GST refunds and NZ duties

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xlinknz

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#311518 23-Jan-2024 18:16

Our son has identified the desired Apple laptop is $200 less in Australia or Singapore then add both counties allow a 9% GST refund on departure.

Has anyone had issue with having to pay any NZ duties after buying items overseas? (and after claiming back the overseas GST on leaving the overseas country)

Stu1

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#3185609 23-Jan-2024 18:30

Have done it a few times at Sydney airport for electronics never had any issues

https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/tourist-refund-scheme/making-the-claim

xlinknz

1127 posts

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#3185617 23-Jan-2024 18:55

It seems that duty or GST is required on items over $700 but only IF they are unaccompanied i.e. not shipped separately or purchased on-line?

Stu1

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#3185687 23-Jan-2024 20:40

I just used to put it in my suitcase or carry on language even if over $700

boosacnoodle

961 posts

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#3185722 23-Jan-2024 23:07

From https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/travel-to-and-from-nz/travelling-to-new-zealand/on-your-arrival/:

You must declare or select ‘Yes’ in your arrival declaration if you are bringing into New Zealand:

goods obtained overseas and/or purchased duty-free in New Zealand with a total value of more than NZ$700 (including gifts)

You need to pay GST on entry. Now, whether they will check, well...

Wheelbarrow01

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Chorus

#3185732 24-Jan-2024 00:19

boosacnoodle:

From https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/travel-to-and-from-nz/travelling-to-new-zealand/on-your-arrival/:

You must declare or select ‘Yes’ in your arrival declaration if you are bringing into New Zealand:

goods obtained overseas and/or purchased duty-free in New Zealand with a total value of more than NZ$700 (including gifts)
You need to pay GST on entry. Now, whether they will check, well...

I've been pulled up - a few years ago I bought a robotic pool cleaner while I was on holiday in Australia as it was several hundred dollars cheaper than buying the same model in NZ. Of course I had to check the box in as it was far too large for carry-on luggage, and the TRS office in Sydney is airside so I couldn't claim back the Aussie GST as they needed to sight the goods but I'd already checked it in.

Then when I arrived in NZ, a customs officer saw the box on my luggage trolley, pulled me aside and asked me to produce my receipt. It was over the $700 threshold and I hadn't declared it, so I got a very stern lecture for my failure to declare. They did eventually let me go without having to pay the NZ GST after I put on my best bewildered/clueless tourist face, which was very nice of them. Lesson learned.

The callout here is don't automatically expect to bring a large and expensive item into the country in its original packaging without it being noticed...

Could you sneak a laptop in? Probably, if you ditch the packaging before you check-in. Should you? No, but I am sure people do it (or at least attempt it) every day, and that is precisely the kind of behaviour that these people are trained to look for.

itxtme

2102 posts

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#3185762 24-Jan-2024 09:10

Wheelbarrow01:

boosacnoodle:

From https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/travel-to-and-from-nz/travelling-to-new-zealand/on-your-arrival/:

You must declare or select ‘Yes’ in your arrival declaration if you are bringing into New Zealand:

goods obtained overseas and/or purchased duty-free in New Zealand with a total value of more than NZ$700 (including gifts)
You need to pay GST on entry. Now, whether they will check, well...

The TRS office in Sydney is airside so I couldn't claim back the Aussie GST as they needed to sight the goods but I'd already checked it in.

Hey Wheelbarrow just an FYI in case you didnt know, it is possible, but you have to got to their outside office (landside) first and get a stamped document that you then use airside. I have done this couple times, but you do need the time to do it.

frankv

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#3185808 24-Jan-2024 10:38

xlinknz:

Hi

Our son has identified the desired Apple laptop is $200 less in Australia or Singapore then add both counties allow a 9% GST refund on departure.

Has anyone had issue with having to pay any NZ duties after buying items overseas? (and after claiming back the overseas GST on leaving the overseas country)

I bought an Insta360 GO3 camera recently in Perth, so above the AUD$300 threshold for claiming back Aus GST.

