claiming GST back dodgy shit
 

Let's say you bought a camera lens for just under $1000 (name and address not required) . You have a friend going on a overseas holiday who is willing to take it with them so you can claim back the GST.
You are thinking of carefully opening that duty free sealed bag and replace that lens with a crappy old one back in the box and reseal the bag.

Pros:
You get to play with the new lens straight away and your friend doesn't have to stress about carrying someone else's expensive shit with them overseas.

Cons:
you get caught

Question is, how carefully do they check your stuff at the TRS counter at the airport? I have known people who have done this trick with sunglasses no probs.

I'd say big shit for your friend for tampering with the bag, doing it yourself ok but asking someone else to do it could end up giving them a record and possibly cause future travel problems.

cheapskate

Are you actually considering doing all this for the ~$90 GST refund?

A duty free bag that shows signs of tampering would most likely lead to a full bag and person search, including the good old rubber glove part.

I've taken a Camera (70D) & a netbook overseas to claim TRS - The items were not boxed or sealed - the camera was in a backpack & the netbook was in a neoprene sleeve - you just need a proof of purchase.

Show the receipt within claim time period - get refund - board your flight.

They didn't bother to record the serial numbers of any items.

The products you claim do not have to be duty free. I.E. You can buy a camera from JB hifi and take it overseas & claim the (TRS) GST.

You're not supposed to bring the item back with you - but they never check you on the way back in to Aus.

From memory there is a warning tag/label on the sealed bag advising not to open before leaving the country.
We recently had some family members leaving Perth with a number of sealed duty free bags and each one was checked to ensure that it had not been open at the customs office, they even made a huge fuss that the receipts had all been taken off to ensure that they weren't damaged or lost by accident.

Personally, if it is a sealed duty free bag, I would not risk tampering with it to save a few $, especially where there are some reasonable fines that they can slug you with.

Edit: As per Ross's post, we have also taken goods out of the country (ie ipad, mac book pro) without the original packaging and just shown proof of purchase when passing through customs.
These were not sealed bags or boxes though.

I claimed and Iphone 5 from Apple store.i was already using the phone. They actually made me go into settings and bring up the serial number so they can cross check with the receipt. not that it mattered to me. They then tell you you have used up $900 of your $1000 limit etc. Came back no issues how are they suppose to know. unless they check the computer and your a dodgy looking person :)

just looked up the TRS rules, you CAN use the items beforehand, which makes it even easier . No need to worry about bag tampering.