Importing of goods from US - Tax Rates and prices??

[DC2R8D]

Did a quick search, a heap of stuff came up couldnt find much info at all..
Need to know what sorta tax ill be slammed with for importing goods to AUS frm US, is there certain "tax brackets" depending on prices of items ect.??
any help is appreciated
cheers

[ewendc2r]

Did a quick search, a heap of stuff came up couldnt find much info at all..
Need to know what sorta tax ill be slammed with for importing goods to AUS frm US, is there certain "tax brackets" depending on prices of items ect.??
any help is appreciated
cheers

$1000 limit before gst and duties apply..

[ewendc2r]

add -- That is the amount that is put on the box, not the 'actual' value of the goods if you get my drift... Oh, and by getting multiple packages in a short period ie a couple of weeks they may add the value together ...

[DC2R8D]

ohkk so u can kinda do a lil u know 'sneaky' liek wen u do transfer of rego in NSW? hehe i gethca but wat if they open package to "inspect" and see a tax invoice claiming u paid over 1000? and also what are the duties for over 1000 say an amount of $1500 is paid for the item?

[stevan]

Well alot of people do two different wire account transfers and if your seller is kind enough to write you a lower invoice price then you'll be fine. Lets say the item is $1200. If your seller is willing to write down $500 on the invoice but you do 2 seperate wire transfers over the bank ($500 and $700) then you can evade the tax. But i'm not supporting such act but just letting you know some people go around it this way. To me its bs paying such tax because its for personal use but oh well....

i agree mate, we get slammed with taxes on taxes, do you know that we actually get taxed twice for items over $1k?? first we get 5% duties charged of the cost of goods then we get taxed 10% of (Duties + cost of goods in AUD + shipping and insurance)

only thing when importing something expensive is if u get the export ticket labelled below 1K you will only be insured for that listed value so there is some inherent risk there.

[Norm]

Hahah Stevan i know. I didn't even have to pay the tax and duty on my brembos and i'm still pee'd off at the amount i've already spent on these buggers...the port chargers etc for just taking it off the darn ship -_-!

[tinkerbell]

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5549.asp

[tinkerbell]

Well alot of people do two different wire account transfers and if your seller is kind enough to write you a lower invoice price then you'll be fine. Lets say the item is $1200. If your seller is willing to write down $500 on the invoice but you do 2 seperate wire transfers over the bank ($500 and $700) then you can evade the tax. But i'm not supporting such act but just letting you know some people go around it this way. To me its bs paying such tax because its for personal use but oh well....

i understand you dont 'support the above' but it is still fail.

read the link above.

dont spread mis-information please.

[Norm]

Ok Tinker. I dont know which part your referring to as mis-information but I'll use my personal experience as an example and we can have a discussion.

In my personal circumstance i only needed the following documentation to bring to my customs broker for a SAC

1. Quote from Seller of goods
2. Wire Transfer
3. Packaging declaration (Australian and Canadian)
4. Bill of laden

The only two things highlighting the cost of my item was the quote provided by the seller and the wire transfer through the bank. I personally had issues with duty and tax due to the the quote stating $1250 USD (At the time it was 1=0.98) which included $350 shipping cost, hence leaving $900 for the item. I knew I needed to find a customs broker as a SAC (Self Assessment clearance) was needed to be made. My customs broker advised me if I did not get a fresh quote from my seller I would indefinite have to pay the duty and tax. Hence he advised me to contact the seller and re-do the paper to to separately state item - $900 and shipping $350. He did also mention that certain people do get their sellers to write a lower amount on the quotation and do two wire transfers instead however he did not obviously recommend me to do this, plus I did not need to because the item was legit for $900.

I'm just passing on the same thing my customs broker said which is licensed to provide advice on my behalf in regards to my import. I wouldn't mind more input in this topic to clarify what I initially said, however this is the same process I've just been through and I have every piece of legit paperwork to prove it.

Btw this is a direct quotation from that link that you provided.
"When goods that you import are valued at more than A$1000, or include tobacco, tobacco products and/or alcohol of any value, a Customs value is used as the basis for calculating the amount of any duty and/or GST and other taxes payable.

Duty is determined on the Customs value of the goods. The Customs value of the goods is usually the amount you paid for your goods, converted to Australian currency. The exchange rate that is used is the rate applied on the day the goods were posted or exported."

[tinkerbell]

well,

since the customs officials can get INDEPENDENT assessment of the goods value, if you get an undervalue, you are risking getting done...

so personal examples (based on potentially dodgy broker advice) don't cut it.

the facts are clear:

If your imported goods arrive in Australia by air cargo, sea cargo or by post and their value is above A$1000, in most cases, you will be required to make an Import Declaration and pay the calculated duty and taxes.

no discussion.

[Norm]

True tinker, customs officials can get an independent assessment of the goods value, however a 2nd hand good or item is subjective to seller value and obviously subjective to the quality of the item. And as for potential dodgy broker advice, I'll say again in defence of my broker that he did not indicate whatsoever in any manner for me to do anything illegal. What he told me to do was sound, fair and legal advice. The item sold was initially $900 and isn't altered at all, the invoice only includes 1 value of $1250 and hence why the chance was needed to be made. In my example of importing something lesser then $1000, your "fact" does not apply to me. However it does stand valid for something above $1000, and i'm sure there is no one out there including myself that disagrees on this.

Back to the topic, DC2R8D is asking in regards to tax and duty on goods above $1000 if so, then tinkerbell's link is your reference.

[tinkerbell]

I'll say again in defence of my broker that he did not indicate whatsoever in any manner for me to do anything illegal. What he told me to do was sound, fair and legal advice.

problem is that you didn't make a sound or fair representation of that advice in your initial post.

which stated:

if your seller is kind enough to write you a lower invoice price then you'll be fine.

this is wrong, misleading and illegal.

you wont "be fine" if you get chosen for an audit...

[Norm]

Well if you pointed it out exactly what was wrong in my initial post we wouldn't of had to have a 5 post discussion back and forth of something completely different. And if you apply what I wrote in my initial post and apply it in my context, my seller was kind enough to alter my invoice in a legal context.

That qoute "if your seller is kind enough to write you a lower invoice price then you'll be fine" does sound wrong, if used out of context, i'll admit it. I'll edit that post. However Tinker i'd appreciate it if you got straight to the point and pointed out what was initially "wrong, misleading and illegal".