Purchases and Payments
Tips and Bargaining
Shopping hours
Purchases and Payments
All goods and services may be purchased with New Israeli Shekel (N.I.S) as well as with foreign currencies mostly in tourists shops. Nevertheless, storeowners and service providers are not obliged to accept foreign currency and are permitted to give change in shekels even if payment was made in foreign currency.
Tourists who pay for goods and services in foreign currency are exempt, in certain cases, from VAT (Value Added Tax). In addition, some businesses in Israel are registered with the Ministry of Tourism program for refunding tourist VAT payments. These merchants are required to inform their customers of this arrangement, and to provide them with an invoice which they must present at their point of departure from Israel together with their purchase in a sealed package. The VAT, less a commission, will be refunded on the spot. Those departing from Haifa, Ashdod or Eilat will have the VAT refunded at the address written on the invoice. If the amount to be reimbursed exceeds $1,000, it will be sent after the invoice is verified with the tax authorities.
The minimum amount of purchase eligible for VAT refund is $100, including VAT. In Eilat, where VAT is not levied, the minimum purchase for VAT refund is more than $200, including VAT. The sale of jewelry whose shekel value equals $200, including VAT, will not be VAT-exempt.
Major credit cards American Express, Diners, Visa, Mastercard/Access/Eurocard are widely accepted in Israeli restaurants, stores, hotels, museums, etc.
Tips and Bargaining
In Israel it is customary to tip primarily in restaurants. where the bill does not include service, a 10-15% tip should be added to the payment. In hotels, tip the bellhop or any other service provider. Taxi drivers are generally not tipped.
Bargaining is acceptable in Israel, but only in the open-air markets. Do not hesitate to bargain as it is part of the experience and doing so you may lower the price. Storekeepers are legally required to display prices and for the most part are not open to bargaining. This is also true of restaurants and public transportation. Passengers are advised to ask cab drivers to turn on the meter, thus avoiding unnecessary haggling.
Shopping hours
Sun-Fri 0800-1900; some shops close 1300-1600 and some early on Friday. Remember that the shopping facilities are both Israeli and Arabic, and are therefore governed by two different sets of opening hours and methods of business. Jewish stores observe closing time near sunset Friday evenings before Shabbat (Saturday) and Arabic stores close Friday. It takes a while to realise that Sunday is a normal working day unlike in Western countries. For shoppers, the Jewish stores are therefore open Friday, Arab markets Saturday and both are open Sunday when Christian stores close. Shops in the hotels are often open until midnight.
