Electronic Tourist Refund Scheme: CRA and Independent Retailer Requirements

Who this guide is for and its source version

The forty-one-page tenth edition, published on 30 January 2026, concerns claims from 4 April 2019. It is primarily for Central Refund Agencies (CRAs) and Independent Retailers (IRs) connecting directly to the electronic Tourist Refund Scheme, rather than an ordinary retailer choosing affiliation with an existing CRA. The latter route remains available without building a direct clearing-house interface.

The PDF lists Global Blue Singapore and Global Tax Free as participating CRAs at publication. Global Tax Free is identified as Central Refund Counter operator through 31 May 2027. These are dated source statements, not promises of appointments beyond that date. Specific stricter conditions on a Specified Retailer prevail over the general guide.

Four distinct parties and the end-to-end refund path

The IRAS-owned Central Clearing House (CCH) receives and stores transactions, supports airport retrieval and approval, and calculates refund amounts using each CRA/IR’s single refund table. The Central Refund Counter (CRC) is the paying agent for all CRAs/IRs, not the same entity as the clearing house. Affiliated retailers send data through a CRA; IRs send directly to CCH.

The tourist purchases and obtains a passport-linked transaction; data reaches CCH; the tourist makes airport declarations and undergoes any Customs check; CRC pays the approved refund; the tourist leaves with the goods; CRC settles with CRA/IR daily; and CRA/IR claims through its GST F5 only after paying CRC. Missing or inaccurate transmission can prevent a tourist refund.

Six checks when issuing a tourist transaction

Explain the conditions and check eligibility; sight the original passport and confirm it belongs to the customer, checking a valid ICA e-Visit Pass; digitally capture passport number, nationality and purchase details; tell the customer to retain invoice/receipt and goods for inspection; mark the receipt to show an eTRS transaction has been issued; and explain that touristrefund.sg can show issued transactions and later non-cash status. A photocopy or image is not an acceptable substitute for presenting the passport.

The guide notes electronic Visit Passes for air arrivals from 11 March 2022, sent to the SG Arrival Card email. Issued transactions should be viewable within ten minutes. Purchases from 4 April 2019 do not receive paper eTRS tickets; the older February–April 2019 ticket period is transition history.

Airport claims and the permitted refund methods

Before checking in, scan the passport at a kiosk, declare eligibility and acceptance, select transactions and choose cash, credit-card or Alipay refund. If directed, show goods, receipt and e-Visit Pass at Customs before approval. Non-cash refunds need no cash-counter visit. Changi cash collection is in departure-transit refund counters; Seletar offers only credit-card and Alipay options.

CRC subsequently invoices and debits CRA/IR daily for refunds and charges. The CRA/IR claim against IRAS follows its payment to CRC and supporting evidence. An affiliated retailer accounts for its original sales GST and does not also claim that tourist refund from IRAS.

Seven eligibility conditions for direct CRA/IR participation

A direct participant must be GST-registered; have good tax compliance and payment records; maintain sound controls and accounting records; process at least 5,000 approved tourist claims monthly on average; have an eTRS-capable system; engage CCH; and engage CRC. For an applicant with no existing TRS operation, a reasoned forecast can be considered individually, but approval may be terminated if the volume condition is not met over the following twelve months.

The volume average can be measured over the immediately preceding financial year or any twelve continuous calendar months within the eighteen months before application. A smaller retailer can use CRA affiliation. Direct approval is initially five years and renewable, unless terminated. The source identifies paragraphs 5.3–5.5 and 5.7–5.9 as legally effective conditions.

Continuing operational undertakings

Maintain an average tourist refund of at least 82.4% of eligible GST, compliant updated technical systems and timely, accurate, complete data. Fund independent audit, suitable IT support, approved outage contingencies and controls for test transactions. Maintain compliance, controls and records, follow TRS and added conditions, and give at least ninety days’ notice with an exit and communications plan before planned withdrawal.

The 82.4% is calculated over approved transactions for a January–December twelve-month period; it is not a statement that every individual transaction returns exactly that percentage. Each CRA/IR has one refund table and bears the costs of updating it. Outage procedures must still enable ten-minute transmission, with immediate incident notification to IRAS.

