GST nightmare to begin, Bye Bye EBay US, eBay U.K., eBay......

[mica357_4]

Sad days are ahead I fear.

Im an eBay buyer, mostly from overseas. Why? Because what I want or need isn’t available here to buy. Or it’s a pre loved item. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no fan of the Global Shipping Program or likewise eyewatering shipping costs, but what’s a gal to do?

How the @@@ is this 10% GST on everything and anything going to work?

Yes people’s, everything , all items, be it a 10th hand vintage coat or an Art Deco cabinet plate, everything.

The fact that the seller, as a person making less than $75,000 a year from their online selling and is therefore actually exempt, is irrelevant, the Govt is going after the Marketplace ie EBay, Amazon, Etsy, Alibaba. I mean they even have PayPal in their sights as a collection agency!

Currently, if you buy an item over $1,000, apart from shipping and handling fees, the cost is $55 for a do it yourself customs declaration, more if you use Fedex or the Global Shipping Program.

So, you have to factor this extra $55 to $100 into your overall cost. 

After 1 July, that $10 widget spinner you want has a $1 GST fee payable. How much extra is eBay going to charge an Aussie buyer to compensate themselves for the hassle and inconvenience of being responsible for collecting our Govts new fee? That whole $1!

Another 10% (ok if it’s a $10 widget, not so good if a $990 bag) or say $10 a purchase (ok if you’re buying that $990 bag, not so good for the $10 widget buyer).

And how hard does it get when you return that widget to the seller cos it’s faulty and want your $1 GST refunded. Imagine the cost and the effort for eBay to apply, on your behalf because they collected it, to retrieve your $1 back, and hopefully before you die.

Here’s your invoice from eBay, your $10 refund for the widget return, the $1 GST collected and subsequently refunded and our bill for $157 for the processing.

Or more likely, we’ll just be excluded.

[lyndal1838]

Oh get a grip!!    You are already paying 10% GST on everything you buy in Australia so why the hooha over paying the 10% on overseas items.

If you are able to use a DIY Customs clearance then you have very little to complain about.....most agents charge in excess of $150 to do it for you.  By the time all the charges are added that $1000 item has increased by 30% to 40% depending on the rate applicable to the item.

As for what ebay will charge to collect the GST....probably nothing as it is illegal to charge the customer for complying with your tax obligations.

As for applying for a GST refund from the ATO.....  You obviously have no clue as to how it works so give everybody a break and stop the hysterics.

[imastawka]

Don't you read the User Agreement?       You should.

You ticked a box that says you did.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259&st=3&pos=3&qu.... GST on low value imports

17. GST on low value imports

From 1 July 2018, Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies to the sale of low value goods (i.e. goods valued at AU $1,000 or less) imported by consumers into Australia.

eBay is considered an Electronic Distribution Platform (EDP) under the relevant legislation and therefore responsible for collecting the GST on low value imports and paying it to the Australian Government. This means that from 1 July 2018, eBay will add GST at checkout on all imports with an order value less than AU $1,000 and remit the GST to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). We will not collect GST on orders over AU $1,000.

If you are a seller with products located outside Australia, you don't have to collect GST nor remit anything to the ATO in regards to your eBay sales. Any GST that applies for low value goods bought on eBay and imported into Australia is added to the order price and collected by eBay from buyers, then remitted directly to the ATO. You still receive payment for your orders as normal However, you acknowledge and agree that 1) your prices may appear 10% higher to buyers than before if their delivery address is in Australia; and 2) we won't report GST collected to you, although we will indicate on the order details page if GST was collected by eBay.

As a seller, you must not misrepresent the location of your items on eBay and you must comply with eBay's Selling practices policy. Sellers found in violation of this policy may be subject to listing removal, warnings and suspension by eBay.

