I have not been working at Sydney Airport for a long time, but I witness all kinds of comedies and tragedies every day, especially the tourists from China who come to Australia to visit, who are not familiar with the place and do not understand the language, which makes it even worse.

Here I will share with you a summary of what I encounter at work and what I heard from my colleagues. I hope everyone will take a careful look before traveling and returning to avoid unnecessary trouble during the journey. The following is only for travel reference. For specific changes in regulations, please refer to the relevant regulations of Australian Customs and Sydney Airport.

　 ===TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme) Tourist Tax Refund===

This is the most concerning issue for all travelers who come to Australia or return from Australia. However, many people often go to the airport without knowing the specific situation, and then find that the tax refund process is often not smooth and give up on the tax refund. Not only did you lose money, but it also ruined the mood of the entire trip. It is best for everyone to abide by the following points to prevent similar problems from happening to you.

1. Conditions for tax refund

The conditions for tax refund are very simple. Within 60 days before leaving the country, as long as the cumulative consumption (accumulation is enough) in any Australian store exceeds 300 Australian dollars. Apply for a tax refund. The items purchased must be goods, and GST (Goods and Services Tax) on services is non-refundable.

GST is listed on the receipt. However, one thing to note is that you need to check whether the GST on the receipt exceeds 27 Australian dollars. If it is less than 27 Australian dollars, it will not be refunded. The reason is that if calculated based on the minimum consumption amount of 300 Australian dollars, for every 300 Australian dollars spent, 27 Australian dollars will be paid to the Australian government in GST (that is to say, for example, if you purchase goods with an actual value of 273 Australian dollars, multiply by 10 Australian dollars, you will get your total consumption. amount of AUD 300). Some goods are not charged GST during the sales process, so even if the consumption amount on the receipt reaches 300 Australian dollars, the GST may only be around 10 or more 20 Australian dollars, which does not meet the tax refund standards. If the cumulative GST you spend in this store does not exceed 27 Australian dollars (that is, the total effective consumption amount does not exceed 300 Australian dollars), Australian Customs will not refund the tax on that receipt.

Some receipts often have the guest’s name on the slip. When applying for a tax refund, you must present your passport and boarding pass for the tax refund. If the name on the list is different from the name in the passport, Australian Customs will not refund the tax.

2. Checked baggage problem

This link is often a problem encountered by 90% of passengers. Passengers with similar problems should pay attention to the following details

TRS tax refund is a requirement Passengers bring all the items that require tax refund in portable form (note! They are portable and must not be checked, the exceptions will be mentioned below) into the airport, go through Customs and Security check, and go to the duty-free items located in the departure hall. Apply for tax refund at the TRS counter in the district. If any passenger does not carry with him the items that require tax refund for customs personnel to inspect and prove that the tax refund item left the Australian border with the passenger, the customs personnel have the right to refuse to refund the tax to the above passengers. Therefore, many passengers do not know that they check in all the brand-name bags, shoes, clothes, and electronic products (laptops, iPhones) that require tax refunds, and only find out after entering the airport that tax refunds are not available.

A passenger once bought 6 pairs of UGG boots, 3 brand-name bags, and various jewelry and necklaces, all packed in a suitcase to be checked in. When he arrived at the airport, he discovered that if he wanted a tax refund, the above items could not be checked in, causing a direct loss. GST is nearly 2,000 Australian dollars?

However, TRS allows LAGs items (Liquids, Aerosol sprays, Gels) and oversize (oversized luggage) to be put into check-in checked luggage (because according to international According to aviation law, the above items cannot be carried on board the aircraft). If you have similar items that require tax refund, you need to go to the custom and quarantine office at the Arrival level of Sydney Airport to have customs officers open the package for inspection to prove that the tax refund items left Australia together with the passengers. Therefore, fish oil, cosmetics, propolis, wine and other products, as well as oversized luggage (TV, checked suitcases, quilts, etc.) can avoid being carried into the airport for tax refund inspection. After checking in the Custom and Quarantine Office, customs officers will stamp the receipt, and passengers can use the receipt to enter the TRS office in the airport departure hall for tax refund.

