BRITISH holidaymakers flying out to destinations including Turkey are becoming the unwitting victims of a popular but silent VAT rip-offs.

The Independent has revealed that some of Britain’s top retailers are facing calls to be more honest with airport customers as they pocket millions of pounds in VAT discounts on duty free items without passing on the savings.

Many stores in airports across the UK now demand that passengers present their boarding cards at checkouts before paying for any goods.

But that is not a legal requirement, and instead the information is being used by stores to avoid paying 20 per cent VAT on everything they sell to customers who are travelling outside the European Union.

Research by The Independent suggests the majority of these stores are passing little if any of the savings to customers, and instead are using the tax rebate to boost the profits of their airport franchises.

Consumer rights experts have accused shops of failing to be clear about the practice, and called for customers to be much more wary about so-called duty free purchases.

I think the problem here is that the retailers are not being straight with the public,” said the consumer affairs expert, Paul Lewis.

“They are asking to see passengers’ boarding cards but not telling them that this is so they can make more money by not paying the VAT on what they’re selling.

“What of course they should be doing is passing on the savings that they make to the passengers who are travelling outside Europe,” said the BBC radio presenter of Money Box Live.

It is a frustrating practice now familiar to millions of holidaymakers and business travellers, but even some personal finance experts admitted they were surprised to learn of why boarding passes are requested at airport store check-outs.

Guy Anker, managing editor of the website Money Saving Expert, said: “I have to say even I didn’t know that the reason that airport stores asked for boarding cards was so that they could avoid paying VAT.

“There is an assumption that duty free means cheaper. But that is not the case. All it means is that the stores themselves are not paying the duty.”

As news broke – and posted on Voices facebook page – shops at airports were facing a consumer revolt.

Customers of prominent stores including WH Smith, Boots and Dixons have pledged on social media not to show their boarding passes at airports and urged their followers to do the same.

They have also been demanding answers from the stores about whether they are passing on to customers the VAT savings they make at airports.

There is growing concern that information on boarding cards is being used to claim VAT relief on sales to travellers leaving the EU.

The revolt comes after Treasury minister David Gauke said some retailers were not passing on savings to customers.

Speaking to the Independent, he said: “The VAT relief at airports is intended to reduce prices for travellers, not as a windfall gain for shops.

“While many retailers do pass this saving on to customers, it is disappointing that some are choosing not to. We urge all airside retailers to use this relief for the benefit of their customers.”

The shadow culture secretary, Chris Bryant, was among those on Twitter saying he would refuse to show his boarding pass at airport stores.

At Heathrow on Wednesday, passenger Owen Evans, 32, blamed the government for not preventing retailers from taking advantage of the loophole.

“It should be made illegal,” he said. “If the shops are playing the system, it’s the government’s fault for allowing them to do that. Anyone would do that if it’s legal. Obviously you want to do the best for your business. But obviously it’s not providing the best service for your customers.”

A spokeswoman for Boots said customers were asked to show boarding cards at airports. She said: “It is not compulsory to ask for [boarding cards] so if someone doesn’t want to show it we won’t force it.”

In a statement the company said information on boarding passes was used to ensure accurate accounting. It said: “Our airport store teams are asked to request and scan boarding cards to ensure the accuracy of our accounting records, which includes the accurate reporting of VAT.

“We request our customers’ boarding cards so that our VAT accounting is in line with the HMRC’s requirements.

A former WH Smith employee at Manchester airport, who did not wish to be named, told the Guardian that store staff were told to check boarding passes as part of an unexplained “survey”.

WHSmith, Boots and Dixons say they have started “reminding” their staff that they cannot force customers to show their airport boarding passes in a seeming attempt to ease pressure on themselves amid outrage that VAT savings are not being passed on to customers.

Labour MP Chris Bryant and Dragon’s Den presenter Duncan Bannatyne are among the thousands of airport passengers vowing to refuse to hand over the documents in an effort to prevent retailers making millions of pounds.