a refund file being sent to an authorising agent 12 e.g. HMRC which is used to auto-fill and print any forms necessary. The forms may be stamped at customs when the user exits the country and returned to the agent. Thus administrative burden of the user 2 and merchant 4 is reduced.