Many tourists who come to Australia will buy a large amount of health care products and food to send back to their relatives and friends, but the quantity is so huge that they must be checked in and cannot be carried. Since health products such as calcium tablets, vitamins, and candies are not included in the above LAGs, they need to be carried into the airport for inspection according to regulations. But sometimes the customs will turn a blind eye during inspection (because the amount is not as huge as a brand-name bag or the like), so they will allow the shipment and stamp the receipt. However, I personally don’t recommend this kind of luck, because sometimes it can be merciless when it comes to strictness.

3. TRS office in the waiting hall

After completing all the above things, you can check in, change your boarding pass, go through customs and enter the waiting hall. TRS Office is after passing the security check and entering the duty-free shop area, which is on the left hand side where the liquor is sold. Since three flights of China Southern Airlines (China Southern Airlines is A380 in the morning, with about 800 passengers at a time), Air China and China Eastern Airlines leave Sydney within nearly 2 hours, Sydney Airport can welcome nearly 1,000 Chinese tourists departing every morning. (Only domestic airlines, Chinese passengers taking other foreign flights have not yet been considered). Most of the passengers here need to apply for tax refund, so the TRS office is the busiest department in the morning. This department often has less than 10 customs staff to handle tax refund procedures for passengers, so passengers often have to wait here for a long time.

For this reason, Sydney Airport implements form filling during the morning rush hour to speed up tax refund processing. If the total consumption amount of the tourist during his stay in Australia (60 days before departure) is less than 1,000 Australian dollars, he must fill in a form for tax refund. If the amount is more than 1,000 Australian dollars, you will have to queue up on the spot to wait for customs officers to process the tax refund. Therefore, if the purchase amount exceeds 1,000, passengers who must check their checked baggage at the arrivals level of the airport must prepare enough time in advance to avoid waiting in line but the plane will take off when it is their turn. It is common to see unprepared passengers queuing up at the TRS office half an hour before boarding. Then, before the Final Call flight is about to take off, airline staff rush over to pull the passengers away. I recommend queuing up at the TRS office 1 hour before the flight to avoid delaying your trip.

Passengers who fill out the form will be asked to fill in personal identification information in English, as well as the number of receipts (note! Many people think that they are filling in the total amount of consumption, but in fact they are the total number of receipts applying for tax refund), as well as bank information. .

After filling it out, put it into an envelope, write the receiving address on the surface of the envelope (in both Chinese and English, no domestic or overseas address is required), put the form and all receipts into the envelope, and put it into the TRS mailbox at the door to avoid queuing. time. The receipt will be returned to the recipient's address in the envelope after the tax refund is processed. Australian Customs provides three payment methods for tax refund:

1) Credit card

The refunded GST is directly deposited into the credit card provided. When filling out the form, you only need to fill in the bank card number. , but the credit card must be Visa or Master Card, domestic UnionPay is not accepted.

2) Bank deposit account

Passengers must provide bank account number, BSB (this is the Australian bank code, it does not seem to be available in China, the author is not very clear about the domestic bank situation), and the name of the bank , the name of the account owner.

3) Check

The check will be sent back to the recipient's address written on the envelope together with the receipt. The supported currencies are Australian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, Japanese yen, francs, etc. Wait, RMB is not supported

If there are passengers who do not understand English but need to fill in the form, don’t worry. The airport has assigned two Mandarin-speaking volunteers (in red clothes) at the TRS office to help passengers fill in the form. However, due to the large number of people filling out the form and the insufficient number of volunteers, it is recommended to arrive at the airport early to be prepared.

The above are some details and precautions for tax refund at Sydney Airport in Australia. I hope it can help friends who are about to travel to Sydney.