New TRS rules? Goods no longer included in cap?

[Stone]

How much was the GST value of your TRS Claim ?

It was a camera lens worth about $1,500 or thereabouts. I’m not sure if a mark had been placed based on previous claiming history. (An engagement ring that I “gifted” when I was overseas previously.)

 

[robinsparkles]

Any other recent experiences?
My husband had his passport and return ticket photocopied this morning and photos taken of the item (jewellery). Definitely sounds like he will get flagged on the return. Gst refund was $400 and he only did at my persuasion (I've never had an issue even with more valuable items albeit not in recent times) its a business trip otherwise I'd be the one carrying it back.

 

[kpc]

Any other recent experiences?
My husband had his passport and return ticket photocopied this morning and photos taken of the item (jewellery). Definitely sounds like he will get flagged on the return. Gst refund was $400 and he only did at my persuasion (I've never had an issue even with more valuable items albeit not in recent times) its a business trip otherwise I'd be the one carrying it back.

You are being flagged and warned...declare it on return or dont bring it back...

 

[Lynda2475]

I claimed on a smart watch in late april, no issue coming back, but gst refund was only $35 and well under duty free limit.

 

[BJReplay]

Surely someone with TRS-claimed items under their allowance should still answer "No" to that question, regardless of what it says elsewhere on the ABF website.

Replying to this really quite late - but I'm checking this out as I'm about to fly OS.

Here's the yet another answer from ABF:

Personal goods
The following personal goods are free from duty and tax

• personal clothing and footwear (excluding fur apparel)
• articles for personal hygiene and grooming (excluding perfume concentrates)
• goods owned and used by the traveller overseas for 12 months or more, such as
• personal effects, furniture, household goods and fur apparel (excluding alcohol and tobacco)
• goods imported temporarily (note: a security deposit may be required by ACBPS), and
• goods that were previously exported from Australia (excluding goods that were purchased at a duty-free shop in Australia or goods for which a TRS claim has been made).

Source: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service - A guide for travellers, know before you go

It goes on to say:

If you are considering bringing goods back to Australia for which a TRS claim has been made, you should declare the goods and may be required to pay back the GST refund. Penalties apply to undeclared taxable goods.

So they do seem clear that you should declare.

I'm still inclined to read the very clear instructions on the Incoming passenger card - because that's what I'll be reading just before I hand it over - and it's pretty clear as well:

Are you bringing into Australia:

3. Goods obtained overseas or purchased duty and/or tax free in Australia with a combined total price of more than AUD$900, including gifts?​

​

The answer to that question will be "No".

 

[theblank]

Replying to this really quite late - but I'm checking this out as I'm about to fly OS.

Here's the yet another answer from ABF:

Personal goods
The following personal goods are free from duty and tax

• personal clothing and footwear (excluding fur apparel)
• articles for personal hygiene and grooming (excluding perfume concentrates)
• goods owned and used by the traveller overseas for 12 months or more, such as
• personal effects, furniture, household goods and fur apparel (excluding alcohol and tobacco)
• goods imported temporarily (note: a security deposit may be required by ACBPS), and
• goods that were previously exported from Australia (excluding goods that were purchased at a duty-free shop in Australia or goods for which a TRS claim has been made).

Its fairly easy to understand (IMO), I read it this way, all goods apart from those exceptions are subject to tax when bringing them in regardless of value.
However we only need to declare if total value exceeds $900

They dont actually say "goods under value of $900 total is exempt" do they?

in other words Customs cant be stuffed processing pathetic small amounts of tax payments holding the queue up, so they just want to wave us through regardless of whether we bought it overseas or did a TRS.

 

[ninja-tim]

So if you claim anything on the Personal Goods exempt list on the way out of Aus, Are they exempt from being reported on the way back?

e.g. you buy clothing and shoes above $900 at TRS and go for holidays for a week then come back with said clothing, do you need to declare or will Customs check you for it?

Replying to this really quite late - but I'm checking this out as I'm about to fly OS.

