TRS Claim Limit and eBay Discounts

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  [Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 22:38

  +1

  Something similar happened to me with Ebay buying a camera lens - invoice higher than what I paid but in this case under threshold.

  I told TRS I didn’t want to claim more than I paid and showed them my payment confirmation and the invoice and asked them to put through claim at lower amount which wasn’t an issue.

  • 

    lazylionking on 13/09/2018 - 22:44

    Thanks! That seems like the most sensible thing to do. I am a bit confused about how the TRS people would react to such explanations.

    • 

      lazylionking on 13/09/2018 - 22:47

      Just interested- were you refunded lesser amount than the (inflated) invoice? If so, how was it calculated?

      • 

        foxmulder on 13/09/2018 - 22:52

        +1

        If the lesser, it should be $1574/11

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 13/09/2018 - 23:16

        +1

        @foxmulder:
        Correct, divide by 11

        From the TRS point of view you’re doing the right thing - explaining you only paid x so you don’t want to overclaim refund

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  TheMindsetTraveller on 13/09/2018 - 23:15

  +7

  Rookie error ;)

  Just rely on the original invoice of the seller. No issues at TRS ever in the many times we have utilised % off promotions. We fly out 4-6 times o/s every year so have had many experiences with TRS.

  In terms of the $2,118 product, by the time you bring back the item … it's already depreciated in cost so you would be way under the two person threshold in any instance.

  • 

    John on 14/09/2018 - 10:04

    Agree… Claim full GST, price will depreciate when you return so it should be fine. Also, when you claim full GST, you are not really claiming what you are paying.. You are claiming what the government receive from the GST of the product, that no longer belong to them because of the nature of TRS. You are not fooling anyone.. its just how the system works.

    So, don't feel guilty.. have the full GST :)

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  redfox1200 on 14/09/2018 - 07:50

  +4

  the ebay discount doesn't change the amount of GST paid

  • 

    ThithLord on 14/09/2018 - 09:40

    This is what I'm curious about - would an invoice show an incorrect amount of GST paid? Surely not.

    • 

      TheMindsetTraveller on 14/09/2018 - 10:19

      I will give you an example, hopefully this explains how it works:-

      Seller's Item $1,100
      Ebay's Discount 25%

      After the discount, you pay $825.00.

      I don't know what what fees ebay charges the seller for selling the item but let's say it is 25%

      So even though you pay $825.00, the seller has sold the item for its full price of $1,100 BUT instead of paying eBay the listing/sales fee, ebay absorbs the discount and breaks even.

      If ebay charges 30% for listings, then the shop receives $1,100 on paper, actually receives $825, but then has to pay ebay the 5% difference, so they need to pay another $55 … hence the seller, actually only receives $770 for the sale BUT pays full GST of $100 to the ATO.

      • 

        furyou on 14/09/2018 - 15:43

        wait, so by doing this, we can send ebay broke and also fill ATO's coffers?

      • 

        TheMindsetTraveller on 14/09/2018 - 16:09

        @furyou:

        The ATO is irrelevant in this because they will collect the 1/11th of the invoice price.

        In the short term, ebay deliberately makes no or reduced fees (by way of % discounts) in order to get more "traffic" coming through.

        As sellers sell more volume (from the % discount) they are so more inclined in the future to continue using this portal for sales, therefore continued and increased ebay fees in the future (when there are no % discounts)

        Similarly, other competitive sellers who have not used ebay previously, may now all of a sudden want to be an ebay/online seller - thuse more fees collected in the future.

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  FullM3tal on 14/09/2018 - 20:09

  +4

  Dear OP and all,

  Many don't know this, so I hope I help a few here.
  I bought a MacbookPro and new Sony mirrorless camera in November 2014. The total buy cost was $4k, inc GST.
  I got to claim about $380 back from the TRS as my wife and I were travelling.

  I did not want to receive a fine, so I declared in on my return. The operators at Melbourne airport (although lovely), didn't have a clue what was going on. But in the end the way that my MBR TRS was calculated was original price, minus 30%, even after it only being 10 days only for 'electronic depreciation'. As it is no longer a new item, it does not hold the same new retail value. Therefore the value declared for it was reduced by 30%. This meant - $3300 new MBR. $300 back from TRS on departure. $2000 new value on return, with 10% tax on top, being $2200. So I had to pay approx. $200 back to TRS on return, but they already gave me $300 on departure. So in short I got only $100 from TRS for doing the right thing. Many don't declare their items on return, but I didn't want to risk it.

  TL;DR - Electronics from the day they've left the country, their face value reduces by 30%. So your item will be approx. 1/3 less of it's value when returning home, according to TRS. If the total combined value is less than your limit when you return, don't worry about declaring it. She'll be right.

  • 

    Banana on 15/09/2018 - 13:52

    Did the TRS officer harass you about the items when you claimed the GST, knowing you'd probably bring them back?
    Upon returning to Melbourne, did you 'declare' by filling in the paper they hand you just before you land?

    • 

      ca4cpa on 18/09/2018 - 04:59

      Yes you need to declare item when you bring back.

      And pay GST again.

    • 

      FullM3tal on 15/10/2018 - 15:15

      Yes and yes. Basically it was for to keep a clear conscience. I know many others who wouldn't bother doing the same.