British retailers welcome planned return of VAT-free shopping for tourists

Shoppers at Heathrow airport. The scheme will enable tourists to get a refund on VAT on goods bought at airports and exported in their baggage. Photograph: Kumar Sriskandan/Alamy

Retailers and the hospitality industry have welcomed the planned return of VAT-free shopping for international tourists, saying it would help to boost sales.

The government said it would consult on introducing a new tax-free shopping scheme for Great Britain and would modernise the one in place in Northern Ireland.