eBay charging for import charges when voucher was supposed to make it under $1000 AUD

[negan]

Ok, originally the item was $925 USD, the seller made a counter-offer to me of $825 USD, I accepted.

I then used a 10% off discount code to make it $742.5 which when converted to AUD currency should be approx $935.82 + shipping.

When I went to checkout, surprise surprise, there were import charged.

The only reason I bought this item was so that with the 10% off voucher would make it below $1000 AUD so there would be no import charged.

After multipled minutes on the phone to non-Australian eBay customer service agents, they are claiming that the voucher is off the total price. They do not understand no matter how many times I explained or spoke slowly that the voucher should have been taken off from the item price which would then be low enough to have no import charges.

Some other forums have said that shipping costs attributes to import charges too, but I have bought other items over $1000 AUD from eBay internationally and never paid import charges with charges calculated from shipping and have had word from customs as well that it is only the value of the item taken into account, not shipping costs.

Someone tell me if i'm wrong here.

Also tell me if i'm right.

still waiting for eBay to tell me the final conclusion though still pretty sure they don't actually understand the problem i'm telling them.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

digi, that explains the implementation just that little bit more.  GST is payable on PB fees/charges as well.

It is starting to look like a domino tax, tax on item > tax on shipping > tax on processing fees.

The taxes/charges for items shipped by GSP are also becoming clearer . . . . . . and I am sure that our anti-GSP posters have just got a boost to their opposition to the GSP.

Spoiler

will 4channel change their ID to 4.4channel in protest?

[padi*0409]

Good sleuthing Digi, that could put a spanner in the works for other mail-forwarding services as well.

[lyndal1838]

I would be interested to see how it operates in real life.

Hopefully someone will come to the boards who is willing to post the item cost, the shipping cost as well as the "Import fees".

I also think it is suss that they do not say how much of the Import fee is actually GST.

[digital*ghost]

I did the math...and read the paragraph properly, and realised I jumped the gun a little...  that doesn't actually explain it: (sorry). 

In the example on the ATO page, they showed that a $200 coat with a $44 service charge to ship to Aus would result in a GST amount of $24.

That's 10% GST on the coat, 1/11th of the service charge, which they're saying needs to be GST inclusive, so by all rights goods bought via the GSP should only have 10% of the item cost added, and the shipping charge should actually be GST inclusive. 

[padi*0409]

Oh, OK Digi.

To be honest (though I avoid the GSP anyway) the 10% on imported goods if they come though eBay or whoever else, was always going to be on the cards one way or another, so I can deal with it. At the end of the day in most cases it's no great impost for me since I'm not buying that much through eBay from overseas.

Also having the platforms like eBay collect the GST is a cost-effective way to collect it, and imports below the $1,000 threshold from  other sellers below the $75,000 threshold aren't going to be taxed anyway (yet).

[countessalmirena]

I will be having some items forwarded to me from the US, via my mail/parcel forwarder. (I'm just waiting for a few more parcels to arrive.) While it's not the GSP, it'll clarify what a typical "deliverer" charges in terms of the GST on "services" (aka postage/shipping).

I'll be happy to give the breakdown of what I'm charged. Anything to clarify these murky waters!

[lyndal1838]

Thanks Countess....that would be great.

I feel that if the GST is being collected then the amount should be completely transparent....how much of the money we are being charged is GST and how much is going into the coffers to the collecting entity.

[countessalmirena]

UPDATE.

I'm still awaiting more items at my parcel forwarding address... but in the meantime, I have just received a delivery of an item I purchased from a US jeweller's. (IGorgeous items! You can tell I've purchased from them before, hence the gift card/points. Birthday gift for family member who is going to go 21cm-wavelength-emitted excited-hydrogen-atom CRAZY over this gift.)

Delivered by: FedEx

The invoice includes my name and address, the item description, item price, shipping price, and total tax.

Transaction Details                  Subtotal price: $xxx.xx

Type             Amount    Kind    Status       Total tax:        $0.00

Gift card        $93.00    sale    success      Shipping:        $45.00

Credit Card     $xxx.00    sale    success      Total price:    $xxx.xx

No GST was charged by the seller. (I am assuming that they don't sell to many Australian buyers.)

The total was less than $1000.

There was no cross-border inspection. The address label/customs dec stated the description of the goods and the value in USD. Nothing was stated re GST.

For anyone purchasing from international sellers who are not obliged (due either to selling business-to-business OR to having a lower than $75000 (AUD) annual turnover re Australian customers) to collect the low-value imported goods GST, I hope this example reassures you. Customs don't get involved in collecting GST on these imported goods whose value is less than $1000.

[countessalmirena]

As promised, invoice from my parcel forwarder:

  Cost of goods                     US $xxx.xx

  Transaction
  Int'l freight charge              US $xxx.xx
  Insurance                         US $x.xx
  Other fees and surcharges         US $xx.xx
  GST paid (10% of CIF)             US $xx.xx


  * Collected GST is paid to the Australian Tax Office
  * This invoice is issued to shipments with low-value goods
  * CIF refers to cost of goods, insurance and freight

The "other fees and surcharges" may possibly include a fuel surcharge, but it's about 4 times the amount of previous fuel surcharge costs on similar invoices. The previous invoices stated simply "Fuel surcharge", not "Other fees and surcharges", so I'm guessing (although it's not explicitly stated) that this may be an admin fee for collecting the GST.

The GST component is 10% of the declared value of the goods plus the total shipping cost and related costs (insurance, etc).

It's very clear that the parcel forwarder don't have a clue about GST not being payable when the purchase is for business; they also don't take into consideration whether the seller has a $75,000 annual turnover to Australian customers or not. This latter point may mean that the ATO are demanding that the GST on low value imports is due even from such small sellers IF the goods are forwarded to an Australian address from a large parcel forwarder that does definitely have a higher than $75,000 annual turnover with Australian customers. Certainly the legislation can be interpreted in that way.

I can confirm though that smaller sellers who do ship directly to Australian customers are not charging the 10% GST.

[countessalmirena]

Well, I can't let this thread go without extolling the glories of my delivery (arrived this morning).

The biggest item was the double music stand, made of rosewood. It's quite simply the most ravishing music stand I've ever seen. There are certainly no sellers in Australia with a stand of that quality. I'm finding it hard to resist grabbing some Monteverdi off the shelf and giving an impromptu concert to all of today's clients. No, I can't do that. But once twilight falls, the neighbourhood is going to be bathed in music. (Or is it more a case of being drowned in music?)

All the smaller items are also exactly as they should be.

While the shipping cost for this combined lot was high, it's worth it. It was the only way to get all of these items here.

Life after low-value imported goods GST seems to be working... 10% more expensively, but I'm still able to get what I want to get at a price that is within an acceptable range.