On or about 22 March 2019, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has published the first edition of GST e-Tax Guide: The Electronic Tourist Refund Scheme (e-TRS) (Refund claims made on or after 4 Apr 2019).
The guide covers the following:
- Description of process and data flow under the eTRS;
- Conditions and fees applicable for participation in the eTRS;
- Application procedures under the eTRS; and
- Overview of the system requirements under the eTRS.
GST-registered businesses should read this guide if they wish to participate in the eTRS either as:
- A Central Refund Agency (“CRA”); or
- An Independent Retailer1 (“IR”).
For those who are not affiliated to any CRA and do not wish to set up they own system to link up directly to the Central Clearing House (“CCH”) as an IR, they can still offer tourist refund to their customers by affiliating with any of the 3 participating CRA, namely, Global Blue Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Tax Free Pte Ltd, or Tourego Pte Ltd.
Source: IRAS, 22 March 2019