SINGAPORE, November 9, 2011 – Global Blue, the experts in international shopping and spending, and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) today announced the launch of the Electronic Tourist Refund Scheme (eTRS). Jointly developed, deployed and operated by IRAS and Global Blue, eTRS offers tourists a hassle-free shopping experience and easy refund claim process while increasing efficiency on the retailers’ end. Singapore is the first government to implement eTRS, an electronic GST refund system that can link up multiple Central Refund Agencies and independent retailers on a common platform to provide foreign travellers with GST refund. Global Blue’s solution enables retailers across the country to provide a best-in-class GST refund experience for tourists – from in-store purchase to export validation at the airport and refund payment.
“We are truly excited to partner with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore on the official country-wide rollout of this state-of-the-art electronic system,” said Per Setterberg, President & CEO of Global Blue. “eTRS provides retailers and tourists with a unique, seamless tax refund process minimizing administrative steps and touch points for errors. Now retailers can focus on growing their business from international customers whilst tourists benefit from a simple and efficient GST refund process so they can completely enjoy their shopping experience in Singapore.“
The eTRS is set to benefit any tourist visiting Singapore and leaving by air. Under eTRS, international shoppers can choose a credit card as a token to which all their purchase details will be tagged automatically. They will then have to present the same token at the eTRS self-help kiosk at the airport and receive GST refund directly credited into the same credit card account. As opposed to the previous system, the electronic end-to-end system does not require retailers and customers to fill out tax refund forms at the store which have to be signed by the retailer and presented at the airport ensuring a more seamless tax refund experience for international travellers.
Global Blue alone handled over 1.5 million transactions for tax-free in FY 2010[1] in Singapore, an increase of 26% compared to 2009, with further increases expected in the coming years. Deploying an electronic system will significantly reduce processing times for retailers and tourists alike as well as reduce chances for errors such as missing signatures from retailers on paper receipts or misplacing receipts.
[1] From April 2010 to March 2011.
The pilot phase started in May 2011. Until end October 2011 a total of 1,380 retailers (2,046 stores) of all sizes participated nation-wide. During this phase a total of 142,591 transactions have been conducted smoothly via eTRS. The eTRS is implemented in phases and will be fully implemented by August 2012. Once eTRS is fully implemented, the paper-based system will cease. Building on its success in Singapore, Global Blue will roll out electronic refund systems in another 10 countries around the world in the next two years.
Press contacts:
Josephine Lee
Marketing Sales Manager, Asia Pacific
Global Blue
36 Robinson Road
#15-01, City House
Singapore 068877
jlee@global-blue.com
Phone: +65 6324 9652
Anja Koltes
Manager Burson-Marsteller
50 Scotts Road #03-01
Singapore 228242
anja.koltes@bm.com
Phone: +65 6671 3232