Audit findings and different remediation deadlines

Use a reputable independent audit firm acceptable to IRAS. Major and medium findings must be resolved and independently validated before initial approval or renewal. For a new application, low-risk findings must be resolved and validated within six months from audit-report submission. For renewal, the corresponding six months run from the renewal application date. These starting points should not be conflated.

IRAS may prescribe scope/frequency, require periodic audits at the participant’s expense, request deeper investigation for high-risk findings or significant assessed risks, and require assurance on end-to-end CCH and CRC transmission for every issuing solution.

CRA-specific retailer supervision

A CRA ensures affiliated shops verify passports and e-Visit Passes, maintains the prescribed retailer register, and disables issuing solutions when notified of a retailer’s GST deregistration. Perform the prescribed affiliation, de-affiliation and re-installation checks supplied with in-principle approval. Terminate or refrain from affiliation when IRAS instructs. Produce sales documents, prices and payment evidence on request, and obtain approval before new issuing solutions, including integrated point-of-sale designs.

Appendix 4 additionally requires a clear in-store notice about in-person passports, written acknowledgement of the instructions signed by the retailer’s director/proprietor/partner as appropriate, and retention of each notification and acknowledgement for five years from notification. Newly affiliated shops are included.

IR-specific responsibilities

An independent retailer performs all six customer-issuance checks itself, displays the in-person passport notice prominently, provides sales and payment evidence on request and informs IRAS before introducing a new issuing solution for approval. An IR’s own system must meet the same accurate-data and ten-minute requirements; independence from a CRA is not independence from the common clearing-house rules.

Proposed changes to process and intellectual property

A solution deviating from the defined process or changing the eTRS system needs prior IRAS approval. The participant bears integration and procurement costs, grants IRAS and its engaged operators a free perpetual non-exclusive Singapore licence to use and modify relevant participant-owned/licensed assets, and vests rights in intellectual property created to implement the approved modifications in IRAS.

It must indemnify IRAS for relevant IP infringement claims and report allegations within five working days of receiving information, supplying further material as directed. IRAS can require evidence within a stipulated reasonable period that an allegation will not materially impair operation. These are actual conditions of a changed solution, rather than an optional general design recommendation.

Preventing erroneous refunds and maintaining data integrity

Take reasonable steps to prevent incorrect refunds from operations or approved modifications. A retailer-entered S$10 GST amount must remain S$10 at CCH, and one issued sale must not become multiple transmitted claims. If causes are not remedied within the stipulated reasonable period to IRAS satisfaction, appointment may be suspended or revoked. IRAS retains assessment discretion on the adequacy of system-risk remedies. An interface that passes a connectivity test still needs controls against amounts changing and duplicate transactions.

CCH fees and one-month security

A service agreement with IRAS covers transaction fees, late-payment interest, security and termination. From 1 January 2024, a refunded transaction attracts S$2.20 plus 4% of its processed GST amount. A transaction not refunded to the tourist does not attract this fee. Security equals approximately one month of expected CCH fees; first-year estimation uses preceding calendar-year refunds as a guide. A banker’s guarantee can substitute for the deposit.

CRC float, guarantee and per-transaction fees

Engage CRC under a bilateral contract. Provide a seven-day estimated-refund cash float reviewed quarterly, and a fourteen-day estimated-refund banker’s guarantee reviewed annually. For the source period through 31 May 2027, CRC charges S$0.93 per cash-refunded transaction or S$0.92 per non-cash-refunded transaction. Set up data receipt and daily direct debit, and pay financing or reinstatement charges where applicable. Financing uses the average interest rate of DBS, UOB and OCBC plus 1% per annum.

The float belongs in a designated account and is used only for tourist refunds, applicable participant fees and ready cash at refund points, without mixing into the operator’s own funds. Daily debits cover refunds, CRC fees and GST on those fees. These operational fees and securities should not be confused with the tourist’s GST purchase amount.

