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things you should know about buying overseas....


EVIL_denver

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i believe a few people have had trouble purchasing / shipping items from overseas. I work in the industry so i have some knowledge this subject. The process is quite simple if all items are kept under $1000AUD. At this point is where duty and tax are calculated on the item. $999 = no duty/tax. $1000 = duty/tax (calculated on the entire $1000)

 

Firstly, if your item is over $1000aud, It is very important that your check the duty % of your item. For example: (alloy wheels sold out of china currently have duty of 88%. So, if your alloy wheels cost $1000aud, duty will be $880. expensive... yes. This is our governments way to help local manufacuring industry. Duty calculator can be found here http://www.dutycalculator.com/

 

Secondly, take note of who the freight company is. If you are purchasing goods under $1000 AUD, you want your freight shipped through a postal service such as USPS, Fedex, DHL express etc. This is a 'door to door' service where you pay once for shipping, and good are shipped to your door. If your cargo is shipped through a freight forwarder such as Schenker, DHL Global, Panalpina etc... you will be up for big $$ when it arrives. Freight forwarders charge (ontop of you shipping cost) handling fees, airline handling fees, clearance fees, storage fees etc. So make sure you cargo is shipped through a postal service!!

 

if you have an issue you can send me a pm or discuss here.

 

Cheers, Adam

 

 

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Just a quick question, I am about to order a new exhaust for my R32 through RHD japan. The exhaust cost is $730 yet it will be shipped through DHL for around $400. This will bring the total order over $1000 so will I still have GST fees and duty to pay on this? I thought I saw somewhere that it was worked out on not only item cost but postage cost as well.

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Just a quick question, I am about to order a new exhaust for my R32 through RHD japan. The exhaust cost is $730 yet it will be shipped through DHL for around $400. This will bring the total order over $1000 so will I still have GST fees and duty to pay on this? I thought I saw somewhere that it was worked out on not only item cost but postage cost as well.

 

Duty / taxes are only calculated on the value of the goods. The reason why people get confused is that some suppliers dont seperate the item and shipping on the invoice. For example, is your item cost $730 and shipping was $400 your invoice should look like:

 

Stainless steel exhaust R32                                    $730.00

Shipping                                                                    $400.00

 

total                                                                            $1130.00

 

when your supplier organises shipping to your address, the postal company will ask for a declared amount for customs purposes. Your declared amount should be $730.00.

 

If your invoice shows one line, for example:

 

stainless steel exhaust r32                                  $1130.00

 

your supplier will declare $1130.00 to the postal company, in which case you will need to pay duty / tax here in australia. If this happens, you can ask yur supplier for an amended invoice seperating the product and shipping cost and give that to the postal company here in australia who will then not charge duty / tax on your goods.

 

 

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Thanks for that. That was one thing holding me back from my order as I was unsure if I would have to factor that in. Im pretty sure they invoice everything separately but its been awhile since I have ordered from them so I will double check before making the order. I will be looking to order a bunch of stuff from the US for the zed as well so keeping my orders under 1k (in parts) and making sure they only declare item value.

 

 

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Thanks for that. That was one thing holding me back from my order as I was unsure if I would have to factor that in. Im pretty sure they invoice everything separately but its been awhile since I have ordered from them so I will double check before making the order. I will be looking to order a bunch of stuff from the US for the zed as well so keeping my orders under 1k (in parts) and making sure they only declare item value.

 

no worries. Keep it well under $1000 AUD as duty / tax if applicable are calculated on time of arrival into Australia. Just incase the dollar drops its good to have some leeway.

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I am about to order a new exhaust for my R32 through RHD japan

 

Sort of on topic - if you use Jesse Streeter for sourcing parts in Japan he uses DHL Express so it is an all inclusive cost he gives you.

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Firstly, if your item is over $1000aud, It is very important that your check the duty % of your item. For example: (alloy wheels sold out of china currently have duty of 88%. So, if your alloy wheels cost $1000aud, duty will be $880. expensive... yes. This is our governments way to help local manufacuring industry.

 

Adam, how do you know what duty bracket your item falls under? You mentioned alloy wheels, but is there a comprehensive list of items and their duty that we can rely on to make sure we don't get pinched on duty?

