Sellers falsely claiming item located in Australia; resultant GST evasion

[lefant53]

I am currently in dialogue with a seller of an item which he claims to have posted 2 weeks ago from NSW (to Victoria). Tracing the item with Australia Post shows several scans over the period, but all have narrations which indicate the item has still not actually been handed over to AP. His responses seem like stalling tactics (please reconfirm your address, check with your post office) while he ignores my simple question "Where and when was it posted?" I strongly suspect he is waiting to receive the item himself from overseas, and only then will he actually post it using the tracking number he created the moment I paid. I notice he has several negative feedback comments complaining of long delay and items finally arriving either direct from overseas or having been re-posted in Australia. Assuming he arranges his imports (not through ebay) in parcels with a declared value (true or otherwise) below A$1,000 he will not pay GST. So by extension I will become the beneficiary of GST evasion, since GST would have been payable by me through ebay if the item location had been declared truthfully. Have other buyers encountered this, and what, if anything, are ebay and the ATO doing about it?

lefant53

[imastawka]

For a start, GST has been payable on items under $100 since last July, so

no avoidance there.

It's not an unusual tactic for Chinese sellers to say their item is in Australia and then send it from China.

Has your item passed it's 'expected' due date?

If so, open an item not received case.

If not, then there's not a problem, so far.

[kopenhagen5]

After you receive the item, you have 60 days from sale date to leave feedback.

It's your opportunity to warn others about s seller's conduct and mark their stars accordingly.

[imastawka]

Correction - typo

Items under $1000 now attract GST

[padi*0409]

---

@imastawka wrote:

Correction - typo

Items under $1000 now attract GST

---

Too many early sherries Stawks ????               

[lefant53]

To imastawka:

Under the new legislation applying from 1st July last year, if the overseas party does not send more than $75,000 worth of goods to Australia per year, NO GST is payable unless the value of an individual consignment is over A$1,000. BUT that legislation deems that "platforms" like ebay are treated like the seller where this threshold is concerned. (Which is why Amazon USA pulled the pin on shipping to Australia) That is why we have to pay GST when buying on ebay, but my seller, in this case, importing other than through ebay (assuming his overseas supplier does not sell more than A$75,000 worth to Australia a year) would NOT have to pay GST unless his incoming package was above $1,000.

Yes, the 'expected' date has long passed, but I try to be fair to sellers and only lodge a complaint with ebay when they have had a chance to explain themselves. With Aust Post getting slower every day, the 'expected' date often passes through no fault of the seller. A 'not received' case should, IMO, be a last resort.

lefant53 

[padi*0409]

"importing other than through ebay (assuming his overseas supplier does not sell more than A$75,000 worth to Australia a year) would NOT have to pay GST unless his incoming package was above $1,000."

Have a look at the seller's feedback, where are they registered ???

If it's an Asian seller then the chances are they're drop-shipping and their imports would almost certainly be over the $1,000 limit.

[imastawka]

Yes, the 'expected' date has long passed, but I try to be fair to sellers and only lodge a complaint with ebay when they have had a chance to explain themselves. With Aust Post getting slower every day, the 'expected' date often passes through no fault of the seller. A 'not received' case should, IMO, be a last resort.

And they'll string you along as long as they can, until it's too late to do anything.

Then you lose your money, and don't even have the ability to leave feedback.

[davewil1964]

---

@lefant53 wrote:

To imastawka:

Under the new legislation applying from 1st July last year, if the overseas party does not send more than $75,000 worth of goods to Australia per year, NO GST is payable unless the value of an individual consignment is over A$1,000. BUT that legislation deems that "platforms" like ebay are treated like the seller where this threshold is concerned. (Which is why Amazon USA pulled the pin on shipping to Australia) That is why we have to pay GST when buying on ebay, but my seller, in this case, importing other than through ebay (assuming his overseas supplier does not sell more than A$75,000 worth to Australia a year) would NOT have to pay GST unless his incoming package was above $1,000.

Yes, the 'expected' date has long passed, but I try to be fair to sellers and only lodge a complaint with ebay when they have had a chance to explain themselves. With Aust Post getting slower every day, the 'expected' date often passes through no fault of the seller. A 'not received' case should, IMO, be a last resort.

lefant53 

---

So, what is your question, then?

[lefant53]

To padi*0409

Thanks for your suggestion of checking the country the seller is based in. I hadn't noticed that was shown on the feedback page, and always went by the "item location" which is a Sydney suburb. I've just had a look and, sure enough, it's Malaysia (Stable door, horse, etc)

But as for the seller paying GST on his 'drop' shipment, that all depends on what is declared as the value, rather than the true value.. I've worked in import/export for almost 50 years, for large companies who definitely do NOT want the damage to reputation caused by evading - even inadvertently - import duty/GST. No matter how much we BEG our Asian suppliers to declare the true value of goods so we can do the right thing, they invariably ignore us and will brazenly declare the value of a 20kg package of ladies' ball gowns to be ONE RUPEE ! It drives me nuts, as fixing the error so that we pay the correct duty & GST takes 10 times as much work as if the correct value was used in the first place.

lefant53