what is the $12000 special duty?

[foibles]

what is the $12000 special duty?

anyone who reads any of the news about proposed changes to importing legislation couldn't fail to notice continual references  (by journalists) to the fact that "...the special duty of $12000 will also be abolished"

i am utterly convinced that journalists....politicians....department heads....and public servants alike have zero understanding of what they are talking about.

whilst I've actually reviewed the very legislation that makes reference to this duty....i have no idea under what circumstances it would be applied.

I've even written to customs requesting clarification and....as one would expect.....they are far too busy as public servants to actually ....serve the public.

 

can anyone enlighten me as to when and why this duty may be applied...as opposed to the standard 5% duty on purchase price...and 10% GST on landed cost?

[niZmO_Man]

Maybe if you import something big, like a dumper?

[kakimoto33]

It's actually more of a fine or penalty rather than an import duty as such. This would be applied if you imported a vehicle without having approval through normal channels, however you would still not be allowed to keep the car either so it's not a loophole to allow import of otherwise ineligible cars as some people believe .. long story short, it has rarely ever been relevant to anyone so it makes sense to scrap it as an outdated bit of legislation anyway.