Buying from abroad & tax

[walshydub]

I have been recently gathering parts from the UK & the US.

So far its just been small low value stuff but i am about to buy some coilovers and possibly some wheels, which, are of a higher value.

What is the situation with import duty? The coils and wheels will be coming from separate sellers at different dates and will both have a value of less than $1000aud.

Am I liable for tax charges once they have landed?

Cheers,
Allan

[team_v]

If it's under 1k and they are coming separtely then there should be no problem with tax/import duty.

[walshydub]

If it's under 1k and they are coming separtely then there should be no problem with tax.

Lovely Thanks mate.

[rayray086]

You can try and get the seller to write a lower value for the items you want brought in also.

[mikinoz]

I got a chip in the mail the other day and the description was:

"Automotive Electrical Data. $0.00"

I thought that was clever.

[gareth_oau]

You can try and get the seller to write a lower value for the items you want brought in also.

rayray, thats fraud, and I'm sure that walshydub would never contemplate that!! also, if the goods get lost or damaged, its much harder to claim the full value if youve declared a lower insured one?

[rayray086]

That's true... I think short-term more often than long-term!

[Greg Roles]

just remember that$1k total INCLUDES shipping, and even if you do seperate parcels, if the total going to your address equals over $1k in " a reasonable amount of time", they can still slug you for import duty, 10% total.

I ship parcels to my brother if two are likely to arrive within a reasonable amount of time. I pay enough tax thanks.

[goodfella]

just remember that$1k total INCLUDES shipping, and even if you do seperate parcels, if the total going to your address equals over $1k in " a reasonable amount of time", they can still slug you for import duty, 10% total.

I ship parcels to my brother if two are likely to arrive within a reasonable amount of time. I pay enough tax thanks.

My cousin is a Customs Broker and he has informed me that the Customs Duty (5%) is only on the Invoiced Unit Costs (over AUD1000), then GST (10%) is charged on Total Invoice (inc Shipping) + Customs Duty ... so plan on paying roughly 115% of the "web" price plus 105% of shipping to your door (plus whatever currency conversions and fees apply.)

[roccodingo]

Have the parts sent in smaller lots and at different times, ( ie 2 wheels at a time) I have had split orders from German auto just to avoid the tax threshold.

You really want the invoice to be the same amount as the accouint / credit card you have used to pay with, if your investigated it isnt hard for the excise guys to see if you have been fraudulent. ( ie paperwork figures must match )

[gareth_oau]

if the purchase price is less that AU$1,000, then you will be exempt from import duty and GST, even if the delivery cost takes the invoice total above AU$1,000. (make sure the goods price is shown separtealy on the invoice)

however, if your purchase price is over AU$1,000 then you will pay import duty and GST on the landed total including delivery charge

for example:

landed cost: A$1,200 (already paid to the seller before shipment)
duty @5%: A$ 60
GST @10%: A$126 (calculated on $1,260)

total of duty and GST = 60+126 = $186

note that a customs agent will also charge you around $70 to clear it, so you will have to hand over around $256 once it arrives and before delivery to you

[mikepologti]

when i imported my suspension from germany i got quite chummy with some of customs peeps, wasnt quite sure but they did mention somthing about a free trade agreement with the us. in any event customs (when you get a nice one) can be very very informative.

[gareth_oau]

when i imported my suspension from germany i got quite chummy with some of customs peeps, wasnt quite sure but they did mention somthing about a free trade agreement with the us. in any event customs (when you get a nice one) can be very very informative.

We have a free trade agreement with the US, this means that if the goods are manufactured in the US (not just purchased from there), then you dont have to pay the import duty otherwise applied, (which for car related gear is now 5%).

You still have to pay 10% GST tho, if it exceeds the $1k threshold.

We have 6 trade agreements in place with various countries - more details here http://www.austrade.gov.au/Free-Trad...s/default.aspx