Importing GST & other taxes - can you help??

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Importing GST & other taxes - can you help??

Post by Stu7 » 15 Sep 2020, 10:27 am

Hi there,
I am in the process of looking at buying a Kestrel 5700 Elite and Kestrel HUD from the US however I am told by the seller to be aware that there will be customs duty and GST charges at my end. I have rang Customs but they could not give me any information. Has anyone imported before and can shed some light on how much I might be up for? The reason I am buying from the US is that it is considerably cheaper than buying in Australia.
Cheers - Stu
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Re: Importing GST & other taxes - can you help??

Post by eddievic » 15 Sep 2020, 4:55 pm

Many online sellers will say that to cover their butt as they don't know what every country's laws are.

Basically if your total invoice is over 1k AUD then customs will hold the parcel and you will get a notification to pay 10% GST and duty (which is dependent on what the items are but think 5%) on the total amount including shipping converted to AUD on the day the parcel lands.

If you are buying through some sellers like Amazon/eBay they will charge this amount before its shipped.

The govt has changed the rules and now its every item coming into Australia needs gst and duty to be paid.. but the amount is collected by the shipper (company) on behalf of the Australian customs.

Obviously not every seller wants to deal with the govt, so at times if the price is less than 1k you might NOT pay any extra.

Edited for clarity
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Re: Importing GST & other taxes - can you help??

Post by bladeracer » 15 Sep 2020, 5:27 pm

Stu7 wrote:Hi there,
I am in the process of looking at buying a Kestrel 5700 Elite and Kestrel HUD from the US however I am told by the seller to be aware that there will be customs duty and GST charges at my end. I have rang Customs but they could not give me any information. Has anyone imported before and can shed some light on how much I might be up for? The reason I am buying from the US is that it is considerably cheaper than buying in Australia.
Cheers - Stu


GST is 10% on landed cost, including the shipping. It used to be only on goods under $1000 but that stopped a couple years ago, now we pay GST on all imported goods.
I'n not aware of any import duties on the specific items but the Border Force website should explain that on electronic products.

If you are interested in warranty be aware that you probably won't get any assistance locally if you imported the product from overseas.
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Re: Importing GST & other taxes - can you help??

Post by bladeracer » 15 Sep 2020, 5:35 pm

Just googling the prices here and the US I'm not sure you're going to save much if anything. Our dollar is crap currently, US$600 is about A$820, plus shipping, plus 10% GST.
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