Phantom import duty charges

[1076johnw]

As an Australian buyer, I often see import duty charges listed by eBay for sales of items in the UK. This is a phantom charge as there is no import duty payable on on line purchases made in Australia on overseas items if the item is less than $1000 as per link below.

https://www.abf.gov.au/buying-online/importing-by-post-or-mail

Quote: "Goods that arrive by mail and have a declared or assessed value of AUD1000 or less, there are generally no duties, taxes or charges at the border, unless they are alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or tobacco products".

It seems this charge appears when the seller goes through eBay's global shipping program which incidentally also charges 70% more for postage to Australia than the standard Royal Mail tracked item postage cost. Australian buyers should be aware of this anomaly when viewing UK items.

[padi*0409]

---

@ekrabappel wrote:

Correct me If I'm wrong but Pitney-Bowes does not collect the GST, that is still done by EBay (who is in bed with Pitney Bowes). 

---

You're wrong, as a freight forwarder PB does collect GST charges on behalf of the Australian Government. If a parcel is coming through the GSP eBay does not collect GST.

[ekrabappel]

---

@padi*0409 wrote:

---

@ekrabappel wrote:

Correct me If I'm wrong but Pitney-Bowes does not collect the GST, that is still done by EBay (who is in bed with Pitney Bowes). 

---

You're wrong, as a freight forwarder PB does collect GST charges on behalf of the Australian Government. If a parcel is coming through the GSP eBay does not collect GST.

---

If that is the case then in the case of a business purchase I assume PB will either a) issue a tax invoice including ABN and GST amount or b) refund the GST. Has anyone tried to get an invoice from PB?

[lyndal1838]

This question has already been asked of ebay and the answer is that the ATO will accept your ebay invoice and paypal receipt which shows the amount of GST charged on the purchase.

Pitney Bowes cannot issue a Tax Invoice.

[padi*0409]

---

@khulu74 wrote:

If you don’t want to pay unfair GST to ebay, ask seller if the goods can be purchased and posted outside Ebay

Choose items from the sellers listing and send a list to seller and ask an invoice link (Seller can send you a paypal invoice items + postage, sale covered with paypal 👍 you don’t need to pay GST as the sale is person to person)

(90% of sellers accept this) use Ebay as a free platform of reaching the overseas sellers. 

---

Not good advice, if eBay even get a hint that you're trying to get the seller to sell "off eBay" in the first instance they will block both you and the seller from messaging anyone for 7 days.

If you or the seller continue to try to do it you will both end up being banned from using eBay, that could also include any other eBay accounts you or the seller have.

Is it really worth it for the sake of a 10% GST charge ?   I think not..

[countessalmirena]

@khulu74,

Definitely don't go down that route! As padi says, it is very heavily frowned upon by eBay. eBay both can and do monitor messages between members, and if a buyer suggests such a thing to a seller, that unfortunate seller may well be penalised even if they never receive the message, or - if they do receive it - never respond to the message (or respond with a "No can do; that's not permitted under eBay's policies").

You can google sellers, items, stores, etc.; that's a different ball game.

[khulu74]

The question at the end you have written yeah i have asked that same question australian government but no response unfortunately so people have to find ways get around 🤣 

i have asked ebay about the fvf on postage too but instead of banning the sellers who abuse the system multiple times using postage cost (they were mostly overseas registered Chinese sellers, everyone knows this) they put the fvf to all honest sellers on ebay.au and also inflate the postage prices on ebay.au ..what goes around, cones around 😎

[1076johnw]

Which ones? The ones which confuse GST with import duties,  the ones which say grin and bear it or the ones who say they don't know what my problem is? The bottom line is that when Australians who buy overseas items on eBay get hit with import duties for which they're not liable, whoever ends up pocketing those import duties gets them for free - at the Australian purchaser's expense.

Doesn't worry me - I'll just avoid any sellers who use the system which automatically throws up import duty. It might, however, worry UK and USA vendors who are missing out on a sizeable share of the market because other Aussies lke me will do the same. 

[davewil1964]

---

@1076johnw wrote:

Which ones? The ones which confuse GST with import duties,  the ones which say grin and bear it or the ones who say they don't know what my problem is? The bottom line is that when Australians who buy overseas items on eBay get hit with import duties for which they're not liable, whoever ends up pocketing those import duties gets them for free - at the Australian purchaser's expense.

Doesn't worry me - I'll just avoid any sellers who use the system which automatically throws up import duty. It might, however, worry UK and USA vendors who are missing out on a sizeable share of the market because other Aussies lke me will do the same. 

---

You could, of course, read Lyndal's explanation. Which was quite succint. And accurate.

A fair proportion of those UK and US vendors probably don't even know they are selling overseas. From their point of view it is a domestic transaction. I don't sell overseas, but if the GSP was introduced here, overseas buyers would be able to purchase from me. As I would be delivering to an Australian address, it would be domestic as far as I was concerned. If people chose not to buy because of the GSP, I would be no worse off than I am now.

[chameleon54]

---

@khulu74 wrote:

The question at the end you have written yeah i have asked that same question australian government but no response unfortunately so people have to find ways get around 🤣 

i have asked ebay about the fvf on postage too but instead of banning the sellers who abuse the system multiple times using postage cost (they were mostly overseas registered Chinese sellers, everyone knows this) they put the fvf to all honest sellers on ebay.au and also inflate the postage prices on ebay.au ..what goes around, cones around 😎

---

I hate the FVF on postage as much as anyone, especially as around 40 - 50 % of my items are going OS at the moment............BUT..........Ebay the company is still not making a fortune. If they did'nt introduce FVF on postage they would have had to increase selling fees perhaps to 15% to achieve the same income.

We can discuss whether ebay management is making a dogs breakfast of running the joint, maybe they are, maybe they arnt. Without having access to their books we will never really know. But what cant be argued is that if the company does not raise enough revenue to continue operations it goes under, leaving us all without a global platform to sell and buy on.

It seems everyone wants to skimp out on paying for the services they use. As you noted ...What goes around comes around !!!

[enigmabear]

If someone sent me such a message they would be reported and blocked quick smart

Oops. was meant to be in reply to khulu74. Sorry Padi