Did something change through customs?

[dylan11235813]

I always keep my orders at around 700 USD so I don't have to pay any customs fees but all of a sudden they have held a package and sent me a letter with the invoice which clearly shows all the costs.I range them and they suggested I email them my bank statement (which includes the postage cost in the total) and then they told me to email the invoice that they had posted to me to start with.....

Maybe it is some random thing they do from time to time to catch the scammers. I find it rather strange. If it was through someone other than Australia Post they would sent me a bill.

I knew something was wrong when the tracking said it had cleared customs and then there was another customs tracking event.

[clarry100]

There has been some recent political speak about changing the $$$ threshold but I didn't think it had been cast in concrete as yet.

Like you we keep our single O/S shipments down under the thresholds too.

We've never had one stopped as yet.

[lyndal1838]

I think what may have happened is that the exchange rate has changed since you paid for the item.

While it may have been under $1000 then, it is possible that at the current rates it is just over the threshhold.

You would have been asked for your bank details to prove that the payment was what you said it was.

As for Customs randomly holding an item....that is not new.  It has been happening as long as I can remember.   It usually makes about a weeks difference in delivery times.

[dylan11235813]

I have only had one other thing stopped before for which I had to pay a fee to get released. It was TOLL and I had to pay about $150 for them to rip open my box of goodies and not even tape it shut. There was nothing wrong with it.

The tax is on the item value and not the postage cost (which does bring it over the threshold), a bank statement does not show the postage cost. They posted me back the invoice which is well under the $1000 AUD for the goods and they wanted me to email them the invoice that they sent me.

[lyndal1838]

Actually once your item goes over the threshhold the duties and taxes are paid on the item plus postage, which is why you are asked to prove the item cost as well as the item plus postage.

[harley_babes_hoard]

As Lyndal has suggested, I think the exchange rate may have had something to do with it. A few weeks ago the exchange rate was terrible and added about 300 to an order of mine. I just scraped in under the $1000

[phorum_junkie*]

If you iimport several orders just under the tax free amount in a short space of time customs can, if they pick it up, count them as one order and charge the appropriate amount.

[character_parties_aus]

I import several times a week 990 dollars AU nevery time. a few times i have been just over due to fluctuations and they still went through ok so I think maybe you have been unlucky as they are asking for evidence the order is under $1000

if you are ordering and bringing in a few lines at once a good way to avoid the gst and import duty is to slightly change the business name on the invoice.  sometimes i use my legal name and sometimes my trading name. they cant match the orders together then to charge gst and this isnt technically illegal either. i also import into different ports with different carriers  - ie I am in Brisbane and UPS comes into Sydney and DHL into Brisbane. This is also a good confusion tactic!

To be honest I would be happy if they introduced GST on imports over $250 as all the non GST paying crowd who cannot claim it back would have to put their prices up. I can only benefit as a GST payer!