Tax-Free ‘commission’ on items?

Hello everyone,

Currently in Fukuoka, and while shopping in a luxury brand in a department store, I was told that there is an 'after tax-free commission' (roughly 1%) for the item I was interested in. Now, I've been to Japan countless times over the years, and I've never heard of an explicit 'commission' add-on after the tax discount. Is this a common or newly established thing? Just wanted to confirm this before I decide of finally buying the item from the store.

Thank you all! Appreciate any help on this.

Hi,
I personally never heard about such tax either.
What are you trying to buy exactly? In which shop? That would make things easier to check.

Thierry from Easy Life Japan
Visit easylifejapan.com for more information

Thank you for this response, Easy Life. Was interested in a pair of Hermès shoes for my wife. The Hermès store itself was located inside the Hankyu Department store in Hakata Station City.

Hi Elliot,
I have checked several sources and ask people I know who work in the field and nobody knows about such a commission. This might be specific to the store. Did they give you any reason why they apply this commission?

Thierry from Easy Life Japan
Visit easylifejapan.com for more information

The department store itself runs its “tax free” handling for its customers – seeing that that boutique is INSIDE a department store, they might want to operate its tax free processing on its own, for which they might levy a fee/commission (seeing how expensive their items might be).
It must be like other tax free operator like Global Blue, who charges a certain fee/commission for processing it for you.
But you might want to just ask them what that is. Check if they operate like “duty free” shop (like the one at the airport) – they might make a distinction between duty free (import duty) and tax free (consumption taxes).

Think most departmental stores outsource that to Global Blue eg

Daimaru http://www.daimaru.co.jp.e.md.hp.transer.com/tokyo/service/gaikoku.htm...
※At our store, we withhold 1.1% of all exempted tax as a tax-exemption fee, whereas customers will be refunded the remaining 6.9%. Thank you for your understanding in advance.

Takashimaya https://www.takashimaya.co.jp/osaka/store_information/tax.html
※We will apply a 1.1% handling charge based on the price of the product subject to the tax exemption

I have noticed the global blue when I went shopping in Osaka, before you decide to make a purchase, asked them if they deduct tax free in their own shop.

Similarly at Hakata Hankyu Department Store about that 1 1% handling fee:-

"We charge a Service Fee of 1.1% of the pre-tax price of the taxed item that you are making a claim for.
Thank you for your understanding"
https://www.hankyu-dept.co.jp/hakata/fl/english/service.html

Hello everyone! Thank you for all your responses. It was indeed Global Blue that handled the tax free. We then got the item we were looking for. Thanks for shedding light on this unfamiliar subject!