GST on all imports July 2018

[rapadaan]

Yes kicks in  this July  already talking an extra added  $5 security fee !

[davewil1964]

Have you registered your ABN with eBay?

I know that worked for GST on their fees.

[digital*ghost]

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@kalabjim wrote:

How can I charge back eBay for the GST if I am incorrectly Charged GST?

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In eBay's FAQs related to the GST, I only saw one Q&A that touched on incorrect charges - the A part included this: 

"However, if you believe you were charged incorrectly (for example, because an item was miscategorised by the seller or there was a system glitch), please contact customer service and we'll look into it."

https://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/SU18-2/Marketplace-Updates (under "What categories are exempt from GST?")

I'm guessing that will apply to other incorrect charges, meaning you'd have to contact eBay CS, hope you get someone that understands what you're saying, and how Aus GST works, and that you're entitled to a refund - in saying that, eBay technically can't make a judgement call on what's being purchased for personal or business use (even if the item istelf would make it obvious), so I think it's being universally applied regardless of whether the buyer is GST-registered (otherwise they would have invited people to provide their ABNs to be exempt from qualifying purchases), so in those cases it would probably be easier to have it as an input credit than wring a refund out of eBay (though obviously if a purchase had GST applied by both eBay and at the border, then eBay would probably have to handle it on a case by case basis with verifiable proof, then provide a refund). 

[madangcameron]

Wrong. I've just made a vintage bicycle part (a 44 year old part) purchase from the US and have been slugged a $28.45 "Import Charge". That a 15% tax charge, by a government that too **bleep** weak to implent  in country big business tax but is happy to slug the little guy.

[lyndal1838]

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@madangcameron wrote:

Wrong. I've just made a vintage bicycle part (a 44 year old part) purchase from the US and have been slugged a $28.45 "Import Charge". That a 15% tax charge, by a government that too **bleep** weak to implent  in country big business tax but is happy to slug the little guy.

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If you had read the thread you would have seen that the assumption had been corrected and GST was being charged on vintage/used items. 

If the item is coming from the USA via the GSP then there is the 10% GST charged and Pitney Bowes adds extra charges to cover their collection of the GST.

The extra charges are not imposed by the Australian Government.

What taxes are you talking about?   The only tax on big business that I heard about is the one that the govenrment is probably not going ahead with....and it is a tax cut, not a tax imposition.

GST does not slug only the little guy.....everyone who buys anything or uses a service is hit with the GST when they buy from a seller who is GST registered.

[sed_man]

If Pitney Bowes is applying additional fees, and those fees include a GST component, the ebay invoice needs to detail that. GST is GST, they can't bundle it up under another item.
Any 'handling fees' changed by Pitney Bowes should be included in the 'shipping' component, not added to the 'taxation' component.

ebay is lying about the real costs of 'shipping' by not including the Pitney and Bowes 'fees' in the 'shipping' calculator.

They shouldn't be able to have their cake and eat it.
Australian law dictates that the price includes GST for a reason, so people don't get shocked by extra charges at the checkout.

This will be my last purchase via ebay, I'll go direct to the sellers, avoid ebay charges, and avoid paypal's exchange rate tax.

The situation is appalling.

[lyndal1838]

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@sed_man wrote:
If Pitney Bowes is applying additional fees, and those fees include a GST component, the ebay invoice needs to detail that. GST is GST, they can't bundle it up under another item.
I quite agree and I have always said that there is something wrong with the way Pitney Bowes is using the term Import Taxes instead of GST.
Any 'handling fees' changed by Pitney Bowes should be included in the 'shipping' component, not added to the 'taxation' component.
Agreed.
ebay is lying about the real costs of 'shipping' by not including the Pitney and Bowes 'fees' in the 'shipping' calculator.
The Pitney Bowes charges are included in the Shipping component of the GSP which is why the GSP shipping is so expensive.

They shouldn't be able to have their cake and eat it.
Australian law dictates that the price includes GST for a reason, so people don't get shocked by extra charges at the checkout.
The GST amount has to be included in the price quoted by Australian businesses.....it does not apply to the prices quoted by overseas businesses.  For the purposes of the GST on low value imported goods bought on ebay, ebay is deemed to be the seller and can add the GST to the final invoice as they do.

