Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone has ever ordered anything over the internet that is borderline being at the taxed threshold (1000AUD I think). If you order in another currency, how does customs deem it being below or above the tax free threshold? Or is it just a gamble?
Its a gamble, problem is that only customs knows the true odds of being caught, and they are very unlikely to tell you even if they do know the odds.
Problem you face is that losing the gamble might be expensive.
Also find how much you are gambling on, by contacting them and finding out what the tax will be on the product if you declared it correctly.
I would err on the side of Customs not giving a damn. If it's close, I am sure they don;t want the hassle.
I just went through this as I bought something for around US$1,000.
They use the value the sender fills in on the customs declaration form and calculate the AU value based on the Exchange rates they publish on their website every week - over AU $1,000 you pay, under you don't.
If they think the sender has undervalued then they can revise the value. eg if the sender fills in $800 but it is obviously worth more they will calculate it at their estimated value
Sometimes shipments over $1000 can slip through without customs charging any tax.
Certain senders overseas, for example grey market camera places are red flagged with customs so most of their shipments are checked and a tax is put on anything over $1000.
As others have said, it really is a gamble as to whether or not you will get taxed.
I think they may include whatever you paid for freight as well.
That's after you break the $1000 AUD threshold, which is calculated solely on the item itself, after you break the threshold, the amount you have to pay in GST (and duty if applicable) will include the value of the shipping from the country of export to Australia.
let said you buy item online with the value $10k, then you told the seller to write an invoice $1k to avoid the tax. then you lost your item, so the insurance (if you do have) only cover $1k. so it is up to you. no way the custom able to check every single item value
Beware the GST is applied to the Shipped Cost, not just the item cost.
Thanks for the responses guys! I've also heard that you can't ship over 1K within a certain period of time - if several packages arrive for you within a week/month(??), they add up the value to test whether you've exceeded this 1K. What is the time period for this, anyone know?
I've never heard of this limit before..
I guess they could flag your name if they see several packages addressed to you, as to stop parallel importers completely evading GST
same day arrival, a lot of people bought cigarette from overseas with the current limit.
you can't get tax free cigarettes into Australia over the internet…
also, the limit now when you are flying in is 50 cigs per person (2 packs), not 1 carton anymore.
Under the old limit u can purchase 1 carton online from overseas. My room mate always got from her parent in japan
it depends on the customs officials I have friends who import cigars and they get them through quite regularly, sometimes even opened by customs officials but no tax applied. its pure luck.
her parent sent it from japan every fornight. and the other chinese friend did it as well. as long as you dont do it every day, it should be okay . but that was the good old time
Customs are quite reasonable if you are upfront from my experience.
Just call and ask the questions you have if you're not trying to rort the system.
They know what everything is worth so no point trying to 'sneak' stuff through.
As mentioned above, you have to declare what it's worth and that is what you paid. Easy?
I have heard stories that the same electrical product but different country model is able to be determined from serial numbers and the customs staff know exactly where it's originated from and what it's worth.
You get caught and I'm sure you'll find youself 'blacklisted'.
Hmm maybe I will call up then. I really don't want to get slapped with a bill for GST because I've made a few expensive purchases this month :(
few?
Yeah just one or 2… one kind of close to the customs limits.
You should read this information:
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5653.asp
If your purchase is under $1k and you can show evidence of price paid - no problem.
If your shipments are related, that is, all one purchase (>$1k) broken down into different parcels - you may have problems. If you can show that they were all separate transactions, each under $1k you should have no problem.
it might be best to ring customs and ask, just in case