ausmini :: View topic - So who thinks they know best on Import Taxes and Duty?????

I think we are all confused then.

I have had a number of packages sent from Minisport and Minispares and only been hit once for any duty and that was when I purchased the supercharger kit which was 1000GBP.
I received my package OK within 1 week and then a few days later I had an email from DHL requesting me to pay duty of about $100 which I understood was for the amount over the $1000 AUS.

michaelb wrote:

I think we are all confused then.

I had that too years ago, when the limit was nowhere near $1000.
The duty if assessed is payable on the whole value of the goods though, not just the bit above $1000.
See my 1st link above.

This was 'debated' extensively in the past.

I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000.

Monaco wrote:

This was 'debated' extensively in the past.

I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000.

Yes you are right, it has been debated in the past. The last time it was, I tried to say exactly what Lockie has now encountered but was told that I was wrong

I just purchased a set of Cobra seats from Huddersfield Spares in the UK.
I emailed them first and asked them for the " TOTAL " cost , in Aus dollars , delivered to me , on my doorstep. They replied with a quote that came in under $1000 , so i then rang them and ordered the seats ,which i paid by credit card , so i knew exactly how much i was paying , ( price had varied a bit because of the Aus dollar )
This was my first ever O/S transaction , and because i didn't know too much about how to go about it , i searched and read different posts on here , then PM'd some people to get their opinions , and experiences , and then went ahead with it .
I suppose if it the cost had of gone over a $1000 i would of not gone ahead with the purchase .

Monaco wrote:

This was 'debated' extensively in the past.

I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000.

Yes you are right, it has been debated in the past. The last time it was, I tried to say exactly what Lockie has now encountered but was told that I was wrong

goodie wrote:

While you may have used your card and it came in under a $1000 the invoice on the parcel from your supplier will still be in English pounds and the value will be assesed by Aus Customs when it lands on our shore. If the dollar changes it will affect the Customs valuation (hopefully for the better)

tasti wrote:

this is also correct for those reading this needing confirmation... the total of the parcel is not when you "buy" it, its when it passes through customs hands at which the exchange rate is at THAT point in time. So if it changes in the transit time, well tough titties basically...

Author:	Lockie91 [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 2:40 pm ]
Post subject:	So who thinks they know best on Import Taxes and Duty?????
yeaaaaaaaa NOOOO.... Complete BS,, this thread is completely wrong..... http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic ... ht=customs For those who have taken this advice and other threads where people say,,, "ohhh yea,... if its over 30 or 35yrs old it don't matter how much the goods are worth" THATS BS!! Why is that you ask???? BECAUSE... I just got hit up from Customs for the lot... duty,, gst,, and some other little fees they like to include.... I am certainly not happy,,, so I warn those who are thinking of doing this, to think twice... don't try it,, you will get hit.. and it's not worth the trouble... OHHH,, and another thing,,, some say that it's not calculated on postage costs as well,,,, WRONG... according to Customs that I just spoke to this is not correct... IT IS... and this is partly why I got hit up for my fee's.... As the dollar changed in the time it met customs here in aus since I bought it, i was over only by a little bit, but the postage tipped me they tell me..... I have imported parts numerious times over the years,,, but always kept it wayyy below the mark,, but this time I thought I would take those who have said that it don't matter, and so does some writing on the customs website,,, but you just can't assume its all in BIG letters,,, there's always fine print behind everything these days,,, and this is what I got caught up on,,, I can tell you I'm not happy one bit..... SOOOO who thinks they know what they are talking about???? I think you can say that I do,, because I now have a huge bill to pay before they release my goods...

Author:	drmini in aust [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:12 pm ]
Post subject:
The bit in that thread which is wrong is the assertion that postage cost can always be piled on top of the `$1,000 limit' and thus evade 15% duty & 10% GST. It cannot, as you found out. The rules on the customs website are for international POSTAGE, not stuff sent via couriers- http://www.customs.gov.au/site/importin ... calculated For courier deliveries see this, taken from http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5549.asp "Imported goods with a value at or below A$1000 that arrive by air or sea cargo will require a self-assessed clearance (SAC) declaration to be lodged with Customs and Border Protection. There are no Customs and Border Protection charges for making a SAC declaration. For more information about SAC declarations see the fact sheet Self-assessed Clearance (SAC) Declarations. Goods with a value at or below A$1000 that arrive by post do not require a SAC declaration". And if you DO get pinged, 15% duty is payable on the goods value and then 10% GST is payable on the lot, freight included. If your total landed cost was below $1,000 you would have been OK. With their spiralling cost of postage/freight, buying from UK is becoming less and less appealing.

