Rant / Venting

[CamBiscuit]

Subject: Import Duty

Just love the fact the Govt felt it necessary to slug me both duty and GST for the pleasure of bringing in an engine case into the country that had been machined ready to go in the US.

Its a 35 year old part fer Chrisakes.... and secondhand. How do they justify charging duty & GST on someone else's labour???

Did they lower the threshold to $1000 long ago? Didn't it used to be $2k at some point?

Bunch of #@!!%!'s

[alexwebster]

Yeah it is $1k Cam, and has been for as long as I can remember! True though, it is a joke!

[Polizei]

I know its been at least $1000 for the last 24 months

[e72phil]

You should have said you sent it over to get the specialist maching done and only pay for that work, not the case itself. Then you pay duty/GST on teh repair work only.

Doesnt matter to customs if the parts 100 years old. if its dutiable, you get charged. There is no escaping GST on the item value , plus freight !!

And yes the $1000 threshold has been in palce for a while now, mainly if you import via the postal system. Sometimes, lower value items can attract a formal entry if shipped via a courier service (Fedex, UPS, DHL). But usually not.

I ship every week ex USA via Fedex. Its always a formal clearance.

[Jeff Eelkema]

Guys

Is there a way around this? If the machine shop only invoiced the work and not the S/H part would GST and duty still apply? Even if the machine shop supplies the S/H part could they just send a different invoice via the mail/email and what is the process for declaring if the part originates from outside Aus? If I buy something S/H in the US and get someone else to do something to it (say wheel refinish) how much strife can you get into by saying you sent it over to get work done?

Cheers
Jeff

[Fishcop]

Always challenge on a private import...

Place of origin - Germany = Duty + GST
Place of origin - USA (free trade agreement) = No duty + GST
Car parts older than 30 years = No duty + GST

You need to challenge Customs on how they determined the $$ they asked you to pay. Before we had the free trade agreement with the USA, I got slugged $ for duty and GST on a second hand tensioner kit from MS Roadrace. I was able to demonstrate that it was a part for a 30+ year old 'vintage' car and they waived the duty. They explained that we here in Oz pay for the "goods and service" regardless of where it was received.

Customs also told me if they see Porsche, Mercedes, BMW et al on the box, they will presume it is German until proven that the item's origin is the USA (or in my case trade free NZ for a 915 gearbox).

I must admit I'd like to know (and haven't researched) what happens when I send a part over for refurbishment... eg fuchs to Weidman. I presume I would pay GST on the cost of the work and return freight. This is where it is key to have some prior dialogue with the supplier about what the receipt will say . But I have noticed that the guys in the USA are reluctant to do anything 'dodgy' in relation to freight and shipping as (because of 9/11) things are highly regulated.

[IXXI72]

When sending something over to US for refurbishment you have to careful not to attract the same charges on import into USA.
We send aircraft parts over all the time which by their nature are duty free in Aus, but we always send them on a TIB basis (I think it means transit in bond), this eliminates the US based charges for import, I think it gives you approx 12 months to bring it back again, but you need to send it out & bring it back using the same supply chain (freight forwarders) & they need to be reminded about it coz US customs keeps track of it & you'll get a nasty bill in about 14 months time!!

BTW you need to also make sure your supplier & you talk before cutting the customs declarations (Both ways)!!

Don't see any way to avoid the GST on the value added & freight coming back into Aus.

[matt911]

Ask them to wrap it as a birthday present.