How to pay imported goods GST??

[Stephen Tinker]

Over the last 12 years, I have purchased a lot of Porsche service parts from the UK and USA - but that was before the tightening of the GST where any parts now imported attracted the dreaded 10% tax. The parts used to be delivered to my address without any participation by the Customs / ATO.  

My question is if I bring in parts which now attract GST, how do you pay the tax? Does Customs hold the goods back @ the terminal and then contact you for payment or do I have to drive to the import facility to pay the duties before picking the up?

Just how difficult is it to pay this import tax??

[WB997.2GTS]

If you are buying from Design911 then they drop the UK VAT, but automatically charge 10% AUS GST. Items sail through customs and are usually here in a couple of days.

[TwoHeadsTas]

OK, that's interesting.  I thought it was only if purchasing through Ebay, Amazon etc (i.e. a worldwide organisation with an Australian branch) that they would automatically do that.  My thinking was that it would still be up to Customs to pick up on any goods otherwise coming through from, say, Design 911, Pelican, FCP Euro etc who don't have an Australian arm, in which case, yes there would be a requirement to pay a customs agent the GST etc.  Must admit it's so long since I've had to do that I'm not sure if it is something picked up by Aust Post or other organisation...

[WB997.2GTS]

I have just rebuilt my Boxster engine and sauced the majority of parts through design911, as soon as you enter your delivery address their billing system recalculates the tax from VAT to GST. I bought the IMS kit & the additional rear bearing kit through a supplier in Canada, they marked the package as $600CA (the $1500CA invoice was in the box)  and it came Aust post in 3 days ( unbelievable) with no tax.

[Rob]

15 hours ago, Stephen Tinker said:

Over the last 12 years, I have purchased a lot of Porsche service parts from the UK and USA - but that was before the tightening of the GST where any parts now imported attracted the dreaded 10% tax. The parts used to be delivered to my address without any participation by the Customs / ATO.  

My question is if I bring in parts which now attract GST, how do you pay the tax? Does Customs hold the goods back @ the terminal and then contact you for payment or do I have to drive to the import facility to pay the duties before picking the up?

Just how difficult is it to pay this import tax??

I recently bought some suspension bits from Germany.  The price quoted was "delivered to Australia" but with a notation that "additional taxes or charges may be applied in Australia".  Sure enough, I had a phone call from DHL advising me that I needed to pay them GST and import duty before they would deliver it.  Easily done, just quoted credit card details and the bits arived. The whole transaction, from ordering to receipt, was just over a week😉

[Stephen Tinker]

Thanks Rob - so it seems like the delivery company demands the GST tax.

What I want to order is a small package usually delivered by Australian Post, then accordingly they "should" contact me before delivering to my home address - I really don't want the Customs to send me a snail mail advising me of a package @ Brisbane air terminal receivals & that I have to actually go and pick it up and cough up the GST - we really can't be that far behind the real world can we??

[ANF]

I have found that it depends upon where you buy the good from, some US companies will add the GST to your order while others don't, and so far the ones that don't I have not paid any GST on!

Pelican did not charge me GST nor did a few 928 specific suppliers. It seems not all US suppliers seem willing to be Aussie tax collectors.....

[AdRock]

I've bought a whole bunch of stuff recently from EBS Racing.
They send via FedEx and before they will deliver your goods, you will get an phone call asking for the additional $$.

On a $1400 AUD purchase, I got charged:

Customs Duty: $69.50
Import DEC N10 AIR CHARGE (Goods value < $10,000)
GST  $151.34
WET  $0.00
AQIS Entry Charges AIR  $33

so, $303.84 in additional charges.

What a rip. As if the conversion rate isn't bad enough.

[Jason E]

So, given these additional charges etc is it just easier purchasing direct via your local Porsche Centre?  Is the Aus Porsche tax still so much greater than what you pay through the US/ UK or is it still worth bargain hunting O/S?

I've purchased in the past from the UK & the US when the dollar was better & it was certainly worth the savings but now I'm not so sure.

[TwoHeadsTas]

I've ended up buying from James at Autohaus because there's been very little difference in the  import price  vs AH price for the items I've been looking at.....

[AdRock]

5 hours ago, Jason E said:

So, given these additional charges etc is it just easier purchasing direct via your local Porsche Centre?  Is the Aus Porsche tax still so much greater than what you pay through the US/ UK or is it still worth bargain hunting O/S?

I've purchased in the past from the UK & the US when the dollar was better & it was certainly worth the savings but now I'm not so sure.

Buying direct from Porsche is super fast - usually they have it for me in a day or 2 and they have practically everything I've needed. 
The problem is being porsche - they only sell genuine Porsche parts.  Unlike Pelican, etc that sell cheaper alternatives if you're happy to buy an aftermarket option. 

MasterParts is great - but unfortunately their range is very limited - otherwise I'd buy all of my parts from there. 

 

[Jason E]

13 hours ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

I've ended up buying from James at Autohaus because there's been very little difference in the  import price  vs AH price for the items I've been looking at.....

I was going to say that (local purchase) is important if there is a problem with a part that you've purchased that needs returning or replacing, however the few times I've had a problem with parts purchased from say Paragon or Pelican Parts they've always just sent me new parts sight unseen.  Nothing shits me more than having to send a faulty item back internationally at my cost so that the seller of said faulty item can confirm that the part is indeed faulty.  I get it - it just shits me. 

[dan_189]

Anything marked over 1k AUD will automatically attract customs duties and GST etc. 

It's painful as customs holds the goods until they are paid for unless you use Fedex who process it for you (but you still need to pay).

[Stephen Tinker]

1 minute ago, dan_189 said:

Anything marked over 1k AUD will automatically attract customs duties and GST etc. 

