·
About the
Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)
·
The way TRS
works
·
What you need to
do when buying goods
·
How you make a
claim
·
Where you make a
claim
·
Goods/purchases
that do not attract refunds under the TRS
·
How long it will
take you to make a claim
·
Bringing the
goods back into Australia
·
More Information
·
Traveller brochures in
various languages
·
Frequently asked questions
About the
Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS)
The TRS enables you to claim a
refund, subject to certain conditions, of the goods and services tax (GST) and
wine equalisation tax (WET) that you pay on goods you
buy in Australia.
To claim a refund you must:
·
Spend $300 (GST inclusive) or more in
the one store and get a single tax invoice
·
Buy goods no more than 30 days before
departure
·
Wear or carry the goods on board the
aircraft or ship and present them along with your original tax invoice, passport and international
boarding pass to a Customs Officer at a TRS facility
·
Claims at airports are
available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your
flight.
·
Claims at seaports should
be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour prior to the scheduled
departure time of the vessel.
The refund only applies to goods
you take with you as hand luggage or
wear (unless aviation security measures, effective from 31
March 2007, in regard to liquids, aerosols and gels prevent you from doing so) onto the aircraft or ship when you
leave Australia.
It does not apply to services or goods consumed or partly consumed in Australia, such
as wine, chocolate or perfume. However, unlike other tourist shopping schemes,
most of the goods, such as clothing and cameras, can be used in Australia
before departure.
The TRS is open to all overseas
visitors and Australian residents, except operating air and sea crew.
The GST refund is calculated by
dividing the total amount of the purchase by 11. The WET refund is 14.5 percent
of the price paid for wine. For example, if you buy goods for a GST-inclusive
price of $660 you will receive a refund of $60. If the $660 is made up of a
camera ($460) and wine ($200), you will receive a total refund of $89 (total
GST refund of $60 plus $29 WET refund on the wine).
New aviation security measures,
effective from 31 March 2007, will affect the amount of liquids, aerosols and
gels (LAGs) that can be taken as hand luggage on flights into and out
of Australia.
Further information in regard to the new measures is available from the
Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) via
LAGs hotline: 1300 791 581
Email: lags@dotars.gov.au
Internet: www.dotars.gov.au
The way TRS
works
The refund will be paid on goods totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more, bought from the
same store, no more than 30 days before you leave Australia.
You may purchase several
lower-priced items from the one store, either at the one time or over several
occasions within the 30-day period, provided the total purchase amounts to $300
(GST inclusive) or more. You will have to ask the retailer to consolidate these
lower-priced purchases onto a single tax invoice. Be sure the retailer will do
this before buying the goods.
You may buy goods from several
stores, provided each store's tax invoice totals at least $300 (GST inclusive).
You can collect your refund
through one of the following methods:
·
cheque
·
credit to an Australian bank account
·
payment to a credit card
Customs will aim to post cheque refunds within 15 business days. Bank and credit
card refunds will be issued by Customs within 5 business days,
however, payment will be subject to processing by your bank or card issuer.
What you need
to do when buying goods
If you wish to claim a refund, you
must get an original tax invoice from the store where you buy the goods.
All stores registered for GST will be able to give you a tax invoice. A refund
cannot be given without it.
A tax invoice prominently states
the words 'tax invoice' and the Australian Business Number (ABN) of the
retailer, the purchase price including the GST paid, a description of the
goods, the name of the retailer and the date the purchase was made.
Tax invoices for purchases of
$1000 or more must contain additional information, such as the name and address
of the purchaser.
More information on tax invoices
is available by contacting the Australian Taxation Office.
How you make a
claim
You will need to present the
following at the Customs TRS facility when you depart Australia:
·
your goods (unless aviation security
measures, effective from 31 March 2007, in regard to liquids, aerosols and gels
prevent you from doing so) to prove you are taking them out of the country
·
the original tax invoice totalling $300 (GST inclusive) or more from the retailer
(to provide information for Customs officers)
·
your passport
·
your international boarding pass or
other proof of travel
Goods that cannot be taken on
board as hand luggage due to liquid, aerosol and gel restrictions should be
packed in your hold luggage. However,if
those goods are oversized,
for example a case of wine, they must be sighted prior to check-in at the
Customs Client Services counter.
