IE65295B1 - Data processing system - Google Patents

Description

Data processing system The Invention relates to a data processing system for processing date relating to commercial transactions, and in particular to a system of this kind for processing data relating to taxable sales to overseas customers in circumstances in which the customer will generally wish to reclaim the tax paid. Zn such cases the tax authorities require not only that very detailed documentation be maintained, but that the systems employed should be such that the documents relating to any specified transaction must be readily identified and located, it will generally be convenient for the customer if the work of handling the tax claim and maintaining the necessary records can be delegated to an organisation set up for the purpose# so that all the customer has to do 1$ to produce the necessary documentation, duly certified by the tax authorities, at a desk at the airport or other point of departure, and obtain his tax refund. In some cases it may be desirable, or even necessary to comply with legal requirements, that in order to be qualified to account for the tax, and subsequently be entitled to claim the tax refund, the organisation should be the legal owner of the goods. For this purpose a double sale must take place, the goods being first sold to the organisation, and then by the organisation to the customer.

It will be apparent that an elaborate data processing system will be required to carry out the accounting procedures to control these operations, to ensure that tax is refunded only when the essential requirements have been met, and to generate and make accessible all the records necessary to satisfy the tax authorities, and in a form acceptable to them.

The present invention, which is defined in the appended claims, provides a novel data processing system, comprising input terminals located in the stores where purchases are to be made, a central 9 proceeslng Installation to which the data are transmitted from the input terminals* and at least one terminal connected to the central processing installation and located at the port or airport serving the ' area and at which the customer can present his documentation and obtain his tax refund before leaving the country. Ϊ ' The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing* which show·* in a simplified schematic form* the general organisation of a system according to the present invention.

Referring now to thia drawing* the system comprises a central computer installation 1 which receives and processes data relating tc transactions carried out within the system. Data terminals 2 are located in each of the participating stores* and are arranged to communicate with the central installation 1 by communication links 3. These links may comprise dedicated lines* or use may be made of the lines of the public telephone system during off-peak hours. Alternatively the link may comprise means whereby a terminal may transmit its data to the central installation by recording it on magnetic tape or disk* which is then physically conveyed to the central installation.

A further terminal* 4* is provided at an export desk at the port or airport serving the region* and at which a customer desiring a tax refund can present the necessary documentation to support his claim.

The customer using the system will visit the store* select the goods which he requires and pay for them* thia transaction being carried cut on behalf of the tax-accountable organisation* which thereby acquires ownership of the goods. At each purohase he will be given a receipt for the payment* which may be a slip Issued by a cash register* but more conveniently will comprise an entry on a delivery docket issued to him before he makes his first purchase.

When he has completed all the purchases he requires to make on that occasion he takes the receipts or the delivery dockets to an export desk in the store at which is situated one of the data terminals 2 of the system of the present invention. The details are then entered into the terminal for transmission to the central computer Installation. In the case of a large store thia may be done immediately on-line, but more usually the data for each working day will be stored within the computer or on some suitable medium, for example on a magnetic diskette» and transmitted later during off-peak hours, or a diskette bearing the data may be transferred to the central installation and the data on it be read into the central computer.

In formulating the data for transmission the terminal will add a aerial number identifying each receipt or delivery docket, and also an identification of the store from which the data originate. At the terminal, which preferably incorporates an on-line printer, a multi-part form is issued whioh inter alia constitutes an invoice from the customer to the tax-accountable organisation in respect of the purohases, at whioh point he becomes their owner. One part of this form ie retained by the customer for his personal record, and another part is taken by him to be presented to the Customs authorities at his point of departure, where it will be stamped by them as evidence that the goods have left the country and that therefore the tax paid may legitimately be reclaimed. The remaining parts are required for accounting and audit purposes.

When the data is received for processing at the central computer installation there is added to each record a master control number which identifies each Individual delivery docket or receipt, and also a location number which corresponds to the location at which one of the parts of tha multi-part form is stored, the existence of this number in the record confirming that the form has been issued. These numbers make it possible for the documentation of each individual transaction to be located and inspected, in accordance with the requirements of the tax authorities.

In due course, when the customer leaves the country and wishes to reclaim the tax he has paid, he presents the copy of the multi-part form designated for that purpose to the Customs officer at his port or « airport of departure, and it is duly stamped by the Customs officer to certify that he is satisfied that the goods are being exported· The ) stamped form is then presented at the desk of the tax-accountable organisation and the tax is refunded to him, the transaction being checked on the terminal situated there, and an entry being made in the computer record to indicate the date on which the transaction was completed.

Finally the stamped form is indexed and stored for production to the tax authorities whenever they may so require. For this purpose the stamped form may be put into storage either adjacent to, or in substitution for, the previously stored unstamped part, in which case the previously assigned location number enables it to be retrieved when required for audit purposes, or the desk terminal may assign a fresh serial number which is entered into the computer record and may be stamped on the form, and the form is filed under this number for retrieval.

The computer of the central computer installation is programmed to generate from the recorded data at monthly, quarterly, or other appropriate intervale, tax returns, returns of transactions which have passed the time limit for tax recovery, and such other returns and statistical information as may be required.

Claims (5)

1. Data processing system comprising a plurality of input terminals each 1 located in a store for recording transactions comprising sales to a Customer, a central computer installation serving a plurality of etoree, and a terminal at an export desk at a port or airport serving the region where the system is situated, means associated with each input terminal for generating and issuing multi-part documents recording details of sales transactions including tax payable thereon and for transmitting data relating to such transactions to the central computer Installation, and a communications link between the export desk terminal and the central computer installation.

2. Data processing system according to claim 1 in which the input terminals are arranged to record and to transmit to the central computer installation, for each transaction, a first set of data relating to a sale by the store to a tax-accountable organisation, and, for each transaction, or each set of transactions by the same customer, e second set of data relating to a sale by the tax-accountable organisation to the customer, the central computer installation maintaining a record for each transaction.

3. Data processing system according to claim 2 in which each record maintained by the central computer installation includes a location number identifying the location at which a first part of the multi-part document recording each transaction or set of transactions is stored, and, where applicable, a further number identifying the location at which is stored a second part of the multi-part document recording the transaction or set of transactions and bearing evidence that the goods the subject-matter of the transaction or set of transactions have been r exported and that tax is therefore properly reclaimable thereon. t

4. Data processing system according to any preceding claim including storage means associated with the central computer installation and arranged for the storage of parte of the multi-part forms in serial order, and in which the central computer installation includes means for allocating serial numbers to the parts of the multi-part forms to determine their storage locations·

5. Data processing system according to any preceding claim in which the input terminals each include an on-line printer arranged to print out the multi-part documents for issue to the customer. Dated this the 21st day of December, 1990 BYt 1