NB that the GST reclaim counter (at least at Perth) is not very visible. It is after you go through the passport scanner process but before the baggage/person Xray scanner process. You must have a receipt for the item, and the item itself... i.e. you need to put it in your carry-on baggage.

Because this was below the NZ$700 threshold, I didn't have to declare it or pay NZ GST on it.

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chatterbox

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#3192743 9-Feb-2024 04:00

I bought an expensive watch that probably cost more than an apple laptop. Claimed the tax refund in Oz, declared it in NZ, went through the secondary check of being asked a couple questions and nobody asked me for receipts or anything… they just asked who the watch was for and I said me.

Nothing happened. I didn’t pay GST. Note to people all claiming the GST thing over $700…. It doesn’t mean you need to pay GST in NZ on it. It’s just a screening question!

Scott3

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#3192818 9-Feb-2024 10:13

chatterbox: I bought an expensive watch that probably cost more than an apple laptop. Claimed the tax refund in Oz, declared it in NZ, went through the secondary check of being asked a couple questions and nobody asked me for receipts or anything… they just asked who the watch was for and I said me.

Nothing happened. I didn’t pay GST. Note to people all claiming the GST thing over $700…. It doesn’t mean you need to pay GST in NZ on it. It’s just a screening question!

Note that watches for personal use are covered under a Concession. (which does not apply to laptops)

https://fyi.org.nz/request/657/response/3311/attach/4/advice%20to%20travellers.pdf

Peppery

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#3192864 9-Feb-2024 13:09

chatterbox: I bought an expensive watch that probably cost more than an apple laptop. Claimed the tax refund in Oz, declared it in NZ, went through the secondary check of being asked a couple questions and nobody asked me for receipts or anything… they just asked who the watch was for and I said me.

Nothing happened. I didn’t pay GST. Note to people all claiming the GST thing over $700…. It doesn’t mean you need to pay GST in NZ on it. It’s just a screening question!

I bought two iPhones in Sydney a while back, got the TRS refund and declared it on arrival. The customs officer took a look and said something along the lines of "oh, just those? don't worry about it" :)

chatterbox

204 posts

Master Geek

#3194172 12-Feb-2024 05:47

Scott3:

chatterbox: I bought an expensive watch that probably cost more than an apple laptop. Claimed the tax refund in Oz, declared it in NZ, went through the secondary check of being asked a couple questions and nobody asked me for receipts or anything… they just asked who the watch was for and I said me.

Nothing happened. I didn’t pay GST. Note to people all claiming the GST thing over $700…. It doesn’t mean you need to pay GST in NZ on it. It’s just a screening question!

Note that watches for personal use are covered under a Concession. (which does not apply to laptops)

https://fyi.org.nz/request/657/response/3311/attach/4/advice%20to%20travellers.pdf

I did bring in a bag worth over $700 and declared it. Nobody blinked. I guess they didn't ask me if the bag was over 700 and it was part of a list of other stuff I brought in which I rattled off when they asked what I was declaring so maybe they assumed everything together was more than $700.

My laptop crashed while I was away so bought another one. I didn't declare that because I thought - well I'm not paying GST in 2 countries! I didn't claim the tax on that one before returning to NZ. I think goods are supposed to be in the original packaging when you present them overseas for tax refund? I was already using it. I needed to function! I never keep the box etc as I never use it again so no one would have been able to tell if I was carrying a new or old laptop and lots of people travel with laptops.

Maybe it's just luck who I get? I did get asked recently if I had any individual items over $700 which I didn't at the time.

I don't think there's anything stopping the original poster from claiming the TRS and after the claim is done dispose of the original box etc at the departure airport so on arrival it just looks like another laptop in their bag. I don't see how that would get picked up by customs without being declared. I have heard of a certain group of people that rip off tags etc before returning home.