 

Dan - I was under the impression that the "over $1K limit" changed in late 2017 - I thought the rules changed and now all parcels imported through customs will get smacked with the 10% tax on the purchased value.  IIRC, the government realised just how much money they were missing out on from small goods bought on line from foreign fields.

That's why I started this thread, as trying to navigate through the Customs / ATO website is as clear as mud and you need a Law Degree to fathom out the answers....

[ANF]

4 minutes ago, Stephen Tinker said:

Dan - I was under the impression that the "over $1K limit" changed in late 2017 - I thought the rules changed and now all parcels imported through customs will get smacked with the 10% tax on the purchased value.  IIRC, the government realised just how much money they were missing out on from small goods bought on line from foreign fields.

That's why I started this thread, as trying to navigate through the Customs / ATO website is as clear as mud and you need a Law Degree to fathom out the answers....

That is true, just not all overseas senders signed up to be ATO tax collectors so it is really hit and miss who will charge you. Ebay is a definite as is FCP euro, others, well try your luck.
I bought parts last week totalling just under $300 from the US and paid no GST.

[Troubleshooter]

1 minute ago, Stephen Tinker said:

Dan - I was under the impression that the "over $1K limit" changed in late 2017 - I thought the rules changed and now all parcels imported through customs will get smacked with the 10% tax on the purchased value.  IIRC, the government realised just how much money they were missing out on from small goods bought on line from foreign fields.

That's why I started this thread, as trying to navigate through the Customs / ATO website is as clear as mud and you need a Law Degree to fathom out the answers....

You're on the money Stephen, I think a few smaller items may still slip through but in my experience the days of small packages/parcels worth say $1k - $5k escaping GST are gone. Also paying GST on customs duty and a few various other "customs dept taxes" is immoral and downright wrong - never should have to pay tax on a tax!!

[dan_189]

6 minutes ago, Stephen Tinker said:

Dan - I was under the impression that the "over $1K limit" changed in late 2017 - I thought the rules changed and now all parcels imported through customs will get smacked with the 10% tax on the purchased value.  IIRC, the government realised just how much money they were missing out on from small goods bought on line from foreign fields.

That's why I started this thread, as trying to navigate through the Customs / ATO website is as clear as mud and you need a Law Degree to fathom out the answers....

I'm not too sure on under 1k AUD i've brought in a few packages under 1k and haven't paid any duties recently. Although ebay are now charging it at the checkout.

[TwoHeadsTas]

9 hours ago, AdRock said:

Buying direct from Porsche is super fast - usually they have it for me in a day or 2 and they have practically everything I've needed. 
The problem is being porsche - they only sell genuine Porsche parts.  Unlike Pelican, etc that sell cheaper alternatives if you're happy to buy an aftermarket option. 

MasterParts is great - but unfortunately their range is very limited - otherwise I'd buy all of my parts from there. 

 

Non Porsche Centre suppliers like Autohaus will usually have OEM options, as well as factory if OEM or alternative not available.  I remember when our 987 needed a new coil pack, Beru from PC in the Porsche box was something like $170, Beru in plain box, same part no, from AH was about $80.....

[ANF]

4 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Non Porsche Centre suppliers like Autohaus will usually have OEM options, as well as factory if OEM or alternative not available.  I remember when our 987 needed a new coil pack, Beru from PC in the Porsche box was something like $170, Beru in plain box, same part no, from AH was about $80.....

Surely not PC in Tas..... sounds too cheap for them 🙄

[firstone]

I bought a light switch for the boxster from partscontainer/newparts. (Ebay seller) so automatically calculated the gst etc. $160 del compared to 300 odd from Porsche etc here. Same part, Italian made for P. So i guess it's still worth checking. Unless your time is more valuable than that.

If it's a throw the dice thing, I guess most will opt for local.

[JV911]

On 23/06/2019 at 10:28, Rob said:

I recently bought some suspension bits from Germany.  The price quoted was "delivered to Australia" but with a notation that "additional taxes or charges may be applied in Australia".  Sure enough, I had a phone call from DHL advising me that I needed to pay them GST and import duty before they would deliver it.  Easily done, just quoted credit card details and the bits arived. The whole transaction, from ordering to receipt, was just over a week😉

My experience with UPS and other large courier companies is the same.

[Troubleshooter]

2 hours ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Non Porsche Centre suppliers like Autohaus will usually have OEM options, as well as factory if OEM or alternative not available.  I remember when our 987 needed a new coil pack, Beru from PC in the Porsche box was something like $170, Beru in plain box, same part no, from AH was about $80.....

And it had to be shipped overseas to you as well 

[dan_189]

1 hour ago, firstone said:

I bought a light switch for the boxster from partscontainer/newparts. (Ebay seller) so automatically calculated the gst etc. $160 del compared to 300 odd from Porsche etc here. Same part, Italian made for P. So i guess it's still worth checking. Unless your time is more valuable than that.

If it's a throw the dice thing, I guess most will opt for local.

FedEx has the same system - they call you, provide payment (usually via credit card) and then its out for delivery 

[TwoHeadsTas]

FYI, info just released:

As at 1 May 2019, the ATO has now collected over $250 million in GST for the first nine months of the low value goods measure, which began on 1 July 2018, outstripping forecasts by $180 million.

Thanks to all you guys importing parts and stuff, glad to see you're supporting the Government's revenue raising initiatives 🙂 

[Redracn]

1 hour ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

FYI, info just released:

As at 1 May 2019, the ATO has now collected over $250 million in GST for the first nine months of the low value goods measure, which began on 1 July 2018, outstripping forecasts by $180 million.

Thanks to all you guys importing parts and stuff, glad to see you're supporting the Government's revenue raising initiatives 🙂 

Gerry Harvey must be crying (Well he is a bit of a sook) at this news. Seems overseas purchases are booming.