GST charges for ABN Holders who import low value goods for business use

[bpbakes23]

There has been much discussion on the issue of GST being charged for imported goods of value less than $1000.  I've put questions out to this community and it appears there are a lot of opinions.  I finally have confirmation from eBay on the current process and will address it here.  Hopefully it will clear up all discussion.

If you are an ABN holder that is importing low value goods for business use, you should not be charged GST on your transaction as per the ATO Website

The current process for getting the charge refunded is to contact eBay CS and provide them with your ABN and the Item No's of transactions that it applies to.

Whilst I have not completed this process yet (as in I'm yet to be refunded for a GST charge that I've queried) I've taken a screenshot of the discussion with eBay CS.  It should give others something to reference if there is any doubt from eBay CS clarifying the current process.  Order of emails is from bottom, up.

Let's hope eBay can get a better process in place, sooner.  Maybe if many buyers are frequently contacting them about incorrect GST charges, there will be a high priority on a solution.

[maranock]

Ok, I just finished a long call to the ATO and spoke to both a supervisor and the higher department that handles GST compliancy. I was told that yes, as long as you have a sales email from Ebay and/or a similar record in Paypal then you are allowed to claim the GST that Ebay remitted to the ATO without it specifically saying the words 'Tax Invoice'. You just treat it as any GST on a purchase on your BAS.

They said that the same applies to any invoice or sales receipt from an overseas sale where GST was taken out whether it was from Ebay or not. The only stipulation is that it is clear that a GST componant was paid and how much, with no ambeguity.

The man I spoke to was from a higher department than usually speaks to the public and said that they will have to get the word out to their phone operators, but sometimes people call in wiout communicationg their question well which is what could be causing confusion in this case.

End of story.

[lyndal1838]

Great minds think alike maranock.....I have just finished a similar call here in Sydney and received the same advice.

It is the same advice that I received a few months ago when I bought some marking pens from overseas and only had the ebay/paypal receipts.

[countessalmirena]

That is very clear and unambiguous. Thanks, maranock! It helps to have a record of the advice specifically given by an official representative from the ATO, specific to this situation, lucidly articulated.