Govt cracks down on airport TRS rebates for Aust travellers

[DerekG]

I would simply post the dress back. Mark on the label "used dress" & post it to your mum & dad's place.

Value - well it it made to fit & it is used. Think about what it would bring at auction - probably no more than $200.

 

[Cynicor]

That's correct. It's not logical. But in this case both are taxed- it's not going to be owned overseas for 12 months.
Duty free clothes count to your limit bought overseas or in AU

It's not really logical that you could buy the same wedding dress overseas and bring it in free of tax, but if you buy it in Australia, take it out and then back in again, you can't. I think clothing is clothing, no matter where you bought it.

 

[marki]

Given you're allowed to bring in up to $900 worth of new items without paying duty (GST) on it, I don't see a problem with it.

Where it becomes a grey area is if you purchase say $2000 worth of clothing and claim back the GST as you depart. You then bring the clothing back in. What's the value of worn clothing? Certainly not $2000. A little easier with items that don't depreciate so quickly, but still plenty of grey. Again a user laptop/phone that cost say $1200. Bring it back in without the packaging and use. Certainly no longer worth $1200.

You can be wearing those clothes coming back and the intrinsic worth decreases >50% after the first wash anyway. Plus the price tags are gone.

 

[marki]

Pretty much, they do usually remind you (if the item is over $900) that you have to declare the items if you bring them back in.

If you object to TRS then do you also object to airport duty free? Agree TRS is named poorly but it is the same thing.

The issue isn't people abusing theTRS scheme, it is people not declaring things on the way back into the country and as someone else pointed out. if you buy a shiny MacBook or camera overseas then you also need to declare that on the way back in (which I bet most people do not)

Unless that's your work computer. If it is in original packaging and with price tag attached then ok you need to declare it. I have done this once myself a shiny new laptop via TRS and received my GST back. However as I was leaving the agent said to hey aren't you coming back soon? Well yes soon back in Australia. But I was also leaving to another country very soon shortly after arrival back into Australia. ( in-fact multiple short durations in out of country). When do you do the final declaration if all this is work related and your fast tracking through immigration?

 

[marki]

The easiest way to fix this is for anyone using TRS to have to answer a supplementary question at immigration:

“Are you bringing any goods into Australia which have been TRS GST refunded” Nic the last 12 months”

Customs should have a list of people who have made TRS refunds and these passengers should have a flag next to their passport numbers. So they only need to ask those

If no then the immigration/customs officer makes a judgement as to whether it’s a red or green.

A lot of stuff I buy is kept overseas. i.e. presents, so why should I be declaring them when there not physically with me any-more.

 

[opusman]

That's correct. It's not logical. But in this case both are taxed- it's not going to be owned overseas for 12 months.
Duty free clothes count to your limit bought overseas or in AU

I don't believe your interpretation is correct. Personal items are not included in the $900 limit, and clothing is considered a personal item. The fact that the example given is "new clothing" is irrelevant, that's not an exhaustive list of what constitutes personal items - it's just some examples. "Old clothing" is also a personal item.

 

[marki]

Well if you get rid of TRS, i.e. duty free shopping then it would need to be a complete break, not just partial. Given experienced travellers know that duty free stores at the airport are usually a rip off then there isn't much of a market left.

Also, if you purchase items >$900 you're back at the same situation. Need to declare on return. And they know who you are because they get your details when you purchase the item.

Purchases over 900AUD have been declared by myself and frequently they customs have all waved me through saying it's not worth their time money chasing the difference.

 

[marki]

Last time I had hoped for a $240 refund but problems at checkin and then huge queues at TRS meant it was not possible.

This has happened to me unfortunately so I don't bother anymore and find it easier to then offset the GST, that is offset it against the company income which receives income with GST. Therefore I pay less GST back to the Government. ( but you need a company ABN and its then it's only worthwhile in some conditions legally).

 

[marki]

I don't believe your interpretation is correct. Personal items are not included in the $900 limit, and clothing is considered a personal item. The fact that the example given is "new clothing" is irrelevant, that's not an exhaustive list of what constitutes personal items - it's just some examples. "Old clothing" is also a personal item.

I tend to agree. Jewellery is also a personal item and even expensive jewellery can be worn. 25K ring can be exported and GST claimed on it at the TRS counter. That same ring can be worn back into the country. It's a personal item. ( I think I am correct in saying this)?

 

[OZDUCK]

I tend to agree. Jewellery is also a personal item and even expensive jewellery can be worn. 25K ring can be exported and GST claimed on it at the TRS counter. That same ring can be worn back into the country. It's a personal item. ( I think I am correct in saying this)?