Here's the yet another answer from ABF:

Personal goods
The following personal goods are free from duty and tax

• personal clothing and footwear (excluding fur apparel)
• articles for personal hygiene and grooming (excluding perfume concentrates)
• goods owned and used by the traveller overseas for 12 months or more, such as
• personal effects, furniture, household goods and fur apparel (excluding alcohol and tobacco)
• goods imported temporarily (note: a security deposit may be required by ACBPS), and
• goods that were previously exported from Australia (excluding goods that were purchased at a duty-free shop in Australia or goods for which a TRS claim has been made).

Source: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service - A guide for travellers, know before you go

It goes on to say:

If you are considering bringing goods back to Australia for which a TRS claim has been made, you should declare the goods and may be required to pay back the GST refund. Penalties apply to undeclared taxable goods.

So they do seem clear that you should declare.

I'm still inclined to read the very clear instructions on the Incoming passenger card - because that's what I'll be reading just before I hand it over - and it's pretty clear as well:

Are you bringing into Australia:

3. Goods obtained overseas or purchased duty and/or tax free in Australia with a combined total price of more than AUD$900, including gifts?​

​

The answer to that question will be "No".

 

[serfty]

e.g. you buy clothing and shoes above $900 at TRS and go for holidays for a week then come back with said clothing, do you need to declare or will Customs check you for it?

No, you do not need to declare if that is all you have. The declaration in this context is in relation to "goods to the value of $900 or more" (or something similar).

If you bring more stuff back and the value of that brings the total to more than $900 then you need to declare by ticking the box.

The issues often being reported are, say a $3300 diamond with $300 TRS refund being obtained. You need to declare it if you bring it with you on returning.

 

[BJReplay]

I think that this is just slightly clumsy wording. You do not need to declare these goods if they fall under your TOTAL $900 concession and as such no GST would be payable. This is as per the incoming Passenger Card and I assume the new electronic one. If you exceed the $900 then the full GST would have to be repaid. This is the same as it has been for a number of years.

Of course this is only my opinion. Only Border Force can give you a firm ruling.

I made two TRS claims on the way out a couple of weeks ago - both over $900: $1600 and $905. Family of four: Myself and my wife (50s) and my parents (80s). I made one claim ($1600), my mother the other ($905). I was asked if I was re-importing and I said yes, but I was going to combine limits with my wife.

I was told I had to declare, asked if all four were travelling together, and when I confirmed was told there were no issues because you could combine a family unit and the total was under the combined limit and the $905 would be OK in any case, but to declare anyway.

Who knows if it is the law or not, but it is the instructions on the way out - even if it differs from the common man's interpretation of the words on the IPC!

 

[OZDUCK]

I made two TRS claims on the way out a couple of weeks ago - both over $900: $1600 and $905. Family of four: Myself and my wife (50s) and my parents (80s). I made one claim ($1600), my mother the other ($905). I was asked if I was re-importing and I said yes, but I was going to combine limits with my wife.

I was told I had to declare, asked if all four were travelling together, and when I confirmed was told there were no issues because you could combine a family unit and the total was under the combined limit and the $905 would be OK in any case, but to declare anyway.

Who knows if it is the law or not, but it is the instructions on the way out - even if it differs from the common man's interpretation of the words on the IPC!

(As always this is not legal advice etc) Passenger Concessions are covered by Item 15 of Schedule 4 of the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Personal clothing and footwear, except for fur apparel and commercial goods, are not included in the $900 allowance limit.

You and your parents can combine your $900 allowance for a total of $2,700. A family is treated as follows -

"For the purposes of item 8 of the Table, the amount, in respect of a family that arrived in Australia on a flight or voyage, is the amount calculated in accordance with the formula:

($900 x A) + ($450 x C)

where:

A is the number of adults in the family who were on the flight or voyage; and
C is the number of children in the family who were on the flight or voyage."

A family is defined below - ( with no mention of age criteria) -

"family means:

1. 2 people who are married, and any of their children; or
2. a person and his or her de facto partner (within the meaning of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901), and any of their children;"

Australian Border Force Website

Our mission is to protect Australia’s border and enable legitimate travel and trade.

www.abf.gov.au

 

[flyingflounder]

I am not sure how they check, a few years back I claimed had claimed for a cabin sized roller bag through TRS >$900, the questions asked made me suspect I would be flagged on arrival, sure enough I was. Prior to returning I had asked someone I knew (also on AFF) and was on the same flight would they mind waiting and if I was flagged would they mind going through customs together. When questioned we just said we had flown together showed the said roller bag and were just let through without issue.

