How to avoid GST on low value imported goods?

LAlpha Bravo on 16/07/2018 - 22:39
Last edited 16/07/2018 - 22:40

Hi All,

Just want to inform you all of how to stop the Australian Government stealing your hard earner money by avoiding GST on low value imported goods.

When buying good from overseas this is not a goods or services that is carried out in Australia hence the Australian Government is not entitled to it.

Here is how the default way to avoid this theft will be carried out…

  1. Add an address to your Ebay or Aliexpress account, this account should be a random USA address.

  2. At check out select this USA address and continue to purchase without the Tax.

  3. In the Paypal notes or seller contact, send a message with your real Australian Address.

  4. The seller will then post your item to this correct address stated.

The international sellers are all catching onto this method and are aware of this system.

General Discussion

Comments

  • dylo on 16/07/2018 - 22:44
    +1

    Might try this with a UK seller. Knowing my luck they will miss the message and post to the dummy address.

    • 2ndeffort on 20/08/2018 - 23:38

      Most of the online UK shops dont charge UK VAT if you use an Australian address, they do charge VAT if you ship to a UK address. Given that the UK VAT is 19% and ours is only 10% your strategy is an 'own goal'.

  • jimbobaus on 16/07/2018 - 23:10
    +6

    Member for 40 mins……
    Posts tax avoidance post….
    seems legit.

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:41
      +2

      I have searched the internet in regards to this solutions and found nothing on the subject. I think OzBargains is the best place to post this solutions. I visit OzBargains daily but only become a member to post this very important solution today.

  • SPCTRE on 16/07/2018 - 23:15
    +6

    Not all hero’s wear capes

    • Almost Banned on 17/07/2018 - 00:11
      +3

      heroes.
      You are using a plural, not contracting or possessing anything.

    • blitz on 17/07/2018 - 00:30

      "Heroes".
      That's a Bowie reference.

    • PJC on 17/07/2018 - 02:19
      -1

      Huh?

      • singingwolf on 18/07/2018 - 03:25

        David Bowie - singer…

  • jug123 on 16/07/2018 - 23:27
    +4

    how do they then charge the extra shipping once the transaction has been processed? Cant see them shipping for the same rate…

    • HighAndDry on 17/07/2018 - 10:11

      Most stuff I buy, especially low-value stuff, have free int'l shipping anyway.

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:42
      +1

      This solution only works seamlessly with "free postage" items

  • Caped Baldy on 16/07/2018 - 23:30
    +2

    I can imagine unscrupulous sellers "sending" the item. Good luck making a paypal claim.

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:45

      I'm not saying this a solution for everyone… If you buy a handbag for $200 and you want the government to steal $20 from you but want paypal insurance… then this is not for you.

  • JimmyF on 16/07/2018 - 23:50
    +7

    In the Paypal notes or seller contact, send a message with your real Australian Address.

    and when seller ignores this and posts your package to

    a random USA address.

    you'll be back here crying that ebay/paypal won't refund your money.

    NOTE : ebay always says ship to the paypal address used for payment and that only if the seller wants to be protected.

  • ibuy on 17/07/2018 - 01:11
    +1

    Some sellers will do this with their regular customers however there can be issues

    1) some sellers won’t because there is no seller protection from eBay or paypal

    2) eBay does vet sellers randomly to check tracking numbers uploaded to see the destination of goods. If it is not the same as the shipping address penalties may be levied on the seller.

    The other option would be to have the goods sent to a friend or relative in the country that you buy from and have them ship it. The law specifically exempts these packages from being levied with GST. Basically because it would be impossible to have these people collect and remit GST to thr ATO!

    The way forward is to lobby the Government to stop the GST on low value imports which is going to see negative revenue in the hundreds of millions because the cost to implement and monitor is higher than the GST revenue collected which means we all pay more for everything.

    • JimmyF on 17/07/2018 - 09:24

      The other option would be to have the goods sent to a friend or relative in the country that you buy from and have them ship it.

      Unless the reshipping cost is going to be less than the 'GST' saved, this is just wasting money.

      While it sucks, but lets say its $600 item including shipping, it would be only $60 GST added. So if you can get it reshipped for less than $60, you might save a few dollars. But is it worth the hassle for your friend/relative?

      Drop that value down to a $20 item and its $2 GST….. so better to just pay the GST and move on.

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:48

      "The way forward is to lobby the Government to stop the GST on low value imports"

      Lobby all you want…. its the government, they do what they want, if you don't like it… they will drag you from you home and put you in jail. simple

      • Julius on 19/08/2018 - 12:14

        What the… did you live in a Russian gulag for most of your life?

      • Save 50 Cent on 19/08/2018 - 20:35

        Is that how it is in Newcastle?!

  • EightImmortals on 17/07/2018 - 06:33

    Thanks OP. :)

  • whooah1979 on 17/07/2018 - 06:56

    In the Paypal notes or seller contact, send a message with your real Australian Address.

    Doing this may leave the seller exposed to an inr claim.

    No buyer should ask for an item to be redirected as refusal may offend.

  • Roofus on 17/07/2018 - 08:27
    +1

    Couldn't you just click use my paypal address when paying through paypal?

  • [Deactivated] on 17/07/2018 - 09:57

    I purchased goods from an online Chinese clothing store last week and didn't get charged GST.