If you are a buyer, you may see "GST may apply" when viewing items on eBay that are located overseas. You acknowledge and agree that if you buy a low value item on eBay from outside Australia, you will be charged 10% GST on top of the seller's item price (applied in your cart and at checkout). If there is any dispute as to the GST you have paid on an order, you should contact eBay. If you receive a full or partial refund for your purchase, you will also receive a refund for the proportionate amount of GST.

Our Tax policy contains more detail about when we charge GST on eBay. If you have any questions or require more information, please contact the Australian Taxation Office - opens in new window or tab or seek independent tax advice.

[shoppingbag*]

I am in the same boat, buying items from overseas that I cannot get in Australia. However, if I want the item, I would rather just pay the extra than go without. What concerns me more is that  I read that we are going to be charged GST on the postage as well.

While I don't see how they can get away with that one, it won't surprise me in the least if this is true. I think it is unfair to have the tax applied to second hand items, and can only wonder if it will follow that this government will apply the GST to second hand goods sold online in Australia. They had in the past considered imposing it on markets and garage sales. The government is also considering imposing a levy on all parcels as well, estimated to be dollars not cents, this will be on top of the GST, and between $2-$7 being considered.  This idea scrapped previously is back on the table.

[brerrabbit585]

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@mica357_4 wrote:

After 1 July, that $10 widget spinner you want has a $1 GST fee payable. How much extra is eBay going to charge an Aussie buyer to compensate themselves for the hassle and inconvenience of being responsible for collecting our Govts new fee? That whole $1!

Another 10% (ok if it’s a $10 widget, not so good if a $990 bag) or say $10 a purchase (ok if you’re buying that $990 bag, not so good for the $10 widget buyer).

And how hard does it get when you return that widget to the seller cos it’s faulty and want your $1 GST refunded. Imagine the cost and the effort for eBay to apply, on your behalf because they collected it, to retrieve your $1 back, and hopefully before you die.

Here’s your invoice from eBay, your $10 refund for the widget return, the $1 GST collected and subsequently refunded and our bill for $157 for the processing.

Or more likely, we’ll just be excluded.

_______________________________________________________________

You said it yourself, "that whole $1".  If $1 is going to make that much difference to you, you probably shouldn't be buying the item in the first place.  If you can afford to buy a $990 bag then I daresay you can also afford the $99 extra for gst.  Postage is part of the total price you pay and gst is already payable on the postage amount for purchases over $1K, so why shouldn't it be charged on smaller items?

At checkout you'll pay the total price including gst, just as you do in any b&m shop.  When you return something to Woolworths you just get refunded the total amount, you don't claim back the item price and then have to chase up the gst component separately.  The gst is automatically calculated, both by supermarkets/shops and ebay, so it won't cost them more than a few minutes monthly or quarterly to remit the gst to the ATO.

As far as collecting it when you buy from sellers on ebay who sell less than $75K to Australia, forget that it's called gst and remember that it's basically import duty, ie. instead of only charging duty and/or gst on goods over $1K, you now have to pay it on everything (with only a few exceptions, but I'm sure they'll find a way to deal with those).

Bottom line:  import tariffs are nothing new and are usually imposed by countries trying to protect their own economy.  The new charges may stop so much money flowing out of the country, and if it doesn't, the govt (the taxpayers) will benefit from it.

[lyndal1838]

The GST has always applied to second hand goods.....it does not matter whether they are online on not.

I don't know where people get the idea that it is not charged on second hand goods.

It would not surprise me if the GST is charged on the postage component.....postage is taken into account when applying the GST and other charges to items over $1000 so it follows that they will use the same criteria.

[davewil1964]

The S stands for 'service', which postage is.

I would be surprised if GST wasn't charged on it.

[c_mount]

Do you work for ebay or are you so envious of ebay staff or something??

[c_mount]

PS WHY PAY MORE TAX ON USED ITEMS THAT HAVE HAD TAX ALREADY PAID ON THEM !!! Geez

[c_mount]

Another dogooder post from the 'regular' clique....