That's really good of that fellow AFF member to help out for you in that situation. Do you remember roughly what year that was?

It sounds like a frustratingly variable outcome with regards to being screened on return or not, I recall that around 2018 there was no activity triggered at the airport when I returned from a short trip having declared a laptop >$900 for TRS only the week prior.

A friend and his wife left in November to permanently relocate overseas, and she claimed TRS on her brand new iPhone at the time. When they returned to Australia for a visit recently, she said she was not flagged at customs for her claim 8 months prior (she did declare some foodstuffs she bought overseas so went in the same queue as the duty-free re-importers I imagine). He, on the other hand, was wondering if the small custom computer he bought overseas would be flagged upon baggage scanning, and it wasn't.

I'm flying off in a few hours for a short trip to Queenstown and had a number of items that definitely total above the passenger allowance, not sure if it's even worth the hassle of claiming TRS on all or some of it for what it's worth now. Might chuck in an update for the record to help increase the sample size if I remember to do so.

 

[Matt_01]

That's really good of that fellow AFF member to help out for you in that situation. Do you remember roughly what year that was?

Welcome to AFF and putting up your first post. The year in question was 2019 and the AFFer is well known and in 2020 gained international recognition for her $28M refund. I have caught up with her on more than one occasion and she is also a mod on this site.

 

[drron]

I think the big difference now is the agent now tells you about declaring that the things you bring back in must be declared unless you are going to be under the limit.
We claimed on Mrsdrron’s new computer and my phone. Both under $900 and the only other stuff we will have are a couple of bottles of cooking brandy.

 

[BJReplay]

I came back in a week ago (see New TRS rules? Goods no longer included in cap?) and ticked yes to Q3 on the IPC (as well as yes to the wilderness / farms question - I'd been in both).

They were pretty keen on the biosecurity issue with foot and mouth.

I was asked about Q3 at the final gate - I said it was a $1600 phone that I was re-importing, and I was combining my allowance with my wife, and the customs agent actually thought about it for about five seconds and said, "you really don't need to tick the box then".

I wasn't about to argue with him at that point as he was waiving us through green, but it does go to show that the advice on the way out contradicts the wording on the IPC, and what the agents expect on the way in.

 

[coriander]

Just getting ready to buy new microphone and headphones for claiming at TRS.
There's been another slight change to the T&C's.

• your name (and only your name) as it appears in your passport if the invoice is $1,000 or more

Previously invoice had to include name and address (hence the ABF's emphasis on "only your name"). Brings back bad memories of issues I had a few years ago as some goods were delivered to my business address - luckily had my business card AND was able to show my website AND my licence to get TRS approved - (about $300 returned so worth the hassle).
Declared everything on way in (wedding ring, zoom lens, Bose QC25s) and customs officer said "great headphones, mate" and waved me through .

 

[robinsparkles]

From my experience it's the staff processing the TRS claim who try to intimidate or bully you into not doing the claim. The staff at arrivals don't seem to care at all.

 

[coriander]

Agreed, though inbound staff generally have "bigger fish to fry" and are friendly to you if you're friendly and respectful to them

 

[tom357]

I recently purchase a laptop in Australia for $1,289.00 and am flying to the UK on Sunday. Can I legally recover the GST on this (I will be taking the laptop back). I find the rules very confusing.

 

[SYD]

I recently purchase a laptop in Australia for $1,289.00 and am flying to the UK on Sunday. Can I legally recover the GST on this (I will be taking the laptop back). I find the rules very confusing.

If you‘re returning with someone and you can pool your $900 DF allowances - then yes. Otherwise, if travelling by yourself you would be subject to repaying the GST on return.

 

[tom357]

So just to clarify, the fact that the laptop has now been used, and in my opinion I couldn't sell it for more than $900, doesn't matter?