MY RELATIVES recently visited Singapore, enjoyed some shopping and went home happy. However, one thing that bothered us was the goods-and-services tax (GST) refund.
The amount of GST refund they were eligible for was around $20.
The effort needed to get the refund was considerable and, in the end, they forfeited the money. To begin with, the queue at the GST-refund counter was long.
It would easily have taken the better part of an hour to reach the counter.
Secondly, they were not sure where they had packed all the items, including toys and items which were opened and carried without their original packaging.
Next, the refund would have been couriered to my relatives' Indian address in around four to five weeks.
The sum was too low to warrant the wait.
Last but not least, they were charged GST at every attraction they visited, even though they showed their passports and boarding passes.
With the example above in mind, I hope that the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) could streamline the GST-refund process.
It could perhaps include a 'cash on the spot' system for refunds of up to $50, as these are small sums.
The refunds could be given on the spot upon presenting a GST-refund form before boarding a flight.
This could save costs in terms of courier expenses and the administrative work done by Iras to process the refund.
This means visitors could leave Singapore happy with their GST refunds.
