Returns and GST

[jacky5819]

I am a buyer who has already had to pay GST on goods bought from overseas. Yep, annoying but that's the law. My issue is, what happens if I do not receive an item or I need to return it. Will the GST amount be returned to me by ebay? Will this happen automatically?

Cheers!

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

JULY

[lyndal1838]

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@jacky5819 wrote:
Hahahaha Lyndal. Oh my, you do see yourself as an expert. You have managed to turn my simple question into something so complicated. You still do not understabd it it not about GST per se in Australia. It is about dual refunds from overseas.

I have been in conversation with paypal and they have been extremely helpful. They will be handling the refunds as such and yep, there are issues. I have the knowledge I need to go forward now.

Thank you Countessalmirena. You advice was very useful. I should have stopped replying after that. LOL

Cheers

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Yes, you should have stopped asking your question after the Countess's reply.....she told you exactly what I have been telling you ever since but you seemed incapable of understanding.

Having dealt with the GST for 18 years in 2 businesses I think I have a reasonable grasp of how it works.

You have been told several times that the GST will be refunded automatically when you receive a refund but still you went on and on about applying for it etc.

It is good to see that you were able to answer your own question by ringing paypal.

[jacky5819 · Accepted solution]

Lyndal, you did not answer my question at all, but thanks for trying.

[lyndal1838]

[7160jonathanp]

Jackie you are correct to being concerned

Lyndall - ur off topic and frankly full of it .

Ive just had a purchase refunded and i have recieved the purchase amount only and guess what - NO GST refund . Ebay and Paypal have "COLLECTED" a GST amount for the Australian government BUT because the case didnt need to be escalated to them - (auto refund by seller)  - there is now 49cents in the government coffers .

So this is the answer - if a case gets escalated - you will get the purchse price + GST refunded

BUT IF A CASE ISNT ESCALATED AND U GET A DIRECT REFUND FROM THE SELLER YOU LOOSE THE GST AND HAVE TO MANUALLY CHASE IT FROM PAYPAL .

THIS SUCKS - ITS A RIPOFF - ITS A TAX FOR DOING BUSINESS ON EBAY .

and this is one reason my golden rule is dont buy anything on ebay thats over $20.

What i have said here has been confirmed on Ebay chat

[jacky5819]

Thank you, and there are issues with partial refunds in the same way.

[countessalmirena]

@7160jonathanp,

You've given valuable information here about what happens when an overseas seller gives a voluntary refund rather than having a case escalated by eBay.

I wish you hadn't spoiled the tone of your relevant experience with that refund by throwing an insult at lyndal. Like all of us, lyndal is taking in the minutiae and details of how refunds work in this new set-up. It's now clear that buyers are probably going to have to chase up the GST portion of the refund when the refund is voluntarily issued by an overseas seller.

I think all of us as eBay buyers are interested to hear that it's not automatic in such cases. Certainly there's a potential here for buyers not to realise what is going on.

[lyndal1838]

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@7160jonathanp wrote:

Jackie you are correct to being concerned

Lyndall - ur off topic and frankly full of it .

Ive just had a purchase refunded and i have recieved the purchase amount only and guess what - NO GST refund . Ebay and Paypal have "COLLECTED" a GST amount for the Australian government BUT because the case didnt need to be escalated to them - (auto refund by seller)  - there is now 49cents in the government coffers .

So this is the answer - if a case gets escalated - you will get the purchse price + GST refunded

BUT IF A CASE ISNT ESCALATED AND U GET A DIRECT REFUND FROM THE SELLER YOU LOOSE THE GST AND HAVE TO MANUALLY CHASE IT FROM PAYPAL .

THIS SUCKS - ITS A RIPOFF - ITS A TAX FOR DOING BUSINESS ON EBAY .

and this is one reason my golden rule is dont buy anything on ebay thats over $20.

What i have said here has been confirmed on Ebay chat

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Thank you for your display of smuggness but it is a pity you did not give the whole story instead of picking out the parts that fit your agenda.

Did the seller use the Refund button in paypal or did he send you a payment through paypal?   Many sellers choose to send a paypal payment rather than refund through the transaction but this does not alert paypal to the fact that they need to refund the GST as it is not connected to the original transaction.
The seller probably has no idea that by doing the wrong thing he has deprived you of your 49cents.

By your own admission you say that if the case is escalated to paypal you will get the GST refunded automatically....also confirmed by ebay chat.  The dispute does not have to be escalated but the refund does need to be done via the original transaction in paypal.
I suggest you lay the blame where it should lie....with the seller who has not refunded correctly though the original transaction.

[retail_star]

Yes. Since the GST is collected by eBay and not the seller, you should recieve a sperate refund for the GST paid on cancelled tems from eBay. In your case, the refund would be made from the Australian entiy eBay Australa and New Zealand. This would be in the transacation description. Your seller on eBay will only refund the amount for purchased items. 

[kerrjess]

GST Refund Warning.

I've just had an issue with GST paid for plant seeds purchased from Overseas.

I purchased the seeds in Nov 2018 but the seeds hadn't turned up. I contacted the seller who provided details about the postage. Thought the Christmas period might have added to the delay so was happy to wait a bit longer.

Then I received a Letter from Australian customs stating the seeds had not been commercially packaged, were not allowed into the country and had been exported back to seller.

As per Ebay Help advice the first thing I did was contact the seller attaching a photo of the Letter. The seller was very good and arranged to pay refund to my PayPal account that day which was done. But I noticed it was short of the amount I had actually paid. Checked the Invoice I had received and noted that this amount was a separate transaction raised by EBay for GST that was then added to the purchase price.

Couldn't find anything about GST refund on Help pages so started a Chat conversation. I was told that as I had not obtained the refund using the "I want to Return this item" process, I would not be able to get the GST refunded.

Pointed out that Help pages advised starting point of contacting the seller which is what I did.

Also stated that Ebay had collected the GST and it was illegal for them to not refund it when goods were not received, and there must be a way they could process this.

Eventually got a reply that I could get a refund of GST but it would take 7-10 business days or they could give me a voucher immediately for value of GST rounded up to the next dollar. Took that option rather than have to muck around checking for refund.

In order to start a "Return" process you need to go to Purchase History and under more actions click the "Return" option. BUT you only have 30 days past expected delivery date to select that option!  And I've had a few occassions where the date received has been held up for various reasons. And in my case that option wasn't available anymore anyway!

Pointed out that EBay should provide better Help Topics for problems with overseas purchases involving the addition of GST. Got a rather rude reply that Ebay was only charging the GST because YOUR country required it.

SO, if you can select the "Return" option for goods (presumably even for items not received?) and let the seller know that you are only doing it this way because of Tax issues with Australia.

If you can't use this option, contact Ebay for the GST Refund and DO NOT let them fob you off saying they can't do it.