Sorry , jewellery are "general goods " and thus subject to the $900 limit and in this case no duty free concession would be allowed. See
Vhttps://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/ente/duty-free-concessions

 

[coriander]

Posting clothing back to AUS could attract GST as the rules state that that clothing, shoes, etc "may be brought into Australia in your accompanied baggage, free from duty and tax." ie with you.

When we go to the US, Mrs C usually takes an extra empty suitcase. It's full of clothing and shoes on the way back. We never include those items as part of the $900.

On one occasion I claimed some (expensive) goods on arrival, I opened the suitcase in front of customs as they requested inspection. The items were wrapped in clothing to protect them - most of clothing still had price tags on them. They inspected the declared items completely ignoring the clothing, decided it wasn't worth chasing the $200 GST for the item and sent me on my way.

Another occasion (Oct 2015) I declared >$900 on my form on the way in: border force official asked "what are you declaring?" I replied "wedding ring plus camera plus Bose QC25s". "Nice headphones,aren't they?" was his reply and he waved me through the exit. Didn't ask value (~$3500 all up).

 

[Flying mermaid]

I tend to agree. Jewellery is also a personal item and even expensive jewellery can be worn. 25K ring can be exported and GST claimed on it at the TRS counter. That same ring can be worn back into the country. It's a personal item. ( I think I am correct in saying this)?

Don’t believe so. I bought a ring in Sydney a few years ago and mentioned to the salesman that we were about to go overseas on holiday. He immediately said oh then you can claim back the GST and he did the forms for us. He said he had many customers who did that. The ring was around $85,000 so it was a large amount to claim back.

Anyway I said to Mr FM it didn’t sound right to me, so we were totally honest with the TRS guy in Sydney and asked if it was OK to do it. He said yes we could claim the money back, but would have to declare the ring on re-entry and pay so what was the point, he also didn’t think we could use the $900 pp offset, as that didn’t apply to goods originally purchased in Australia.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

... he also didn’t think we could use the $900 pp offset, as that didn’t apply to goods originally purchased in Australia.

Pardon? Is that correct? I bought my drone in AU, claimed the TRS and the guy asked if I was bringing it back and I said yes I was but would be sharing the allowance between myself and wife (total of $1800). He was fine with that.

 

[serfty]

Is that correct?

No, it is not correct. Or at best, poor terminology.

Most common use is not for $85k rings - it's for those $1100 purchases depreciated by 20% after use and brought back under the $900 valuation.

If you exceed the valuation then GST is payable on the lot.

 

[coriander]

The $900 is not an offset. if you bring in goods greater than $900 you pay GST on all of the total value not the value less $900.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

OK, that makes sense I guess.

 

[marki]

No, it is not correct. Or at best, poor terminology.

Most common use is not for $85k rings - it's for those $1100 purchases depreciated by 20% after use and brought back under the $900 valuation.

If you exceed the valuation then GST is payable on the lot.

BLAST.....There go my plans for that rare blue diamond i had my eye on, what it I made a tooth out of it and incorporated it into my denture?

I would be known as the false tooth guy ...for GST purposes

 

[Scott K]

I've read this whole thread, and I haven't seen any reference to the combined limit on the duty when returning to AU. While the $900 amount per person is accurate, it doesn't meant that you can't claim a $1800 MacBook on TRS and not have to pay duty upon return. This is because while the $900 gross declared goods is per person, it is applied to your family/couple as a whole.
For example: The wife and I bought new iPads last year. I got a pro, she bought the bottom line model. It worked out at around $1500 - with my share exceeding $900. We declared it on the way back only to be informed by the chap at customs the amount was combined and didn't matter.
We did a similar thing this year where we claimed a couple of new phones - one exceeding $1000. The TRS guy pointed out that we were close to our combined limit, and advised that we couldn't bring in any other duty free (oh boo hoo). We spoke to the customs person on the way through and it wasn't an issue - again backing up the combined amount.
There is an upper limit as to how much you can combine, but the figure escapes me at the moment. So there's no point having 91 children just so you can claim 10% off of your $84k diamond ring.

 

[Flying mermaid]

No, it is not correct. Or at best, poor terminology.

Most common use is not for $85k rings - it's for those $1100 purchases depreciated by 20% after use and brought back under the $900 valuation.

If you exceed the valuation then GST is payable on the lot.

that makes sense - I guess that was my interpretation when he said we wouldn’t be able to offset the 1800 against it.

 

[AisleSeat]

I've read this whole thread, and I haven't seen any reference to the combined limit on the duty when returning to AU.

I mentioned the pooling of allowance back in post #22.

There's no mention of a family pooling limit on the Home affairs website. Tourist Refund Scheme