You should note that it is a
legal requirement that the person who purchases the goods must be the person
who makes the claim for a refund of GST.
Claims
at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled
departure of your flight.
Claims
at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour
prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.
TRS facility
location
Claims can be made after you have passed through Customs
and Immigration outward processing.
The TRS facilities are located
past Customs and Immigration outwards processing at international airports at Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Darwin and Gold Coast.
They are also available at cruise
liner terminals at Circular Quay and Darling
Harbour in
Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns,
Darwin, Fremantle and Hobart.
If you are leaving Australia from
the above seaports or any other seaport you should contact Customs to find out
if and where you can make a claim.
Goods/purchases
that do not attract refunds under the TRS
The following goods are excluded
from the TRS:
·
alcohol such as beer and spirits (you
can buy wine and wine products under the TRS) and tobacco products (these goods
can be purchased from duty-free shops)
·
GST-free goods-no refund can be
claimed if no GST was paid
·
consumables wholly or partially
consumed in Australia
·
goods which are prohibited on aircraft or ships for safety reasons. These
include items such as gas cylinders, fireworks and aerosol sprays (all airlines
provide information to passengers on prohibited items)
·
goods which fail to meet airline
cabin-size or ship hand luggage restrictions
·
unaccompanied goods (including
freighted or posted goods)
·
services such as accommodation, tours
and car rental and labour charges
·
goods purchased over the Internet and
imported into Australia
·
gift cards/vouchers (although goods
purchased with gift cards/vouchers are eligible for a refund subject to all TRS
requirements being met)
Please note: You will not receive a refund unless
Customs is able to verify that you are taking the goods with you. The goods
must be taken on board the aircraft or ship on which you are travelling. You therefore need to include the goods in your
hand luggage or wear them onto the
aircraft or ship, unless aviation security measures, effective
from 31 March 2007, in regard to liquids, aerosols and gels prevent you from
doing so.
How long it
will take you to make a claim
For passengers departing from
international airports, the process will only take a few minutes. However, you
should allow time to complete check-in, security and outwards clearance
formalities and also allow for queues at the TRS facility.
Claims
at airports are available up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled
departure of your flight.
Claims
at seaports should be made no earlier than 4 hours and no later than 1 hour
prior to the scheduled departure time of the vessel.
Bringing the
goods back into Australia
If the goods are to be brought
back into Australia,
please be aware that they may be subject to GST. Normal passenger concessions
apply and include any items for which a TRS claim has been approved (excluding
most personal items such as new clothing, footwear and articles for personal
hygiene and grooming). If the value of those goods together with overseas
purchases exceeds the passenger concession, the goods must be declared to
Customs on your return to Australia.
Penalties apply to undeclared taxable goods.
If in doubt you should declare
the goods to Customs on your return.
More information is contained in
the brochure 'Know Before You Go' which is available
from Customs.
More
Information
Further information can be
obtained from Customs on:
Phone: Within Australia - 1300 363 263 for the cost of a local
call
Outside Australia
- 61 2 6275 6666
Internet: http://www.customs.gov.au
Email: information@customs.gov.au
Customs Complaints and
Compliments
Phone: Within Australia - 1800 228 227 freecall
Outside Australia
- 61 2 6275 6666
Email: comments@customs.gov.au
For general tax reform enquires
contact the Australian Taxation Office on:
Phone: 13 61 40 for the cost of a
local call
Internet: http://www.taxreform.ato.gov.au
If you do not speak English and
need help, phone the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50.
A TTY (teletypewriter) service is
available by contacting 1300 804 061.
Travellers brochures can be directly accessed by selecting
the language required hereunder:
English
Arabic
Chinese
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malaysian
Spanish
Thai
Vietnamese
