GST on imported goods from 1 July 2018

[lerenau]

Just put this to the test on eBay. Ouch! Triple whammy! USD to AU Exchange rate + GST + GST on freight = Ouch. On the bright side, this could help to cure RAD..........or not.....I'll just have to save longer.
I would've thought this will hurt eBay Australia. Like @Mark1966 said, people will naturally gravitate to other options. GST has certainly pumped life into the cash economy.

I see a lot of "Buy this soap, I'll throw-in a free toggle" type deals on the horizon.

 

[J.Mac]

Maybe not the correct forum for this question however if i buy a watch from the US am i definitely going to get stung with the new gst charge? Or is it more of a roll of the dice?

 

[Ferret619]

Maybe not the correct forum for this question however if i buy a watch from the US am i definitely going to get stung with the new gst charge? Or is it more of a roll of the dice?

Not 100% but I’ve been charged on everything so far

 

[J.Mac]

After much searching i found the thread on this. The watch is on Jomashop and does not show gst on checkout so I'm guessing it's comes down to luck of whether your package gets checked or the sender is perhaps flagged as high volume?

 

[Scotty]

After much searching i found the thread on this. The watch is on Jomashop and does not show gst on checkout so I'm guessing it's comes down to luck of whether your package gets checked or the sender is perhaps flagged as high volume?

@J.Mac My research (and experience so far....) leads me to believe that if they don't voluntarily collect GST at point of sale you will "maybe" be good. It's too much work to check every single package that comes in.

My 2 recent purchases from Germany have had euro VAT deducted at the source and no GST added on for Australia ~ both packages arrived without being charged at customs.

GST for ≥$1k purchases is no different than before and will be picked up for sure by customs

Steer away from the Amazons and eBay and you "may" be ok. Worst case scenario you pay extra 10% plus the admin fee to collect it.

 

[LukehGee]

I hope they don't start checking every package. That will add a month into every delivery lol

 

[Mark1966]

I received an order today from The English Shaving Company (July 2018 SHAVING Acquisitions Thread) with no VAT charged as an overseas order and no GST charged either.

I suspect that apart from the big platforms like eBay most businesses overseas will simply focus on compliance with local laws, which makes sense, and leave the vagaries of the laws of the customer's country for them to worry about. That will mean it becomes a lottery as items come through customs as to whether they check particular packages.

 

[alfredus]

Bought 3 soaps on an US forum for 20US$ delivered to the US - meaning my shipito address.

Cost of shipping to OZ + GST = 21.5US$ or 30AU$!

Need a new mail forwarder, can you guys recommend something?

I really don't have a problem paying GST on the goods TBH - especially since it is still a lot cheaper than here, but GST on the total shipping price is a joke...

 

[SchoolForAnts]

I only received an email just the other day from Shipito advising me they will be charging GST on their services to Australia now - consequently now looking for a new mail forwarder also.

As Kerry Packer once said

"Now of course I am minimizing my tax and if anybody in this country doesn't minimize their tax they want their heads read because as a government I can tell you you're not spending it that well that we should be donating extra.".

 

[Scotty]

I'm not sure if there are ANY forwarding companies who choose not to pick up Aussie GST now....

....but, it doesn't mean you can't get a decent deal on shipping cost or membership fees of these shipping companies. See the ozbargain post linked below for a myUS.com deal available until the end of the month

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/389269

 

[SchoolForAnts]

an old friend of mine swears by shopping on ebay.com rather than ebay.com.au to avoid paying GST on overseas purchases. I haven't tried it myself yet, so not sure how accurate that is

 

[LukehGee]

How does the whole thing work? These guys charging the GST, do they need to send off the cash once a year? How the hell is that tracked? The whole thing just raises the wtf eye brows.

There's a lot of blame here on Gerry Harvey, while the guy is a pest, the real blame should be at the feet of our elected officials being susceptible to the lobbying of people like Harvey.

It's the same thing with GST being added to digital content.

 

[Scotty]

an old friend of mine swears by shopping on ebay.com rather than ebay.com.au to avoid paying GST on overseas purchases. I haven't tried it myself yet, so not sure how accurate that is

I think anything being purchased and sent to Australia will get hit with GST.... let us know how you go!

How does the whole thing work? These guys charging the GST, do they need to send off the cash once a year? How the hell is that tracked? The whole thing just raises the wtf eye brows.

Yup.... nothing to stop them collecting the $$$$ on the premise of passing it on to the ATO and then pocketing the dosh for an easy 10% profit. Fraudulent and unscrupulous conduct indeed but how will our Government police this without jurisdiction in the foreign territory???

 

[SchoolForAnts]

Honestly, I still blame Harvey. He was the mouthpiece - who are the government to turn down the opportunity to increase their tax revenue.

Unfortunately, as we all know ourselves - this GST on overseas purchases isn't going to encourage us to buy locally, in most cases we can still purchase what we want overseas cheaper than here in a retail operation.

For me, I own a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, and a Royal Enfield motorcycle - I can still buy parts in California for the bug, and in the UK for my Enfield cheaper than here domestically. Sometimes even delivered faster from ovèrseas by courier than Aus Post can deliver from Sydney to Adelaide for VW parts (seriously).

 

[Oldfart1945]

What pisses me off is that I used to be able to buy razors on Amazon.com and have them shipped to Australia.
Now since they introduced this policy Amazon.com has stopped shipping goods to Australia.