GST can of worms

[anner1813]

ebay now has a dilemna.

It has been forced on them it seems by the Australian governement.

Are there laws that enforce a consumer to pay GST? 

When consumers do a transaction in Australia with any merchant, it is the merchants responsibility to collect GST. There are fines for merchants who transact without providing a GST invoice. 

However it is my understanding no law ensits the merchant police the consumer to pevent them walking out that store and purchasing goods elsewhere if they do not wish to pay GST. Are there?

Doesn't the consumer have the right (knowing the purchase arrangements after they buy the product) to walk out the store and purchase it some way else?

If that is the case, why does ebay have a platform that appears to try and prevent buyers and sellers transacting outside the ebay platform? 

[lyndal1838]

The problem with items from the USA is not just the addition of the GST but the fact that items being sent by the GSP are having exorbitent fees added for the collection of the GST.

In Australia this is illegal but Pitney Bowes is a US company and gets away with it.

[countessalmirena]

Buyers might like to know that purchasing on Amz can still be done, if the delivery address is ex-Australia. Presumably any GST payable will be handled by the forwarder, and I will keep an eye on the total (and breakdown) to see whether there is more than the GST charged by my particular forwarder.

People buying items from US sellers on eBay might find this just the incentive they need to change their buying habits on eBay for international items. Instead of having an Australian address as the delivery address when buying an item which would normally be sent to AU via the GSP, using a US forwarding address will mean that buyers can avoid that nasty import charge.

[anner1813]

No the "forwarders" are now collecting GST and adding it... services like shopmate and Stackry and the like... 

[anner1813]

Pitney Bows and now the GST added onto Pitney bows is making ebay unworkabke hence my OP and "Can of worms comment" and it goes something like this...

(A recent experince)

1/Seller is lazy descibing the item mainly becasue doesn't care to get the sale ...they think buyer can always return in US and get full refund less shipping if the description proves inaccurate

2/ Thiis is irrelevant for Australian buyers... the shipping is so expensive the "free ebay return offer" is effectively now a no go nonsense

3/Therefor buyers here have to be very careful before pruchasing... I send alot of messages to sellers "please explain the accuracy and details of your listing" etc

4/ Recently I had a seller pull the listing (once I had helped them realise it was a first edition book by my questioning....they said they had "done some more research" and then relisted it at a more expensive price!!!!!

So these excessive GST/shipping charges will be definitly effecting buyers opinions of ebay.... in my opinion it still favours the seller way more than the purchaser... and excessive shipping, now GST, is becoming one of the main reasons

[lyndal1838]

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@anner1813 wrote:

No the "forwarders" are now collecting GST and adding it... services like shopmate and Stackry and the like... 

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I don't think the GST is the problem.....most of us accept that we now have to pay it on overseas purchases.

The problem is that Pitney Bowes, who manage the GSP, is charging a fee.....a very high fee.....to collect that GST.  

It is illegal in Australia to charge for collecting the GST but Pitney Bowes seems to be getting way with it.

What I don't understand is why ebay is not collecting the GST on items posted through the GSP, just like all the other overseas items.

[papermoon.lady]

What I don't understand is why ebay is not collecting the GST on items posted through the GSP, just like all the other overseas items.

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I asked myself the same question just this morning.

[countessalmirena]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

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@anner1813 wrote:

No the "forwarders" are now collecting GST and adding it... services like shopmate and Stackry and the like... 

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I don't think the GST is the problem.....most of us accept that we now have to pay it on overseas purchases.

The problem is that Pitney Bowes, who manage the GSP, is charging a fee.....a very high fee.....to collect that GST. 

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Exactly, Lyndal.

As I mentioned,  "Presumably any GST payable will be handled by the forwarder", and it's the "nasty import charge" that will be avoided.

I suspect - but I don't have any evidence to support this, other than the fact that eBay is not collecting the GST on items through the GSP - that eBay has made this a condition added on to PB's contract with them (eBay), that PB will handle the collecting of the GST for items sent to Australia through the GSP. eBay probably decided (in my view) that this was a way to mitigate their administration of the GST collection and hence reduce their costs. PB have simply (again, my opinion) decided not to eat the admin costs. I would not be surprised to hear of communications between the ATO and PB, but it's anyone's guess as to what will happen, considering that PB aren't in Australia.

[lyndal1838]

Pitney Bowes is already charging an outrageous amount to process the ebay parcels and ship them to Australia.....hence the very high shipping charges which cannot be attibuted to the amount they pay FedEx for the shipping and delivery in Australia.

What really concerns me is that the GST is being added to the invoice under the guise of being import charges.   In Australia it is the law that the GST must be stated as one entry, not hidden in a general "import charges" entry.

If a buyer wants to claim back their GST they may find the ATO will not allow it as there is no clear indication of what the GST charge is.

[brerrabbit585]

They can still claim the whole thing as a cost if they're a business so the bottom line is the same.

I can't see why PB would need to have anything at all to do with collecting GST. The total price is known when the buyer goes through checkout and pays so there's absolutely no reason ebay can't collect the GST same as they do for every other overseas item.