topic import charges in Buying

import charges

family_gj_aj_dd — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:24:37 GMT

Hello All, Have noticed lately there are import charges on international purchases. Payable in the currency of the country you are buying from. This is in addition to the Global shipping program charges.

Australia does not have import charges for items under 1000$. Have been having to pay these charges for items under

200$. Thought it was the GST under the guise of Import Charges. But this works out far more than the 10% GST Australia now has on international purchases.

Vouchers/ coupons are also not available for the length of time stated. Had one that was supposed to be available until the 8th of July.

It disappeared today, the 6th July.

Re: import charges

countessalmirena — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:39:21 GMT

New legislation > Indirect taxes > GST > GST on low value imported goods

GST on low value imported goods

The Federal Parliament has passed law that will extend goods and services tax (GST) to low value imports of physical goods imported by consumers from 1 July 2018.

Businesses that meet the A$75,000 registration threshold will need to take action now to review their business systems to ensure that they are able to comply.

The existing processes to collect GST on imports above $1,000 at the border are unchanged.

In summary, the reforms:

make supplies of goods valued at A$1,000 or less at the time of supply connected with Australia if the goods are purchased by consumers and are brought into Australia with the assistance of the supplier
treat the operator of an electronic distribution platform (EDP) as the supplier of low value goods if the goods are purchased through the platform by consumers and brought into Australia with the assistance of either the supplier or the operator
treat re-deliverers as the suppliers of low value goods if the goods are delivered outside of Australia as part of the supply, and the re-deliverer assists with their delivery into Australia as part of a shopping or mailbox service that it provides under an arrangement with the consumer
allow non-resident suppliers of low value goods that are connected with Australia to elect to access the simplified registration and reporting system
prevent double taxation.

As you can see, the ATO states that the reforms “treat the operator of an electronic distribution platform (EDP) as the supplier of low value goods if the goods are purchased through the platform by consumers and brought into Australia with the assistance of either the supplier or the operator”.

The GST is collected for both the goods and the postage/shipping.

eBay is treated by the ATO as the supplier under this description, and collects the GST on behalf of the ATO. Because of this, it is irrelevant whether or not a seller on eBay is under the $75,000 annual threshold in respect of sales to Australia, unfortunately.

However, if the seller sells on their own platform / website, and is under that $75,000 threshold, you can still purchase from them without GST needing to be collected by the seller on behalf of the ATO.

Read the full Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Act 2017 here: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00077

Re the coupon not working, is it the PLATYPUS coupon code to which you're referring? Many people have reported it not working on eBay.com.au; it will work, however, on eBay.com or eBay.co.uk, depending upon where the item was listed. Just go to eBay.com or eBay.co.uk, log in, and proceed with the purchase (entering voucher code) as normal.

Re: import charges

kopenhagen5 — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:39:32 GMT

Import charges on items less than 1000 came into effect as of 1st July 2018.

Re: import charges

lyndal1838 — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 15:56:57 GMT

From what has been said on the boards it appears that there is a fee being charged for collecting the GST when the GSP is being used.

I would think this is illegal but whether you would get anywhere by arguing is just a guess.

I also believe they should be showing the actual GST amount as a separate entry.

Re: import charges

family_gj_aj_dd — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:57:25 GMT

I agree with that Lyndal. The GST as a separate entry would be great, and in AUD. I am not surprised a fee is being charged for collecting the GST. Appears now, purchasing items internationally which are not available in Australia comes at a premium.

Re: import charges

family_gj_aj_dd — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 00:58:17 GMT

Thanks Kopenhagen. I did not realise at the time import charges were a part of the changes on 1st July

Re: import charges

family_gj_aj_dd — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 01:03:55 GMT

Thanks so much Countessamirena. I appreciate your time and information given. Interesting reading. I did not realise import charges also came into effect on July 1st, or part of the package. Thought it was just the GST. Note to self: keep up to date with changes. 🙂

Yes, it was the PLATYPUS code. Thanks for that, will visit uk, and usa ebays.

Everyone, Thank you. Always appreciated.

Re: import charges

lyndal1838 — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 01:36:49 GMT

As far as the Australian Government is concerned the only change is the implementation of the GST.