Author:	Moriarty [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:08 pm ]
Post subject:
Just a question: were the parts eligbile under the category for original / replacement parts for vehicles aged over 30 years old (or whatever it is called) and were they labelled in such a way that would make this clear? i.e. this helpful post from 2009 (I assume this list hasn't changed much) http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=660789 I'm not trying to be smart, I feel your pain Just wondering if they fit these categories and whether you could obtain some paperwork from the seller that would satisfy Customs and save you some $$$.

Author:	michaelb [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:18 pm ]
Post subject:
I think we are all confused then. I have had a number of packages sent from Minisport and Minispares and only been hit once for any duty and that was when I purchased the supercharger kit which was 1000GBP. I received my package OK within 1 week and then a few days later I had an email from DHL requesting me to pay duty of about $100 which I understood was for the amount over the $1000 AUS.

Author:	drmini in aust [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:49 pm ]
Post subject:
michaelb wrote: I think we are all confused then. I have had a number of packages sent from Minisport and Minispares and only been hit once for any duty and that was when I purchased the supercharger kit which was 1000GBP. I received my package OK within 1 week and then a few days later I had an email from DHL requesting me to pay duty of about $100 which I understood was for the amount over the $1000 AUS. I had that too years ago, when the limit was nowhere near $1000. The duty if assessed is payable on the whole value of the goods though, not just the bit above $1000. See my 1st link above.

ausmini https://www.ausmini.com/forums/

So who thinks they know best on Import Taxes and Duty????? https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=72377	Page 1 of 2

Author:	Lockie91 [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:21 pm ]
Post subject:
drmini in aust wrote: michaelb wrote: I think we are all confused then. I have had a number of packages sent from Minisport and Minispares and only been hit once for any duty and that was when I purchased the supercharger kit which was 1000GBP. I received my package OK within 1 week and then a few days later I had an email from DHL requesting me to pay duty of about $100 which I understood was for the amount over the $1000 AUS. I had that too years ago, when the limit was nowhere near $1000. The duty if assessed is payable on the whole value of the goods though, not just the bit above $1000. See my 1st link above. what doc says is 100% correct, this is how it adds up.. plus the bit about couriers... Don't use DHL, they are the worst for this.. Paperwork was all there, and I also have it here sitting infront of me, and I said I could supply it to prove the damn thing, but the pricks have thought of this already, and there is a charge for re submitting the paperwork for re assessment in customs, BASED on how much the total of your goods are ++++ postage... and well,,,,, as you can probabily imagine it is only $40 cheaper than my fees itself....well over the $200 mark... And get this,,, if they decide your still wrong, u pay the original fee PLUS the re submitting fee... So im definetly not going down this path.... This BS,, has totally put me in the pissed of books...

Author:	Monaco [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:04 pm ]
Post subject:
This was 'debated' extensively in the past. I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000.

Author:	Panthersteve [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:07 pm ]
Post subject:
Monaco wrote: This was 'debated' extensively in the past. I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000. Yes you are right, it has been debated in the past. The last time it was, I tried to say exactly what Lockie has now encountered but was told that I was wrong

Author:	Monaco [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:11 pm ]
Post subject:
Panthersteve wrote: Monaco wrote: This was 'debated' extensively in the past. I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000. Yes you are right, it has been debated in the past. The last time it was, I tried to say exactly what Lockie has now encountered but was told that I was wrong Yes, I remember!

