New Customs Guidlines

[Sydneykid]

I heard on the grapevine that the dramatically increased volume of items being purchased from overseas via the internet has caused Australian Customs to revise their guidlines. They seem unable to handle the volume and have issued new guidlines to speed up the processing, plus they don't have the storage space. Previously they let items through without Duty and GST up to $200, some time ago that seemed to be revised to $400. This new guidline is apparently $1,000. So any shipment under $1,000 declared value will not be charged Import Duty or GST.

Would someone in the customs industry like to comment further?

PS; this doesn't affect US sourced items as they are covered by the Free Trade Agreement and don't have any duty regardless of their value.

Edited January 12, 2006 by Sydneykid

[dezz]

if this is true, its good news when buying stuff from nengun etc....intercoolers and ECU's being well over $200 etc

Hopefully someone can confirm/deny this

[benm]

ECU's don't acquire a tax/duty anyway.

[Sydneykid]

ECU's don't acquire a tax/duty anyway.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I though that was only standard ECU's, aftermarket ECU's are made in Australia (Motec, Autronic etc) so I thought duty would apply to imports.

cheers

[raz0r$harP.UK]

All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less.

Taken from 'When buying over the Internet' - page on Customs.

It also states that goods delivered by post will be sent on direct to the addressee, but items sent via other means would require a declaration to be lodged before clearance.

Furthermore, "where there are multiple packages to the same addressee in Australia from a single consignor overseas that arrive at about the same time, then the value of all packages will be combined for duty and tax assessment purposes."

Thanks for the heads up Gary!

[jonn]

The US Free Trade agreement only applies to goods manufactured and then sold in the US.

[MearCat]

The US Free Trade agreement only applies to goods manufactured and then sold in the US.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So does that mean goods that are manufactured anywhere in the world and then sold in the US

OR

manufactured AND sold in the US

[jonn]

So does that mean goods that are manufactured anywhere in the world and then sold in the US

OR

manufactured AND sold in the US

Manufactured AND sold.

[Zas)-(]

yeah anything under 1000 goods in value A.U.D mite not have duty on it but THEN your pretty much paying freight, itf charges etc

its how money is made through the trade industry nobody will let you ship for free and customs will charge, you also do need a customs clearance to be launched to customs which then will cost YOU MORE..

geez its so good to work in a customs broking firm

best bet to get a quote from a customs broking firm... you could end up getting stuff for cheap just realli depends who u no

[dezz]

yeah anything under 1000 goods in value A.U.D mite not have duty on it but THEN your pretty much paying freight, itf charges etc

its how money is made through the trade industry nobody will let you ship for free and customs will charge, you also do need a customs clearance to be launched to customs which then will cost YOU MORE..

geez its so good to work in a customs broking firm

best bet to get a quote from a customs broking firm... you could end up getting stuff for cheap just realli depends who u no

so you're saying you can get everyone stuff cheap

[d00dz]

I always thought it was:

Anything sent via courier ie. Fedex etc.. some courier service its max limit was $200 AUD.

While anything via post office ie. USPS, AustPost, EMS, etc. max limit has always been $1000 AUD.

[bikkies]

Anything valued less than A$1000 FOB is duty free nad exempt GST, however second-hand gear is subject to quarantine. By mail it will generally be cleared at the mail exchange and then delivered, but by sea and airfreight it will require a SAC (self-assessed clearance) to be lodged. you can do it yourself, but it can be time consuming.

Cars and most parts are still 10% duty and 10% GST, which will phase down to 5% duty in 2010 (as long as there's no change of government). Some bits are subject to restrictions, such as tyres (should have a DOT mark) and seatbelts (ASA marks) but this is rarely enforced. Airconditioning is a real pain in the arse, and expensive to import due to licencing requirements by the federal dept of Environment and Heritage. I've been lobbying with other interested parties to change the import rules for some time, to no avail- the current system is more about keeping Ford, Holden, toyota and especially Mitsubishi afloat than any bollocks about safety and emissions.

[bikkies]

Most car parts aren't covered by the US FTA, so you pay duty anyway.

All goods (except for tobacco products and alcoholic beverages) may be imported duty and tax free if their value is $1,000 or less.

Taken from 'When buying over the Internet' - page on Customs.

It also states that goods delivered by post will be sent on direct to the addressee, but items sent via other means would require a declaration to be lodged before clearance.

Furthermore, "where there are multiple packages to the same addressee in Australia from a single consignor overseas that arrive at about the same time, then the value of all packages will be combined for duty and tax assessment purposes."

Thanks for the heads up Gary!

[bikkies]

An ECU is duty free under a tariff concession, but still subject to GST.

ECU's don't acquire a tax/duty anyway.

[Liquidity]

meanwhile, the threads nearly a year old.