Should I Be Able to Get a GST Tax Invoice from a Purchase Fulfilled by Amazon AU

urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 09:35
Last edited 15/05/2018 - 11:05 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I recently purchased an item which was fulfilled by Amazon AU.

As the item was not sold by Amazon & only fulfilled they don't give an automatic invoice when purchasing and instead invite you to contact the seller of the item for this which I did.

Anyway I requested the invoice and it's come back but has a Hong Kong address and obviously no GST component to it. As the item is sold, stored and fulfilled from within Australia, shouldn't it be subject to GST and a Tax Invoice issued?

Thanks for any help

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Comments

  • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 10:14

    Most likely seller is not Australian basrd thus they are not GST registered.

    I bought once from NZ sellers who sell in Amazon Au and only provide a NZ type purchase document which then not a tax invoice. In this case Amazon purchase document will be enough.

    Best to contact seller directly to see if they can provide a tax invoice just in case they are GST registered.

    • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 10:21
      +1

      Sure the parent company may not be Australian, but for tax purposes they are still selling & distributing from within Australia - we're not talking about items that are being shipped from overseas warehouses.

      Was your NZ sellers item fulfilled by Amazon or sent from NZ?

      • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 10:25

        All I know overseas based company can have local fufilment. Like Kogan HK have it's parcel sent via Auspost and still no GST.

        I'll get back to you in that NZ seller.

        • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 10:49

          I've bought from Kogan before and sometimes it is sent from an overseas warehouse and onto their distribution centre which uses Aus Post, in this case I wouldn't expect a GST invoice - I've also bought items from Kogan which are official Australian Stock such as this GoPro which didn't come from OS and was sold with a GST invoice

          Theres 2 different parts to Kogan and each as I've highlighted will have a different GST obligation

      • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 12:29

        ok, here is info for that NZ seller sells on Amazon AU:
        Order on Apr 20 and then shipped item on Apr 27 and we receive it by May 5 (yes it was Saturday delivery).

        Tracking number is AusPost, however there is no "pickup scan" - only Chullora NSW processed it on 27 Apr - not sure why we get it by May 5 even Chullora to us is only 25km away. 5 business days plus one weekend day.

        Ok, after some digging, checking on NZ post, this tracking does exist in their system. On 27 April, it's marked "Departure from NZ" thus this product is clearly from NZ for this particular order.

        Ordering from Kogan HK: Ordered on Apr 15, order dispatched on Apr 17, and we receive it by Apr 19.

        Here is early status:
        17.04.2018 04:22 Electronic notification of shipment Parcel Post Australia
        17.04.2018 15:29 Shipment confirmation
        18.04.2018 18:05 Sorting Chullora, Nsw
        19 Apr pretty much onboard delivery and item delivered.

        Can't see the same tracking available in HK/China post, thus I'm pretty sure Kogan HK has local fulfilment here in Aussie even the document provided is a Commercial Invocie (no GST), not Tax Invoice.

        • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 13:24

          Thanks for the info - yeah as you stated, your Amazon AU purchase shipped from NZ and thus is deemed as being imported by yourself and no GST is applicable (this will be changing soon)

          My order shipped next day from the Dandenong fulfillment centre and therefore is different - I've gone back and had a look at the seller and found this in the listing

          'Items ordered from AnkerDirect AU may be subject to GST, depending on the type of product and the location to which the order is shipped. If an item is subject to GST, in accordance with Australian tax laws, the GST is generally calculated on the total selling price of each individual item, including delivery and handling charges, gift-wrap charges and other service charges, less any applicable discounts.'

          From that I can see items sold where the location of the product is Australia are subject to GST as I presumed and the seller has to provide a Tax Invoice wether the parent company is based in Australia or not. If they are selling from Australia they are subject to Australian Tax Law the same as every other business.

          Kogan on the other hand and the same with your purchase is split between Kogan HK & Kogan AU with Kogan HK products being Grey Imports and not subjected to GST. It's more than likely that your order on the 15th made it's way with a whole lot of other products from HK to an Australian distribution centre by the 17th where they are relabelled and sent onto you via Aus Post - it's quite a handy little loophole but isn't the same as my situation :)

        • [Deactivated] on 15/05/2018 - 14:45

          That tracking number from the NZ seller was unlikely to be an Australia Post tracking number, it was likely EMS. Were the last two characters of the number "NZ"? This means it was an EMS tracking number created by NZ Post. If it were "HK", it would be an EMS tracking number created by Hong Kong Post, same as US = US Postal Service, UK = Royal Mail, and so on. If it ends in AU, or does not have a two letter ISO country suffix, it was created by Australia Post.

        • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 22:36

          @urbancartel: Hi that wording of AnkerDirect AU may be subject to GST - is generic wording by Amazon itself, if you see other seller profile you may find it's the exact same thing.

          So you saying that AnkerDirect AU actually provides you with a HK based company commercial invoice? If it is, then I'm afraid you can't claim any GST in this purchase.

          Sigh - it may good idea to give direct sign of a business is GST registered or not.

        • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 22:40

          @Kyanar: Hi that NZ seller has tracking starts with A7Y followed by 13 numbers

          Kogan HK one starts with Y4J and followed by 7 numbers - thus both do not have HK or NZ in it which makes them less obvious.

        • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 22:44

          @foxmulder:

          Yeah it's generic wording but relevant…

          And yes they've provided a HK based invoice which obviously I can't claim GST from - that's my point though, just because they've sent that doesn't mean it's correct and i'm after clarification… It's more than likely that they just aren't aware of the tax implications and invoice requirements from having their items fulfilled by Amazon and effectively running an Australian business.

  • JCrown9 on 15/05/2018 - 14:47

    Catch marketplace is similar.
    Im a seller on their and had this week a customer contact requesting an invoice.

    I told them that as the sale was processed via catch to contact them for an invoice.

    I then had a rep from catch contact me asking if i could provide the customer with an invoice as they were yet to have (but coming soon) an automatic invoice creation option.
    So im still not sure what is right or wrong, but i did create an invoice and send to the customer even though catch processed the transaction.

    Cheers

    • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 14:57

      Yeah that's exactly right - you should be providing an Australian tax invoice unless the items are sold and fulfilled by Catch in which case they would be responsible for sending an invoice. In this instance your the 3rd party seller and Catch are only taking a cut of your sales, they aren't responsible for handling your GST requirements.

      It's the same if I sell anything on eBay or Etsy or Amazon, they are just the vehicle for which I run my business and aren't responsible for the charging of GST

      • tomadeira on 15/05/2018 - 16:12

        so how do you define the term fulfilment in this context - ebay has their own buyer protection (without paypal)

        Would it mean that the item MUST come from Amazon directly?

        In the context of tax law - i'd say because Amazon provides an A-Z coverage - Amazon while officially acting as a broker has also implicitly taken on the obligations of what the rightful seller should bear.

        in the case of Catch however, those asswipes would have made sure they has nothing to do with the shipping of the product and if you didn't have paypal to hold it over their heads when a dispute arises - they would not step in although the paper trail clearly shows Catch as the vendor in Paypal's or your CC statement.

        Ive never used amazon aus before but my purchases from the US site has never had a receipt direct from a vendor in Amazon.

        • urbancartel on 15/05/2018 - 16:37

          Fulfillment in the context of Amazon or 'FBA' is when Amazon picks, packs & stores 3rd party sellers items - more details here

          So yes the item comes from Amazon's Dandenong Warehouse but isn't sold by Amazon Commercial services as such, but by the 3rd party seller.

          You can also buy items on Amazon AU that aren't fulfilled by Amazon but come directly from the 3rd party seller and in this case if it's shipped from OS you wouldn't be getting a GST tax invoice. Likewise you can also buy items via Amazon AU from a 3rd party seller who may handle the shipping themselves and ship from Australia.

          Catch Marketplace sellers would also ship directly so would be either Grey imports or local stock - Catch themselves are just the selling platform

  • foxmulder on 15/05/2018 - 22:56

    Here is interesting read: Australian GST registration for non-residents https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-busine…

    See this part:

    "When you must register
    You must register for GST in Australia if both of the following apply:

    you are carrying on an enterprise
    your GST turnover from sales that are connected with Australia and made in the course of your enterprise, meets or exceeds the registration turnover threshold of A$75,000 (or A$150,000, if you are a non-profit body)."

    I'm pretty sure Kogan HK and Anker Direct AU must have more than $75k of sales annually for things they sell here in Australia, thus GST registered?

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