Author:	goodie [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:32 pm ]
Post subject:
I just purchased a set of Cobra seats from Huddersfield Spares in the UK. I emailed them first and asked them for the " TOTAL " cost , in Aus dollars , delivered to me , on my doorstep. They replied with a quote that came in under $1000 , so i then rang them and ordered the seats ,which i paid by credit card , so i knew exactly how much i was paying , ( price had varied a bit because of the Aus dollar ) This was my first ever O/S transaction , and because i didn't know too much about how to go about it , i searched and read different posts on here , then PM'd some people to get their opinions , and experiences , and then went ahead with it . I suppose if it the cost had of gone over a $1000 i would of not gone ahead with the purchase .

Author:	tasti [ Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:51 pm ]
Post subject:
goodie wrote: I just purchased a set of Cobra seats from Huddersfield Spares in the UK. I emailed them first and asked them for the " TOTAL " cost , in Aus dollars , delivered to me , on my doorstep. They replied with a quote that came in under $1000 , so i then rang them and ordered the seats ,which i paid by credit card , so i knew exactly how much i was paying , ( price had varied a bit because of the Aus dollar ) This was my first ever O/S transaction , and because i didn't know too much about how to go about it , i searched and read different posts on here , then PM'd some people to get their opinions , and experiences , and then went ahead with it . I suppose if it the cost had of gone over a $1000 i would of not gone ahead with the purchase . While you may have used your card and it came in under a $1000 the invoice on the parcel from your supplier will still be in English pounds and the value will be assesed by Aus Customs when it lands on our shore. If the dollar changes it will affect the Customs valuation (hopefully for the better)

Author:	Lockie91 [ Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:50 am ]
Post subject:
Panthersteve wrote: Monaco wrote: This was 'debated' extensively in the past. I think the bottom line is that Customs rule the roost and can nail you if your goods + freight is over $1000. Yes you are right, it has been debated in the past. The last time it was, I tried to say exactly what Lockie has now encountered but was told that I was wrong Yea I remember seeing your post too.. and well I can officially say that it's the customs decision at the end of the day... it all comes down to which customs officer is assessing it on the day...

Author:	Lockie91 [ Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:54 am ]
Post subject:
tasti wrote: goodie wrote: I just purchased a set of Cobra seats from Huddersfield Spares in the UK. I emailed them first and asked them for the " TOTAL " cost , in Aus dollars , delivered to me , on my doorstep. They replied with a quote that came in under $1000 , so i then rang them and ordered the seats ,which i paid by credit card , so i knew exactly how much i was paying , ( price had varied a bit because of the Aus dollar ) This was my first ever O/S transaction , and because i didn't know too much about how to go about it , i searched and read different posts on here , then PM'd some people to get their opinions , and experiences , and then went ahead with it . I suppose if it the cost had of gone over a $1000 i would of not gone ahead with the purchase . While you may have used your card and it came in under a $1000 the invoice on the parcel from your supplier will still be in English pounds and the value will be assesed by Aus Customs when it lands on our shore. If the dollar changes it will affect the Customs valuation (hopefully for the better) this is also correct for those reading this needing confirmation... the total of the parcel is not when you "buy" it, its when it passes through customs hands at which the exchange rate is at THAT point in time. So if it changes in the transit time, well tough titties basically...

Author:	66S [ Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:51 am ]
Post subject:
It is pretty much the same for us in NZ but out limit is much lower, I think NZ$300 or $400 including postage so hope that makes you feel a little better Lockie. Al

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Author:	Moriarty [ Fri Aug 12, 2011 8:38 am ]
Post subject:
Lockie91 wrote: tasti wrote: While you may have used your card and it came in under a $1000 the invoice on the parcel from your supplier will still be in English pounds and the value will be assesed by Aus Customs when it lands on our shore. If the dollar changes it will affect the Customs valuation (hopefully for the better) this is also correct for those reading this needing confirmation... the total of the parcel is not when you "buy" it, its when it passes through customs hands at which the exchange rate is at THAT point in time. So if it changes in the transit time, well tough titties basically... Are you sure? Quoting from the Customs website: "The Customs value must be in Australian currency. If the invoice is not in Australian dollars then use the rate on the day the goods were exported, as published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. The rates of exchange are also available from www.customs.gov.au. If there is no rate available through these channels, the conversion rate will be the ruling rate determined by Customs and Border Protection." http://customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/ValueofImportedGoodsApril2011WEB.pdf