Aust Post charged me extra GST on Postage stamps

[masterstroke.eng]

I sent a parcel off today overseas  I affixed  $30  worth of high denomination  stamps  which I  had. Knowing that the parcel would cost alot more to send to the UK  i was prepared to pay the difference . What i didnt expect was when i was told that I would have to pay $3 dollars extra  for GST for the $30 worth of stamps . What ! I exclaimed ooh yes post office directive, i was told . I noticed that the franked postage sticker that was attached noted that is was GST free .Could it have been that the clerk was mistaken and  i should have got a $3 dollar refund  ?

[cezm]

I couldn't find much on the AP website but found the following on another site

You may not use international stamps on domestic mail. You may use domestic stamps on international mail, but only if you put on 10% extra (to cover the fact that 9.09% of the money paid for the stamps will not go to the Post Office, but will have to be given to the government as tax).

http://www.australiaeguide.com.au/australia-post.php

[englishrosegardens]

Yes, this is correct.  If you use domestic stamps to post overseas then they aren't actually 'worth' their face value for AP's purposes because they have to give part of the money to the govt, same as they do with all other domestic stamps.

It's in AP's post charges booklet on page 27, right at the start of the International Delivery section, under International post and the GST:  If you wish to use domestic stamps on international mail, then you are required to affix postage at 10% above the published rate.

[englishrosegardens]

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@roseworthy11 wrote:


And any post office charging GST on domestic stamps used on an international parcel is wrong, in my opinion.

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Why is it wrong for them to expect you to pay them the full charge for an international parcel?  If an international parcel costs $30 to post but you put $30 of domestic stamps on it, AP is only getting $27 of the money (the govt gets the other $3) so you've underpaid them by $3.  If you buy international stamps from them for $30, they get to keep the full amount. 

International stamps are GST free so it's up to people to make sure they buy the appropriate stamps.  Why would you choose to pay GST when you don't have to?  If a person doesn't know the rules then they can't blame the post office for it. 

It's not wise to put stamps on overseas parcels anyway, especially high value stamps, because a lot of parcels are stolen just for the stamps on them, according to my local postmaster.  You're much better off to have them put a printed postage label on them.

[pennyforum14]

Yes this is correct.

When you buy domestic stamps the GST is included, but the PO can claim it back as an input tax credit on their BAS when the stamps are used.  That way they get the full price in the end.

International stamps do not have GST included, so the PO is not able to claim back.  If you send over the counter with a postage label or use international stamps, this is not a problem as you are paying the correct amount.  But if you put domestic stamps on the item, AP has already paid the GST for these stamps to th ATO, so they are no longer worth their face value.  They cannot claim back GST on intenational postage, so they have to charge you GST in order to recoup their costs.

[hotrodvideo]

Then you could argue that you are entitled to get back the $3 dollars GST .Its doesn't show on the PO receipt that you have payed additional GST So there is no proof and no claim can be made on youre BAS statement , you have done youre money I send allot of items internationally using international letter service (less than 250 grms) I was using domestic stamps cause i was not having to fill in customs forms and posted directly into the mail box .just happen to be pulled up on it by an informed postal clerk when purchasing more stamps of the GST situation took a moment to get my head around it but makes sense .

[englishrosegardens]

If you use domestic stamps for overseas mail you would have paid the GST when you originally bought the stamps, so the GST you can claim back is on that receipt from the original purchase - so yes, you CAN claim it back as a GST input. But you can't claim any GST input for the postage on international stamps or postage because there is none.

When you pay the 10% extra at the time of lodging an overseas item that you've put domestic stamps on, you aren't actually paying GST - you are paying for the postage shortfall caused by the fact that you used the wrong stamps.  You haven't paid additional GST, you've only paid additional postage.  It's not actually additional because, as I said, it's only making up for the shortfall on the value of the stamps.

[englishrosegardens]

So if you claim the GST input on all the domestic stamps you buy, you were claiming it on the letters you posted overseas, and the PO was being underpaid for the letters you sent. You weren't out of pocket, in fact you were in front because you paid the going rate for overseas mail but then claimed some of it back as a GST input. AP was out of pocket because they had to give some of the money to the tax dept, which they wouldn't have done if you'd bought international stamps.

[hotrodvideo]

You're right ! Lucky I didn't send many using the stamps would want to be responsible for sending AP broke

[englishrosegardens]

If you had your name and address on the back they would have eventually started charging you for the shortfall, plus an admin fee, so you would have been the one who was broke.

For anyone who can claim the GST back, it won't cost any more to use domestic stamps if they put 10% more on the envelope than the actual international rate.  To explain, just say you're sending a 50-250g letter to NZ for a cost of $5.  If you put $5.50 of domestic stamps on the letter, AP pays 50c of it to the tax dept and keeps $5, which is the going rate.  You paid $5.50 for the stamps but because they're domestic ones you get to claim back 50c as a GST input, so you've actually only paid the going rate for a GST-free international letter.

[hunterinitial]

there is no GST on International stamps (postage)