New TRS rules? Goods no longer included in cap?

[The Astronomer]

In 2019 on a trip with my wife I had bought a new laptop and claimed the GST under TRS. On return I declared it on the Passenger Declaration Form. Combining our two pax concession allowances plus depreciation meant that it was under the limit and we had bought almost nothing else o/s. All it took was a quick discussion with the ABF Marshall at the 'choke point' and I was on my way.

Thanks for that. May I ask, how did you calculate the depreciation and is there a site that instructs travellers on this topic?

 

[woodyren]

Presented our TRS claim at Melbourne earlier today. The agent looked at the price ($1300) explained to us that it's under our pooled duty free allowance, mumbled something about depreciation if we purchased anything else OS and processed the claim.

I mentioned to her that it's great that TRS claims are back to being included in your duty free allowance and she was adamant that they always were and nothing had ever changed.

The person before us received a lecture about insuring that they ticked box 3 on the declaration form when returning so I assume their claims were above the allowance.

 

[Scr77]

Gotta love bureaucracy….now we have to tick box 3 on the incoming passenger card that is being phased out.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for that. May I ask, how did you calculate the depreciation and is there a site that instructs travellers on this topic?

I don't think that you will be able to find an on-line description of the depreciation of personal effects and I certainly couldn't find anything in a quick search today. From memory, I spent many years working in Customs though only a day or so doing baggage at the airport, it is just part of the internal operating instructions for officers. It was intended to reflect the usual drop in value of any goods once they have left the retailers premises, been used and then declared on arrival. The 20% depreciation has been around for as long as I can recall but I have been retired for some 13 years so as per the usual disclaimer - my opinion is worth what you paid for it. i.e. nothing.

The latest 'official document', that was released under Freedom of Information request, I could find is below. Pages 12 & 13 talk about the valuation of imported goods. In the case of most accompanied personal effects they would usually be valued under Article 7 - Fall Back method - as none of the other articles apply e.g. being bought at a retail shop in Australia they were never actually sold for export to Australia so Article 1 cannot be used and so forth. You will note that goods valued under Article 7 method should be valued using "reasonable means".

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/foi/files/2018/fa181000534-document-released.PDF

 

[jkcfc]

If you have bought something over the duty free allowance (e.g. for $5k), when you declare it upon return to Australia, do you pay the GST back less the duty free allowance - for a $90per person benefit? Or is there no point claiming the TRS in the first instance?

 

[woodyren]

No you pay duty/gst back on the full amount.

 

[OZDUCK]

If you have bought something over the duty free allowance (e.g. for $5k), when you declare it upon return to Australia, do you pay the GST back less the duty free allowance - for a $90per person benefit? Or is there no point claiming the TRS in the first instance?

What woodyren said plus

"What happens if I exceed the duty free limits?​

If you exceed Australia’s duty free limits, duty and tax will apply on all items of that type (general goods, alcohol or tobacco), not just the goods over the limit"

So for example if you bought a $2,000 watch GST free before departure and then bought a $200 camera overseas both items would have GST applied.

 

[DC3]

… I mentioned to her that it's great that TRS claims are back to being included in your duty free allowance and she was adamant that they always were and nothing had ever changed …

Not sure if I will be engaging in pleasantries with TRS officials.

 

[The Astronomer]

I don't think that you will be able to find an on-line description of the depreciation of personal effects and I certainly couldn't find anything in a quick search today. From memory, I spent many years working in Customs though only a day or so doing baggage at the airport, it is just part of the internal operating instructions for officers. It was intended to reflect the usual drop in value of any goods once they have left the retailers premises, been used and then declared on arrival. The 20% depreciation has been around for as long as I can recall but I have been retired for some 13 years so as per the usual disclaimer - my opinion is worth what you paid for it. i.e. nothing.

The latest 'official document', that was released under Freedom of Information request, I could find is below. Pages 12 & 13 talk about the valuation of imported goods. In the case of most accompanied personal effects they would usually be valued under Article 7 - Fall Back method - as none of the other articles apply e.g. being bought at a retail shop in Australia they were never actually sold for export to Australia so Article 1 cannot be used and so forth. You will note that goods valued under Article 7 method should be valued using "reasonable means".

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/foi/files/2018/fa181000534-document-released.PDF

Thanks for your reply!

 

[drsmithy]

In 2019 on a trip with my wife I had bought a new laptop and claimed the GST under TRS. On return I declared it on the Passenger Declaration Form. Combining our two pax concession allowances plus depreciation meant that it was under the limit and we had bought almost nothing else o/s. All it took was a quick discussion with the ABF Marshall at the 'choke point' and I was on my way.

I was under the impression you couldn't apply depreciation to TRS claims on re-entry.

That's backed up by a post on OzBargain (Tourist Refund Scheme - FAQ) though obviously that's not an authoritative source.