Failed debit and large cash refunds

Maintain funds for daily settlement. Failed debit may trigger the guarantee; refunds continue only while float and guarantee suffice. IRAS may terminate participation where failure remains unresolved within three working days or occurs more than once.

The ordinary cash-refund maximum is S$7,500 per tourist. A larger amount requires sufficient advance notice—twenty-four hours during working days before the counter visit—and the tourist pays the stated S$100–S$200 fee. This conditional facility does not abolish the normal cash cap.

New applications: first submission and approval package

Submit a company-letterhead application identifying CRA or IR status, an authorised declaration of eligibility/undertakings, the basis for a 5,000-monthly forecast if new to TRS, and contact name, position, telephone and email. In-principle approval generally takes three months for the existing flow; a changed proposal may take six months or longer and can be rejected. These are source processing indications, not guaranteed deadlines.

Within nine months of in-principle approval, or a longer period accepted by IRAS, provide CCH interface certification, signed CRC contract, original signed IRAS service agreement, additional-conditions declaration and the independent audit report with validated major/medium resolutions and low-risk undertaking. Otherwise the application lapses. Final written approval identifies the commencement date for issuing transactions.

Renewal, changed eligibility and exit

Apply afresh at least one year before the initial five-year appointment expires and submit the independent audit report by that time. Continue all section 5 conditions. IRAS determines the renewed appointment period; renewal is not automatically another five years.

Immediately report circumstances preventing eligibility or compliance. For voluntary exit give written reasons and ninety days’ advance notice, an exit/communications plan, and for CRAs an individual retailer termination timetable. IRAS confirms the effective date. It can also terminate for failure to meet conditions or on its stated ninety-day notice basis.

Appendix 1: goods and visitor eligibility

The scheme concerns standard-rated goods, not services. It excludes goods wholly or partly consumed in Singapore, commercial/business exports, freight exports and accommodation. The visitor must be at least sixteen on purchase, not a citizen or permanent resident, and not departing aircraft crew.

The visitor must not be a specified person on purchase, at any time in the preceding three months, or on airport claim date. Specified persons include holders of the listed MOM work passes and Letter of Consent, Dependant’s Pass, Long-Term Visit/Plus Pass or Student’s Pass. It also includes the listed foreign diplomatic/consular and international/representative/trade-office personnel with an in-force Singapore MFA identification card, and their spouses/dependent children. A nationality alone does not settle these pass and time-period tests.

Appendix 1: all purchase, export and refund deadlines

Spend at least S$100 including GST, combining at most three same-day receipts from retailers bearing the same GST number and shop name, with duplicate prevention. Present passport and e-Visit Pass personally at purchase. Apply at an airport kiosk and take goods out through Changi or Seletar within two months of purchase. Show goods and evidence if Customs requires.

Depart with goods within twelve hours after approval, and claim the payment from the approved operator within two months after approval. The two-month purchase/export limit and two-month approval/payment limit have different starting events. The twelve-hour export limit is additional, not an alternative longer period.

Appendix 2: connectivity and CCH interfaces

The system overview specifies SingTel MPLS including router, preferably redundant and at least 1 Mbps; actual volume can require more bandwidth and detailed specifications follow approval. CCH communication uses synchronous XML web services: send issued/voided transactions and retrieve Customs-approved/rejected transactions. Endpoints comprise address, binding/transport and contract; WSDL is supplied separately.

Send issuance and amendments within ten minutes. Voids can logically overwrite earlier data but are rejected once Customs status has been processed. Failed validation returns an immediate error, requiring the participant’s exception correction and resubmission. Retrieve processed status at an interval from ten minutes to one day; digitally signed XML carries a public certificate for validating the Customs stamp and supports historical approved retrieval. Interface certification and user acceptance are at the participant’s expense.

Appendix 2: CRC files and the common refund table

CRC exchanges use sFTP credentials and regular downloads of separate daily cash and non-cash refund files, with exception handling; the interface diagram also shows rejected non-cash reports. Each participant supplies exactly one XML refund table. The issuing solution’s provisional amount must use the same table CCH uses for final Customs approval. XSD and sample XML are provided separately. Changes during approval can lead CCH to recompute the refund; the participant’s provisional figure is not final approval.