This will be my last purchase via ebay, I'll go direct to the sellers, avoid ebay charges, and avoid paypal's exchange rate tax.
If you can go direct to the sellers then good luck to you.   Many people sell on ebay but do not sell direct to overseas purchasers.   There is no tax charged by paypal on their exchange rate....all you pay is the conversion charge which you will pay no matter which institution does the conversion.  Most banks charge more than paypal.

The situation is appalling.  Not really, once you understand what the charges are for.

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[the_epoch]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

The situation is appalling.  Not really, once you understand what the charges are for.

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I would also say the situation is pretty appalling.  As an example I purchased an item last night on eBay from a UK seller that there own online presence too.
 - I was logged into ebay.com.au.
 - I had my shipping address set to my home,

 - The listing did not show any GST component..

 - The listing did not even display possible import charges and GST.
I committed to buy the item at the price I thought it was. Only after committing to buy, was an additional 10% added to the invoice, and only when it came time to confirm my payment details.

This is illegal.

The ATO clearly states:

As soon are you are aware Australian GST is likely to apply to the sale of goods, Australian consumer law requires that you display a GST-inclusive price.

If you are unsure whether Australian GST will apply, you can display a message about the potential for additional taxes to apply. As soon as it is clear that GST applies, you must show the GST-inclusive price.

It was pretty obvious to eBay that I was shipping to Australia and that GST is likely to apply. Therefore the consumer would expect the pricing to be GST inclusive.

Further, because the item was being sold from the UK, VAT that the seller or ebay.co.uk collects also isn't removed.

[davewil1964]

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@the_epoch wrote:

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

The situation is appalling.  Not really, once you understand what the charges are for.

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I would also say the situation is pretty appalling.  As an example I purchased an item last night on eBay from a UK seller that there own online presence too.
 - I was logged into ebay.com.au.
 - I had my shipping address set to my home,

 - The listing did not show any GST component..

 - The listing did not even display possible import charges and GST.
I committed to buy the item at the price I thought it was. Only after committing to buy, was an additional 10% added to the invoice, and only when it came time to confirm my payment details.

This is illegal.

The ATO clearly states:

As soon are you are aware Australian GST is likely to apply to the sale of goods, Australian consumer law requires that you display a GST-inclusive price.

If you are unsure whether Australian GST will apply, you can display a message about the potential for additional taxes to apply. As soon as it is clear that GST applies, you must show the GST-inclusive price.

It was pretty obvious to eBay that I was shipping to Australia and that GST is likely to apply. Therefore the consumer would expect the pricing to be GST inclusive.

Further, because the item was being sold from the UK, VAT that the seller or ebay.co.uk collects also isn't removed.

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VAT doesn't apply to exports from the UK, just like GST doesn't apply to exports from Australia. The UK seller has it in their power to get a VAT exemption. Whether they do so is between them and the buyer. eBay UK would only be collecting VAT on their fees, which stands regardless of where the item is going.

[the_epoch]

Wow, all of the quoted text for one point about VAT on exports.

Did you miss the rest of my point?   Clearly I shouldbn't have mentioned the VAT.

[digital*ghost]

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 wrote:

It was pretty obvious to eBay that I was shipping to Australia and that GST is likely to apply.

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Nothing is obvious to eBay until you checkout.

When it comes to international items and GST, it is very much a "may or may not apply" situation that is determinable at the point of payment, not at the point of browsing or "BIN-ing". This is because eBay don't know what the total value of the order is until you go to pay (GST is not applied on sales that total $1000 or more from a single seller), and they also don't know if you're shipping to an Australian address until you confirm it at checkout (again, GST will not apply if you have the order shipped to an international address).

The rules for Australian businesses when it comes to GST are different that what has been applied for international sellers, for these kinds of reasons. 

To avoid being surprised by the GST amount again, use the "add to cart" function. The GST is displayed in the cart (based on the current shipping address and value of goods), and eBay provide a total (no committment to buy / pay necessary).