Australian PSers and import customs tax

[bliss_cathy]

Hello Aussies!!!

I know there are a few sprinkled around Hope I find some today!

It's very funny, sometimes I read a post and I really agree with what is written and I notice the poster is someone who I am pretty sure has mentioned at some point they are Aussie.

Anyhow, last night, I was reading about the $1000 cut off we have for customs taxes in Australia. I was just about to buy something, but it was $1000 USD, which made it roughly $1077 AUD. I investigated customs duties which was going to be $270. If it was $950 it would have been $0!! Does the customs duty go up of the item is $5k?

So when purchasing from the US do you all factor in your customs taxes on top of price of the item?

I know this isn't the most interesting post but it's useful!!!

 

[susimoo]

Hi!!

I'm not an Aussie by birth but I am currently living in WA. I also am very interested when it comes to taxation on purchases as it determines whether it's worth it or not to me. Especially now the Aussie exchange rate isn't so great for US purchases.

I recently purchased an item that was $950 US plus $50 postage.

When I made my payment it was around $1079 AU.

However, I wasn't charged any tax on receipt.

I expected to pay 10% GST but would have been exempt from the 5% duty as it was eligible for AUSFTA.

I am not sure why that was the case.

I have bought lots of items from the US. Several being over the $5k mark. The tax was 10% GST and no 5% duty as they were all jewellery purchases and therefore eligible for AUSFTA.

I hope that helped a wee bit.

 

[bliss_cathy]

Hi Susimoo!

Given it would have been over $1000 by a smidgen you are so lucky! I wonder if it's a bit of a hit or miss depending on how the customs officers feels. 10% and 5% sounds right. What is Auftsa?

I got this off the Australian Government website under 'customs when buying over the internet'. I also am wondering if there is an additional $70 on top of the 10% and 5%. Once I made a purchase from BGD that was below $1000 and $70 was still charged..... The estimated taxes that came up for the purchase last night I was considering at $1077AUD was $270 (from memory).

Maybe I should have risked it and seen if I got lucky!!! Hopefully there will be some more anecdotal experiences here.

Anyhow, the information from AUS Gov...

Calculating Duty and Taxes
Duty, GST and other taxes are calculated and payable when you make an import declaration for goods that have a value above A$1000 or if you import alcohol and/or tobacco products. When your import declaration is processed, Customs and Border Protection will provide you with a payment advice. The payment advice will show all amounts payable to Customs and Border Protection relating to your imported goods.

If you use the services of a licensed customs broker for your imported goods, all Customs and Border Protection liabilities incurred are electronically forwarded to your broker.

When goods that you import are valued at more than A$1000, or include tobacco, tobacco products and/or alcohol of any value, a Customs value is used as the basis for calculating the amount of any duty and/or GST and other taxes payable.

Duty is determined on the Customs value of the goods. The Customs value of the goods is usually the amount you paid for your goods, converted to Australian currency. The exchange rate that is used is the rate applied on the day the goods were posted or exported.

GST is paid on the Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI).

The VoTI is the sum of:

the Customs value (Cval)
transport and insurance cost (or postage and insurance) (T&I)
any duty payable, plus
WET (if applicable).
The information below on calculating duty and taxes is provided as a guide only.

Example 1: An importation of multiple low value packages of goods (for example, six packages of video cameras each valued at A$200) (One consignment)
A$

Customs value (6 x $200) (Cval)

1200.00

Customs duty (Duty) @ 5% of Cval

60.00

(Payable)

International transport and insurance or postage (T&I)

150.00

Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI) (Cval+Duty+T&I)

1410.00

Goods and Services Tax (GST) @ 10% of the VoTI

141.00

(Payable)

Total payable Duty + GST 60.00 + 141.00 = $201

 

[arkieb1]

I bought something from the US from ebay eons ago that was just over $1000AUD and customs in Sydney charged me the full amount of tax. If you can get a letter or better still the vendor to fill in the customs declaration to declare the item was made in the US then you pay 15% instead of 10% or if you can prove (you have to take it to one of their registered valuers which might I add generally can cost more than the 5%) that the item is over 100 years old and have paperwork to state that then you can also get over paying the 5%....

They also have handling/processing fees and charges as well....

 

[Starzin]

Cathy can you please post the link to that info if you bookmarked it? Thanks.

 

[LaraOnline]

I had one item that was just over $AUS 1000 with postage and didn't get pinged by customs...
Another item that was definitely around say $AUS1700 and that was my first customs experience.
The process was terribly efficient.

The one tip I do have is be in close range with your phone and check your messages regularly, as in my experience there was only three days to respond before the package was sent back. I am a real slacker in terms of answering my phone or checking my messages.

My vendor had to email me letting me know customs was trying to contact me! So then I checked my messages (with pen and paper at hand!!) - they had called twice giving a very detailed message each time.
I took down all the details, and called the number back (got an answering service) and left a message.
They called me back very quickly, took my credit card details for the transaction and my parcel arrived the next day!

 

[bliss_cathy]

Cathy can you please post the link to that info if you bookmarked it? Thanks.

I can't remember exactly where I got that example from but here is a similar one:
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/importingGoodsByPostFaq.asp#HowisdutyandGSTcalculated

It's one of the FAQs, hope this is helpful.

 

[Starzin]

Thanks Cathy - much appreciated

 

[bliss_cathy]

Thanks Cathy - much appreciated

No worries

I've been in the 'looking for things under $1000 category for a while lol', it pains me the extra we have to pay on top.

I've missed out on two really amazing things because they were priced at $1050. Looking back I probably should have just paid the tax!!!