Sites where GST not charged on overseas purchases post 1 July 2018

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Posts
16,335
Examples where GST/duty was not charged for goods arriving into Australia either by the vendor or Australian Customs

Please include price including shipping

You may wish to keep vendor name confidential

Post 1 July 2018
 
Motor vehicle part
From Norfolk Virginia USA
Not Amazon
Purchased directly via Vendor website
Invoice incl shipping $USD 174.4
Customs declaration sticker $USD 87.30
No duty in invoice
 
Last edited:
It's only big companies the government has "pressured" to sign up to the GST scheme. Smaller retailers will slip through and presumably the $1000 limit still applies to them.
 
I got an email from Book Depository saying they were going to charge GST on purchases after July 1. They also sent a couple of 10% off coupons along the lines of here's something to make up for the extra GST charge.

I purchased a hoodie from a cheap Chinese import website and didn't get charged GST or freight. I did get charged some sort of insurance duty but it was only a couple of dollars on a $40 purchase.
 
Ebay charges 10% GST.....
 
I've had a couple of overseas mail orders since this cough started (one because they delayed invoicing until after July 1). Each has included the extra tax, one by adding it as an extra invoice item, another including it in the posted item price after selected AU as the shipping destination.
Neither customs form showed any indication that tax had been added. There is no way for customs to know if the tax has been charged when it arrives.
 
Why was the declared value half the invoiced cost?

The difference was shipping
I don’t know why the declaration only showed the cost of invoice less shipping

The accompanying documents accompanying the declaration showed the total including shipping but would have required Custom to open the plastic sleeve to see it
 
I have found that my purchases so far made overseas have been surprisingly passing thru customs.
The only issue was an Alienware laptop which was worth 1500 USD. It was more advanced than the corresponding laptop in Australia. And so much cheaper. However when it reached Australia I was suppose paying some extraordinary customs duty equaling somewhere near 350 AUD. I explained it was a used Laptop and did not want to take it with me on the flight.
Stubborn customs did not budge. So the company DHL....no it was FEDEX had to take the laptop back to the US. ( no cost to me) so All I did was hold the laptop at the forwarders and then in the next three months I was in the USA i had it delivered to my hotel. Bought it back to Australia in my carry on luggage no questions ask. Silly silly system.
 
Here is an interesting one. Delivered today
Textbook

Invoice USD$191.40
Shipping USD$7.89 from Wisconsin USA
Total USD$199.20
No separate duty, tax or GST paid
Destination did not change price



Approx AUD $285

Customs declaration $1

Don’t know what this means:
“ GST exemption code paid...”
Explained here:
Information for transporters and customs brokers

D65F1C0B-13F0-40D5-8E73-FEAF9C6EDBD5.jpeg
 
Last edited:
We have purchased a number of things through Sierra Trading. Now they will not let me into their website. Can only think it is due to not wanting to collect the GST. Bit annoying.
 
We have purchased a number of things through Sierra Trading. Now they will not let me into their website. Can only think it is due to not wanting to collect the GST. Bit annoying.

They do seem to be blocking it. With a Europe VPN I can get in no problems. Interestingly the shopping cart still lets you select Australia as a shipping destination.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bad
bloody Ebay charge 10% GST for overseas low value purchases good reason not to use them anymore.
 
bloody Ebay charge 10% GST for overseas low value purchases good reason not to use them anymore.
If not Ebay then what else would you use? There are not many large all inclusive sites around, unless you want to spend time looking through smaller and maybe less reliable sites.

Australian Amazon is joke with expensive items and not a lot to offer.
 
banggood dot com purchase tonight added 10% GST

Just wandering
Fred
 
If not Ebay then what else would you use? There are not many large all inclusive sites around, unless you want to spend time looking through smaller and maybe less reliable sites.

Australian Amazon is joke with expensive items and not a lot to offer.
Use VPN then Amazon in USA
 
bloody Ebay charge 10% GST for overseas low value purchases good reason not to use them anymore.
Even with GST, its still cheaper to import than buy locally for most things. The annoying part is paying GST on shipping.
 
Why. Shipping is a 'Service' and part of the landed price for retail imported goods.
 
Elevate your business spending to first-class rewards! Sign up today with code AFF10 and process over $10,000 in business expenses within your first 30 days to unlock 10,000 Bonus PayRewards Points.
Join 30,000+ savvy business owners who:

✅ Pay suppliers who don’t accept Amex
✅ Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
✅ Earn & transfer PayRewards Points to 10+ airline & hotel partners

Start earning today!
- Pay suppliers who don’t take Amex
- Max out credit card rewards—even on government payments
- Earn & Transfer PayRewards Points to 8+ top airline & hotel partners

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Status
Not open for further replies.

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.
Back
Top