Invoice for GST on imported goods under A$1,000

[bpbakes23]

I've bought an item from OS and now that eBay are charging 10% GST for low value imported goods, I've asked the question of how can I receive an invoice from eBay for this 10% GST charge, so I can claim back the GST spent on BAS.

So far I've had a bit of a run around, trying to help the staff on the other end of the conversation understand the situation, but I'm not really sure I'm getting any closer to what I want.

Has anyone else enquired about this in the past or got a solution from eBay that is satisfactory for ATO record keeping requirements?

Thanks.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

So it depends on how ebay registered their business for GST.

If they registered with an ABN they are obliged to issue a tax invoice for items over $82.50 so that you can claim it on your BAS

If they registered for the simplified ARN system....then they have incorrectly charged you GST  and the refund needs to come from the supplier (ebay)

      https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/International-tax-for-business/GST-on-low-value-imported-goods/Sales...    

Identifying GST-registered business customers

Your (ebay) business systems will need to be able to determine whether the sales are made to consumers in Australia or to businesses that are registered for Australian GST.

Access to GST credits

In most cases, GST-registered businesses are able to claim back GST credits when they pay GST for business purchases.

These businesses can only claim a GST credit if they have a tax invoice (unless the amount they paid is $82.50 or less). To be a tax invoice, the document must have the supplier’s ABN.

However, if you are registered in the Simplified GST system (rather than the standard GST system), you have an ARN instead of an ABN. This means you cannot issue a tax invoice.

If you do not have an ABN, your GST-registered business customers will not be able to claim a GST credit for GST that was incorrectly charged if the amount is over $82.50. Instead, they may seek a refund of the GST from you.

If you have incorrectly charged GST on these sales and already paid the GST to the ATO, you can only obtain a refund if you have reimbursed your customer. You can do this by reducing the amount of GST payable in your next return.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

Answered my own question..... again.... as to whether ebay are registered to collect GST with an ABN or an ARN and whether an invoice is mandatory upon request or if the gst needs to be claimed back from ebay.

Ebay owes the OP a tax invoice if the item was priced over $82.50

For the purposes of GST on items bought overseas charged by the supplier (ebay) since 1 July 2018. The GST was collected by the holder of ABN number 64 652 016 681

ABN lookup below

eBay Marketplaces GmbH
ABN status: Active from 01 Jun 2018
Entity type: Other Incorporated Entity
Goods & Services Tax (GST): Registered from 01 Jun 2018
Main business location:
CH-3005

I remember reading the info copied and pasted below on a thread a month or so ago. The post copied below pertains to how international sellers are being instructed to mark incoming parcels so that GST is not paid again at the border.

It clearly shows the ABN number of the entity that is collecting the GST

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Buying/GST-on-all-imports-July-2018/td-p/2141509/page/8

tzipiger (172 ) post 147

Hi,

I'm an eBay seller from Israel.
I also had my first sale with GST but I didn't send the parcel yet.
I've talked with eBay Australia, eBay USA and even with ATO in order to understand how to send the parcel so my customer won't be charged again for GST.

It's very difficult to understand what to do since it was new to the representative of eBay and since as a seller I barely see any indication that GST was paid by my customer.

At first I saw in that order that the "total price" is higher than the "sale price" and I suspected that it's because the GST. Later eBay updated the website and now I see that "sale price" = "total price" and it's equal to the item price.

Only in "Order Details" page I see this note: "eBay collected Australian GST from your buyer." but if I want to print it, this note doesn't show in the printer version Smiley Happy .

I read the information in the following link:
https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/selling-policies/tax-policy?id=4348

I understand that if the GST was collected from the buyer, the seller should add the following lines on the parcel :

eBay's ABN # 64 652 016 681
Code: PAID

I didn't understand if I need to add something to the customs declaration so I am not going add anything to it since eBay doesn't show me the amount of the GST that was collected anyway.

ATO told me also to mention on the parcel that GST was collected.

I hope that my customer won't be charged again and that the parcel will arrive to him soon without any issues! Smiley Happy

Tzipi

#########

This is also an interesting post if you are charged GST twice because the seller does not correctly mark the parcel with a suppliers ABN and the word "paid".

If that occurs then the GST originally paid and collected by ebay needs to be refunded by ebay and not the ATO.

[countessalmirena]

That's interesting information, colic2bullsgirlore.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

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@bpbakes23 wrote:

Hey kopenhagen5.

Thanks for your response.  Unfortunately, that page is not sufficient as an invoice for the ATO.

I'm still in discussion with eBay, but it appears that they should not be charging GST to ABN holders.  I'm not sure however if they have a process to distinguish ABN vs non-ABN purchases though.

---

Ebay has a process by where registered businesses who have disclosed their ABN do not pay GST on their selling fees... so you would think that the algorithmic "geniuses" that wrote the best match process could easily apply those same rules to purchases

.....maybe the 7 OZ employees lthat are left are too busy cleaning dunnies, making coffee and shredding documents to cope with the

gazintering that would be needed to apply the same metric to business international sales under 1k 

Spoiler

Boo