Appendix 2: transaction identifier and all captured data

Every transaction has a unique twenty-digit numeric Doc-ID allocated under CCH format and ranges, displayable numerically, in human-readable groups or as a barcode. The published grouped pattern is 20XXRR.NNNNN.NNNN.NNNNL: prefix 20, participant XX from 00–99, CCH-defined refund-rule positions, participant-specific sequence content and a LUHN check digit. Follow the technical allocation rather than generating arbitrary numbers.

Capture receipt number of at least three digits, issuance date/time, gross amount, goods category, Doc-ID, and digitally captured passport number and nationality. The same receipt number cannot be entered into multiple transactions within seven days. Each transaction has at least one receipt and each receipt at least one item, observing the S$100 consolidation rules. The overview’s checklist covers MPLS, issuing/validation, XML table, both CCH services, CRC sFTP and contingency handling for line, CCH/CRC or local infrastructure failure.

Appendix 3: all audit areas and report contents

The baseline covers PDPA and PCI-DSS where card data is stored; secure mobile/web practices; transmission encryption; application controls; IT general controls; vulnerability assessment; and network penetration testing. The PDF references OWASP and older CIS/ISO examples as source references, rather than declaring those edition numbers universally current mandates.

The report includes findings on all relevant transactions in the audit period; opinions on transaction completeness/correctness and control adequacy; severity assessment; improvement recommendations, management comments and auditor response. Clearly tabulate risk definitions and impact/likelihood matrix. These audit requirements supplement, rather than replace, functional CCH interface certification.

Appendix 5 scenario 1: all four refunded cash transactions

In the same-day illustration IR1 has S$200, producing S$16.51 processed GST; its CCH fee is 2.20 + 4% × 16.51 = S$2.86, CRC S$0.93, shown total S$3.79. AR1 combines S$300 and S$250, GST S$45.41; CRA1 pays CCH S$4.02 plus CRC S$0.93, total S$4.95.

AR2 combines S$280 and S$330, GST S$50.37; AR3 has S$700, GST S$57.80. CRA2 pays two fixed fees plus 4% × (50.37 + 57.80), giving CCH S$8.73 and CRC S$1.86, total S$10.59. The four transactions cannot be collapsed across different shop names merely because some share a CRA. Processed GST uses 9/109 of inclusive purchases. These are the appendix’s displayed fee totals; the separate daily-settlement rule also specifies GST on CRC fees.

Appendix 5 scenario 2: consolidation and unclaimed transactions

IR1’s two S$40 receipts on 18 January total only S$80; a S$60 receipt on 20 January cannot be combined across dates. No qualifying transaction and no fees arise. AR1’s same-day S$40 and S$80 combine to S$120, processed GST S$9.91: non-cash refund fees are CCH S$2.60 plus CRC S$0.92, total S$3.52.

AR2 issues on a S$180 receipt, but the tourist never presents that claim for kiosk approval, so no CCH/CRC refund fee is payable. AR3’s three same-day receipts S$40, S$40 and S$60 combine to S$140, processed GST S$11.56; CCH S$2.66 plus CRC S$0.92 gives S$3.58. The general introduction’s unrefunded wording should not be read as cancelling the subsequently identified refunded AR1 and AR3 transactions.

Appendix 6: all eighteen retailer-register fields

Provide ACRA retailer name; GST registration number; registered address; retailer contact person, designation and telephone; withdrawal date; shop name; shop address; shop contact person, designation and telephone; issuing-solution installation dates; each installed solution type; confirmation of correct retailer configuration; solution termination dates and machine numbers; shop de-affiliation date; and last-update month.

For GST groups show the actual shop-operating retailer name but representative-member GST number; for divisional registration use the actual retailer name and division GST number. List each solution and its own installation/termination dates where multiple are installed. Provide the complete Excel register on approval, then updates within the first week of each month clearly marking changes/new affiliations. The six appendices, all fee cases, system requirements and legal undertakings are explained in this webpage, retaining the original PDF and its dated appointment information.