  • Zachary on 17/07/2018 - 09:57

    This wouldn't work because you would still be called up to pay the GST, duties and any other fees once the items lands at customs @Sydney somewhere….?

    The only sure fire way to avoid this would be to have your own private plane/helicopter(Or even a ship if you prefer commute via water than the skies) and pickup your item from wherever it is that the seller is selling it from and come back home with the package….of course this would mean buying an expensive ass plane/helicopter and fuel for travel - no idea how much this'll cost but I'm guessing more than buying a car and fuel for the car; unless of course you already own a plane/helicopter and can pilot/fly it yourself in which case you're already a step ahead! hahahaha

    • whooah1979 on 17/07/2018 - 10:52
      +1

      This wouldn't work because you would still be called up to pay the GST, duties and any other fees once the items lands at customs @Sydney somewhere

      that is incorrect. the new legislation regarding gst on imports applies to lvg and is charged at the time of purchase by the retailer. there is no gst charges on lvg if the retailer chooses not to comply with the legislation.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/6156000/redir

      • Zachary on 17/07/2018 - 20:52

        oh….well in that case this trick will work since they won't hold your item at customs even if you haven't paid GST at point of sale(unless you bought something over or equal to $1k?) and presuming the seller is smart enough to read the note you sent to them BEFORE sending it off and not ignoring the note altogether….

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:53
      +1

      Incorrect.

      The Australian Government has made online retails take the fake GST at the point of sale and give it to the government. The Australian government has said "If overseas retailers don't take the money for us, then we will force all Australian ISPs to block there website"….

      Once it leaves the retailer and in the post, Australian Customs cannot seize it and hold it ransom for payment like they do with items over $1000.00.

  • Zachary on 17/07/2018 - 20:55

    The international sellers are all catching onto this method and are aware of this system.

    Which ones so I can note them down as "Smart sellers who reads and checks everything before sending off" list? …and then try a random purchase to test your supposed evasion out….

    • Alpha Bravo on 17/07/2018 - 22:55
      +1

      Hong Kong and Chinese seller are well aware of this system as they are loosing a lot of business because of this, they are more than happy to cooperate using this system.

      • Zachary on 19/07/2018 - 05:47

        …oh well gg US and UK sellers…

  • tanastra on 18/07/2018 - 00:17
    +1

    Practically the government will only able to target big companies like Ebay , amazon , Ali express and alibaba or exommerce portal to collect gst for Australian government . More money for government and yet still
    Not creating more future jobs Thru Harvey Norman stores as we are still shopping overseas. Another easy and lazy way for Australian government to get more money .

  • singingwolf on 18/07/2018 - 02:41
    +2

    Can somebody please confirm - second hand goods also attract GST from overseas?

    I read the legislation around what is GST free, and it says that GST CANNOT be charged on shipping fees. So, get your sellers to list an item for $1 and charge the item in postage (i.e., $20 item with $10 postage is now $1 with $29 postage).

    That should work.

    Will try it out.

    • singingwolf on 20/08/2018 - 19:56

      Got charged GST on international shipping, despite the legislation specifically saying it does not apply. eBay said they are complying. Whatever…

  • Schmendrick on 21/07/2018 - 15:54

    When using a freight forwarder or Australia Post you are charged 10% of the declared value of the item so declare a lesser amount.

    • Zachary on 28/07/2018 - 13:36

      You can't if they're buying the item for you and then sending it to you….

    • singingwolf on 20/08/2018 - 19:54
      +1

      tried that, they cancelled the order and said re-submit with real value.

      • Zachary on 22/08/2018 - 01:00

        $1200 item, declares $12…

        • singingwolf on 23/08/2018 - 08:31

          haha no, value $300, declared $150. They were obscure items with no invoices so surprised they took the time to check.

        • Zachary on 23/08/2018 - 19:06

          @singingwolf: Wait they actually opened the package up to look for the invoice??

        • singingwolf on 23/08/2018 - 19:24

          @Zachary: not just that, for most items there was no invoice, so must have either looked it up or estimated - not sure.

        • Zachary on 24/08/2018 - 06:59

          @singingwolf: …so did you end up re-sumbitting the real value or not bother altogether because it wasn't worth it?

        • singingwolf on 24/08/2018 - 15:18
          +1

          @Zachary: they refunded me then had to do a new shipment order. I then submitted an amount closer to the real amount, plus they gave me a 10% coupon so ended up paying not much more.

          Still, makes me dirty that 50% of the GST cost is made up of GST on shipping fees.

  • mybrains on 28/07/2018 - 19:29
    +1

    Just a small detail some may not have picked up - If you buy used parts off ebay say from O/S, you WILL also be charged GST.

    • singingwolf on 20/08/2018 - 19:55

      that's shit

      • Zachary on 24/08/2018 - 07:40

        yes it is….because it makes those 10% sitewide coupons effectively not as attractive as they were before….plus in some instances, ebay may overcharge you on the GST part…..

  • DrscottMcGluestick on 09/11/2018 - 07:40

    Thank you so much for this OP. My comics from the UK just went from 180 bucks to 114 thanks to you. We ended up just doing the whole thing via PayPal and email, cut out ebay and the gov fines all together which then made it cheaper for him as well as there was no seller fees! So happy days all round

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