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Claiming TRS Refund


IngFam
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Hi we are cruising on Sunday and purchasing a laptop today.  I know that I can claim at the OPT but my question is does the laptop box have to be sealed and unopened or can we open beforehad and load our software etc and use it for the next couple of days. 

Thanks in advance for your help.

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35 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

Don't you have to pay the GST on it if you bring it back in to the country, or are people saying nothing and cheating the system.

No you don't have to pay anything because it physically left the country 😀

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Bear in mind you can only claim it at the last Australian port before the ship heads to an overseas port. So if you're doing a South Pacific cruise from Sydney that stops in Brisbane next then you can't claim it in Sydney, you have to wait until Brisbane.

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58 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

Don't you have to pay the GST on it if you bring it back in to the country, or are people saying nothing and cheating the system.

Basically the system is a farce, and yes local people are able to save the GST as a result. It is the Tourist Refund Scheme, designed to encourage OS tourists to purchase goods when they are here by returning the GST they paid here when they depart.

 

Instead, we are able to recover the GST we paid when departing and then bringing the goods back in on our return, because the bureaucracy doesn't have a clue what it is doing.

 

The goods you got the refund on that you bring back in do count against your duty free limit for entry, but this is seldom recognised.

 

Anyway, good luck to those who are able to benefit, as the administrators of the scheme have no clue, and actually spend money to give people money 😮

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1 hour ago, peter1956 said:

No you don't have to pay anything because it physically left the country 😀

 

This isn't right. See Mr Walker's response for more details.

 

If the laptop is say a $2000 laptop, and just one person travelling, duty will likely be required on re-entry.

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3 hours ago, peter1956 said:

No you don't have to pay anything because it physically left the country 😀

 

This is actually untrue. Upon re-entry, any item that has had the GST refunded is dutiable if it causes the person to exceed their $900 allowance of purchased goods being brought into the country.

 

In other words, if you have an item that cost you $500 (after TRS), that is $500 towards your $900 limit upon re-entering Australia. If your item was a laptop that cost $2000, you are already well over your allowance and legally should be declaring it on your customs card upon re-entry. Whether it's policed or not is another matter, but do you really want to be the person getting caught out?

 

EDIT: The posts above mine explain this perfectly.

Edited by ivanp91
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2 minutes ago, ivanp91 said:

 

This is actually untrue. Upon re-entry, any item that has had the GST refunded is dutiable if it causes the person to exceed their $900 allowance of purchased goods being brought into the country.

 

In other words, if you have an item that cost you $500 (after TRS), that is $500 towards your $900 limit upon re-entering Australia. If your item was a laptop that cost $2000, you are already well over your allowance and legally should be declaring it on your customs card upon re-entry. Whether it's policed or not is another matter, but do you really want to be the person getting caught out?

 

EDIT: The posts above mine explain this perfectly.

You learn something every day 🙂 Never buy anything that expensive so never thought of it.

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Just remember, by claiming on the TRS, ABF already know you have exceeded your duty free limit. If you choose to smuggle your goods back in (technically this is what you are doing if you avoid paying duty) you can risk having your goods seized. Just because you don’t see it being enforced, doesn’t mean it’s not😉

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I recall on one of those border control TV shows an Aussie lady(?) returning from OS was being questioned by ABF about some items she was bringing in. She was giving them a hard time about it, and then they asked her about the $20,000 ring she had claimed refund on when she had departed. Can't recall exactly what her punishment was, but she was not happy.

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21 hours ago, mum and son said:

Yes, exactly as above. My son just had to show his MacBook and receipt. No original boxes or extras required. Make sure the receipt has your full name AND address on it. That's the requirement from the Govt website.

 

I took my laptop last week and claimed TRS. I did not need a receipt with my name on it as it under $1000. I had a mild panic until I read it was $1000 and above that needed a receipt.

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10 minutes ago, Cruisegroover said:

I took my laptop last week and claimed TRS. I did not need a receipt with my name on it as it under $1000. I had a mild panic until I read it was $1000 and above that needed a receipt.

Oh yes, you are 100% correct! My son's laptop was just over $1000.

 

 

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Why don't the government officials pull up every person re-entering the country who has claimed via the TRS for all items over $900? Or, even simpler, why don't they "remind" people at claim point that, you will be responsible for paying duty on return? 

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3 minutes ago, mum and son said:

Why don't the government officials pull up every person re-entering the country who has claimed via the TRS for all items over $900? Or, even simpler, why don't they "remind" people at claim point that, you will be responsible for paying duty on return? 

A few reasons not everyone is pulled up, including resources, priorities (narcotics are rightly a bit higher up the list) and that because not everyone is doing the wrong thing it’s not a reason to pull everyone in for examination.
You will definitely be selected if you don’t declare your high value goods on return. After all, they know you are coming and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. 

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19 minutes ago, Calabazar said:

You will definitely be selected if you don’t declare your high value goods on return. After all, they know you are coming and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. 

That's the bit I don't get. I know plenty of people who have claimed high priced items, and multiple items on one trip but I don't know of anyone personally who has been pulled up on return. A computer could just ping them straight away so I don't know why they don't bother. I get that its probably not a high priority but it seems so simple!

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