Importing Parts

[Drew Parker]

Whilst aiming to buy what I can from our own suppliers, there are some parts that'll have to come in from UK to complete the list of bits needed for my 80" rebuild.

Is there any paperwork needed at the Australian end or do these generally come in through the post without attracting questions from our mates in customs?

cheers
drew

[nobbyclrk]

Hi Drew

Generally you shouldn't need any paper work for customs. That should all be done for you.

Also it shouldn't attract any GST or custom's charges if it is below $1000 but there are no hard and fast rules. A bigger less valuable parcel will attract more attention than a smaller more valuable one. If it does attract charges, you will be contacted to make the nessesary payment before your package is released.

The last one I imported was worth about $1200 and attracted just under $300 in charges.

HTH
Andrew

[newhue]

That's $1000 AU including postage as well.

[Warb]

As far as I am aware, there is GST payable on any item where the total value is above AU$1000. The shipping charges themselves also attract GST - so AU$1000 of goods plus AU$150 shipping means that GST is payable on the $1150.

Then the import duties themselves are calculated, and those vary with the items (every category of item - car parts, toys, clothes etc. - have different rates for different source countries).

Any country, such as the USA, with whom Australia has a free trade agreement should have no import duties (but will have GST). However it is the source of the part that is important, so if the part was made in a country without a free trade agreement, it is still subject to import duty if it is imported from the US.

The above is, of course, very intricate and confusing and requires much research on behalf of customs. So what normally happens, for "personal imports", is that anything around AU$1000 simply walks through without charges, and anything too much above AU$1000 gets GST charged on it. Any very high value shipments may trigger somebody to do some more investigation.

Note also that this is per shipment, not per package. They are within their rights to class several packages over a short period as "one shipment" and total it all up - so leave a couple of weeks between orders!

If the package comes via a freight handler with their own customs handling (like UPS), they themselves may trigger the customs department to apply charges, but if it comes via the postal service ($1000+ in the post?) it is more likely to slip through unnoticed.

Having stated what should happen, the reality is that I have had a AU$1350 package come through with no charges at all, so there is a bit of luck involved.

Also note that any reputable dealer will not lie about the value of expensive items, so I never ask them to. However some companies do need reminding that the shipping charges are not part of the value of the goods - a $900 pump has a goods value of $900, not $1280 (which includes the shipping). On heavy or bulky orders a high freight cost may be worth paying (compared to Australian prices) but if it triggers charges, or worse still attracts GST and duties because it was wrongly included in the goods value, it can remove that cost advantage.

[Terrain Vehicles]

When we send items we include all the paperwork for Customs, etc. Also, if a shipment goes over AU$1,000 then we may choose to send it as two parcels. ;)

[101RRS]

That's $1000 AU including postage as well.

No - the $1000 is the cost of goods only excluding shipping.

Garry

[101RRS]

Also, if a shipment goes over AU$1,000 then we may choose to send it as two parcels. ;)

But then the shipping costs change - in some circumstances can be double - again in some cases making it cheaper to pay the fees for the job lot.

Garry

[Warb]

When we send items we include all the paperwork for Customs, etc. Also, if a shipment goes over AU$1,000 then we may choose to send it as two parcels. ;)

Then you need to make sure you delay one of the parcels:

AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS NOTICE NO. 2006/59:

"Customs considers that, for the purposes of Section 68, irrespective of the number of packages in which the goods are sent from one consignor to one consignee (or the number of related air waybills or ocean bills) on the same ship or aircraft, all such packages should be treated as one consignment. It follows that, if the total value of all the packages sent from a single consignor to a single consignee on one ship or aircraft exceeds $1,000, the goods must be formally entered in accordance with the provisions of Section 68."

So leave enough time between packages to make certain they go on different planes/ships etc.!

[russellrovers]

Whilst aiming to buy what I can from our own suppliers, there are some parts that'll have to come in from UK to complete the list of bits needed for my 80" rebuild.

Is there any paperwork needed at the Australian end or do these generally come in through the post without attracting questions from our mates in customs?

cheers
drew
hi i have been sending parts to u k for restos jlm

[Terrain Vehicles]

Then you need to make sure you delay one of the parcels:

AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS NOTICE NO. 2006/59:

"Customs considers that, for the purposes of Section 68, irrespective of the number of packages in which the goods are sent from one consignor to one consignee (or the number of related air waybills or ocean bills) on the same ship or aircraft, all such packages should be treated as one consignment. It follows that, if the total value of all the packages sent from a single consignor to a single consignee on one ship or aircraft exceeds $1,000, the goods must be formally entered in accordance with the provisions of Section 68."

So leave enough time between packages to make certain they go on different planes/ships etc.!


Ah, I shall remember that, thank you. :)

[newhue]

No - the $1000 is the cost of goods only excluding shipping.

Garry

Not sure really, but I shipped in some stuff from the USA for around $1100. Got smashed duties and GST. Good were around $980, postage was the rest.
So now I just keep the whole show under $1000 and no problems. Maybe I just struck a customs officer having a bad day.

[101RRS]

I cannot comment on your specific circumstance - what exchange rates were used - goods that close to the limit could have been over $1000 by the time customs calculated the rate using their exchange rate.

This has been done to dealt a thousand times on this forum - for individual importers is it $1000 goods only - the rules are different if you are a commercial importer.

Garry