I'm trying to help a friend out at the moment. She used to work in Singapore for a few years on both Employment Pass and, more recently, an S Pass. She left her job and Singapore in May - i.e. she resigned and returned her S Pass to move back to her home country. She now came back to Singapore to visit me, on a Social Visitor 90 Day Pass, and to do some shopping whilst in town. I read on the IRAS website that visitors who have resided in Singapore for more than 365 days of the last 24 months before purchase date (i.e. yesterday) are not eligible for a GST refund on departure. This sounds strange to me since Singapore is a mecca in the region for travellers who may very well have lived and worked here before.
Following in taken from this link: http://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/gst-TRS.aspx
"Is my customer eligible for refund?
To be eligible for GST refund, your customer must be a tourist. Your customer has to meet the following criteria:
he is not a Singapore citizen or permanent resident;
he spends 365 days or less in Singapore in the last 24 months before the date of purchase;
he has not been, at any time, employed in Singapore in the past 6 months before the date of purchase;
he is not a member of the crew of the aircraft or ship on which he is departing from Singapore; and
he is 16 years or above at the time of purchase.
If he is a student pass holder, he must have purchased the goods in the last 4 months before the expiry of his student pass."
In B4 she's ok becaue she is not a "he"
Can any of my fellow forum members shed some clarity on this situation? I am thinking that if I ever leave here, I will definitely not shop here again if I can't get my GST back!!!