It is actually illegal in Australia for businesses to charge for collecting the GST. It looks like Pitney Bowes is making hay while the sun shines. They charge an arm and a let to run the GSP shipping and now they are adding further charges to collect the GST.

That really stinks.

Re: import charges

papermoon.lady — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 04:19:49 GMT

And it is not cheap either.

This would be for the postage of an item that for a change wouldn't even be expensive in itself (it is not even small, so I must wonder if the seller made a mistake...).

But the import charge hurts. (I am not sure if it a fixed amount or a percentage of the postage, as I don't want to look for more GSP items...)

PS: The item is just 6 pounds.

Re: import charges

lyndal1838 — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 06:38:43 GMT

Mariq, is there a postage charge as well as what is showing there? And is the GST showing as a separate entry?

It is all looking very dodgy to me at the moment.

Re: import charges

papermoon.lady — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 06:51:53 GMT

The postage charge is GBP 11.13, but sorry, when I said it is not a small item I was wrong, The item they sell is actually very small, but it was on something big in the photo, so even GBP 11.13 is a lot for something that fits into a small padded envelope.

I don't know if the GST is separate. Usually it is at checkout (I bought a small item from Germany, and other people said the same), but considering the amount of this import charge it might be included. You would hope so at least.

Someone who has actually gone through the checkout might be able to let us know.

Re: import charges

brerrabbit585 — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 10:43:22 GMT

I put something in my cart and then went to checkout and the charges show exactly the same as on the listing, ie. no EXTRA amounts have been added. It was a GSP item. I didn't complete checkout as I had no intention of buying it.

Item cost: $9.95 US

Postage: $17.95 US

Import charges: $6.76 US

GST would be $2.79 US so PB is charging an extra $3.97 US on this item. I can't be bothered trying it on another item so see if they're charging a standard fee. Someone else can do that. It's easy enough to find GSP items to experiment.

Re: import charges

davewil1964 — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 11:30:48 GMT

I don't know likely it is, but, maybe PB are sdimply scaling down the charges they use for above $1k items.

ie Those all attract customs duties as well as GST, in the main, so PB have algorithmed it for items under $1k.

We are talking about a 'modern' company, so they would automate as much as they could. Especially if the alternative was to pay a person or persons to accurately calculate charges. Or a cadet programmer for 2 days to rejig the algorithm. As opposed to being guaranteed a larger profit due to knowing they are overcharging, but being untouchable by Australian law.

Re: import charges

papermoon.lady — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 08:59:02 GMT

This is for an item that is about 20-25 grams. Absolutely ridiculous! Yes, the item is expensive too, that's why with the GST and GSP and their import charges it costs almost AUD150 to send it to Australia.

Re: import charges

padi*0409 — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:12:32 GMT

@papermoon.lady wrote:
This is for an item that is about 20-25 grams. Absolutely ridiculous! Yes, the item is expensive too, that's why with the GST and GSP and their import charges it costs almost AUD150 to send it to Australia.

If you're actually wanting to buy it then you should contact the seller as with my first tip on the "perspective" thread.

If however you're just picking a listing with high postage using the GSP, then maybe you're in the same boat as another GSP hater that rarely gives alternative avenues.............................

Re: import charges

papermoon.lady — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 19:05:43 GMT

Actually I did buy from this seller, and they did offer First Class if it was better for me.

However, you can still miss out.

On another occasion an item sold while I was waiting for a reply, and on top of that the seller said if I found someething else it was OK for them to use normal mail. Unfortunately they didn't have anything else I liked though.

Re: import charges

c_mount — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 04:04:47 GMT

Yeah we all know about that.....that is not what the OP is talking about...

Re: import charges

c_mount — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 04:08:00 GMT

That is disgusting. Perhaps we need to lobby the idiot who pushed this whole saga to look at this.

Re: import charges

papermoon.lady — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 05:27:07 GMT

@papermoon.lady wrote:
Actually I did buy from this seller, and they did offer First Class if it was better for me.

It was not this item, it was something similar (same size) a few months ago.

They made me pay only $20 for First Class.

The item arrived in just one week and the tracking even worked on the Australia Post website.

Re: import charges

family_gj_aj_dd — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 13:46:51 GMT

Agreed. It does stink. What can one do though, apart from refrain from purchasing internationally.

😞