How long were you gone ? Surely they wouldn't accept more depreciation than you'd be able to claim on tax ?

Vaguely related question. Has anyone been pulled aside for a check based on an outgoing TRS claim when you haven't declared it on the way back in ? Not planning on doing it (usually save more taking advantage of OzB deals anyway), but kinda curious as to how strictly it's policed (probably not very at the moment, I imagine they're understaffed).

 

[OZDUCK]

I was under the impression you couldn't apply depreciation to TRS claims on re-entry.

That's backed up by a post on OzBargain (Tourist Refund Scheme - FAQ) though obviously that's not an authoritative source.

How long were you gone ? Surely they wouldn't accept more depreciation than you'd be able to claim on tax ?

Vaguely related question. Has anyone been pulled aside for a check based on an outgoing TRS claim when you haven't declared it on the way back in ? Not planning on doing it (usually save more taking advantage of OzB deals anyway), but kinda curious as to how strictly it's policed (probably not very at the moment, I imagine they're understaffed).

We were o/s for about 2 weeks. The ABF Queue Marshall certainly didn't raise ane eyebrow when I mentioned depreciation but it certainly could also be that he wasn't interested in a minor GST collection or was making the same assumptions that I had. That item on OzBargain is about 9 months after our trip. As I said previously I have been retired some 13 years so I am very much out of the current loop and pretty much anyone I could talk to has also left by now.

 

[scottsworld]

Thanks for that. May I ask, how did you calculate the depreciation and is there a site that instructs travellers on this topic?

"how long is a piece of string" and more importantly, how 'nice' or 'grumpy' is the officer you deal with when arguing depreciation! However, each year the ATO publishes a Tax Ruling on depreciating assets. So you could look up the effective life of XYZ item e.g. a Laptop (2 years), which means 50%/year, and then how long you were overseas for... etc...

Decline in value of depreciating assets

You may need to work out the decline in value of for tools, equipment and other depreciating assets you use for work.

www.ato.gov.au

 

[NM]

... So you could look up the effective life of XYZ item e.g. a Laptop (2 years) ...[/URL]

Hmm, my employer seems to think that the effective life of a laptop computer is around 5 years. And my kids think the effective lifetime of a mobile phone is about 6 months. Different people can justify different effectiveness

 

[drron]

Interestingly despite what the website states this came up when I submitted a claim on the TRS app.

"If the goods that are subject to this claim are brought back to Australia and they exceed your passenger concession they must be declared on your incoming passenger card"

Which I take as being the status quo. If my TRS claimed item is below my passenger concession along with any other dutiable goods I bring back there will be no duty payable.

 

[Yearlylonghaul]

I purchased a telescopic sight in 2017 and took it to the UK for use in some very long range target shooting matches. I have left the telescopic sight in the UK along with a good deal of other paraphernalia associated with the competitions that I enter.
I claimed the GST at the aiport amounting to $191 for a $2100 item
If I was to return the scope to Australia, it is now 5 years old and has had 5 years of use, so would not have a resale value anywhere near the value that I claimed a GST refund for.
How do you suppose that Border Force officials would place a value on the 5 year old second hand scope if I were to declare it on my next return from UK, for repayment of the GST? From my perspective, it would be unfair to have to repay the full GST amount.

 

[Daver6]

I purchased a telescopic sight in 2017 and took it to the UK for use in some very long range target shooting matches. I have left the telescopic sight in the UK along with a good deal of other paraphernalia associated with the competitions that I enter.
I claimed the GST at the aiport amounting to $191 for a $2100 item
If I was to return the scope to Australia, it is now 5 years old and has had 5 years of use, so would not have a resale value anywhere near the value that I claimed a GST refund for.
How do you suppose that Border Force officials would place a value on the 5 year old second hand scope if I were to declare it on my next return from UK, for repayment of the GST? From my perspective, it would be unfair to have to repay the full GST amount.

This is not legal advice. If it were me I wouldn't declare it.

 

[sxc]

Has anyone been stopped coming back into Australia where customs has said something like "We saw you claimed TRS GST refund, do you have these items with you coming back?"

 

[theblank]

it is now 5 years old and has had 5 years of use,

thats it. Apply the same logic to any other item that you have carried back and forth on overseas trips.

 

[Stone]

Yes, I was taken aside and baggage searched. Only during the search did they explain it was due to the TRS claim. I was traveling with my brother and explained we were pooling our allowance on return. They weren't happy with my explanation, but as we were within the rules they had to let us through.

 

[theblank]

Yes, I was taken aside and baggage searched. Only during the search did they explain it was due to the TRS claim. I was traveling with my brother and explained we were pooling our allowance on return. They weren't happy with my explanation, but as we were within the rules they had to let us through.

How much was the GST value of your TRS Claim ?