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Adam, how do you know what duty bracket your item falls under? You mentioned alloy wheels, but is there a comprehensive list of items and their duty that we can rely on to make sure we don't get pinched on duty?

 

hi Gav, the system i use is intergrated with my work and not online. I will look for an online comprehensive duty list and link it in this thread.

 

 

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car parts excluding fabrics have a duty aka 'tariff' of 5% + gst.

 

All the duties aka 'tariffs' can be found here: http://www.customs.gov.au/tariff/tariff2012.asp#Schedule3 under there respective categories.

 

Alloy wheels out of china have what the call 'anti-dumping' tax, which is a severely high tax to protect an industry in danger of colapse.

 

 

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Sort of on topic - if you use Jesse Streeter for sourcing parts in Japan he uses DHL Express so it is an all inclusive cost he gives you.

 

Just modified that slightly, best to speak to Jesse about your specific requirements for shipping and duty for parts your importing ;).

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Adam, Ive heard they (customs) keep tabs on splitting shipments for example if you have multiple parts that are valued over $1,000 and you split them into two shipments valued individually at less than $1,000 they will retrospectively charge you duty/tax if they can prove its gone to the same person. Can you confirm?

 

 

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Adam, Ive heard they (customs) keep tabs on splitting shipments for example if you have multiple parts that are valued over $1,000 and you split them into two shipments valued individually at less than $1,000 they will retrospectively charge you duty/tax if they can prove its gone to the same person. Can you confirm?

 

Ive heard people speak of this but ive never seen it happen myself. If you separate your orders at least a day or two, there shouldn't be an issue because once that first split shipment arrives and is 'customs clear', that shipment is no longer the jurisdiction of customs and rightfully yours. When the second shipment comes in it starts again. Most shipments through postal services like dhl express are 'pre cleared', which means that the shipment is free of any customs duty, tax or inspection before its in the country anyway. So long story short... it can be possible but highly unlikely.  Spread out your shipments a day or two and you will be sweet.

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when i see rims that have fallen apart, the question needs to be asked... In what scenario did the wheel break? These 'Drifters' slide into gutters sideways at 80kmh and post pics online say "this is why you dont buy cheap wheels". What they dont tell you is how they broke, if they do its a bullsh*t story about a pot hole.

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Supplier can make a big difference to how well things go as well.

 

I find the suppliers who have a big prescence on the web, and their site does cover international shipping quotes to Aus a generally pretty good, especially the euro sites.

 

I have bought a few things off Demon Tweeks in the UK and all shipping quotes were as per the web based quote system in their checkout. They also have a good currency converter and automatically take off the VAT for local customers.

 

Also Performance Plastics are another very good supplier in this regard, when I bought the 5 window kit for the S14 they emailed me back as soon as they could with freight quote and lead time for the windows, discussed my options and changed my order to suit. The windows arrived quicker than expected and no nasty surprises.

 

In both cases the companies provided itemised invoices with the freight as seperate component to the goods supplied.

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just a little more info guys:

 

You may in a situation where your goods are shipped through a shipping company who require you to do your own customs clearance. This is not difficult if your goods are valued under $1000aud. You will need to fill out what is called SAC (self assessed clearance). You can go online and complete your SAC here https://www.ccf.customs.gov.au/

 

If you cant be bothered doing it yourself, you can have a customs broker do this for you at a cost ranging from of $50~100

 

If your goods are valued over $1000aud you have no option but to arrange a licenced customs broker to complete your customs clearance. Their responsiblity is to calculate duty / tax on your imported goods and submit the information to customs. This will set your back $100+ your duty and tax. THIS ONLY APPLIES IF YOU ARE ASKED BY YOUR SHIPPING COMPANY TO ARRANGE YOUR OWN CLEARANCE

 

All postal services such as USPS and DHL express have their own customs brokers who will customs clear your goods. They will contact you first with the amounts for duty and tax you will need to pay.

 

Does this make sense???

 

 

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What about bring things in via commercial flights?

 

When I flew back from Thailand with some pairs of 370z side repeaters. Customs charged me GST,not so much but I still had to go through the whole process.  No one else with Tshirts , souvenirs or DVD's was paying that. Whats up with it?

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Car parts are not viewed as personal items. When I shipped a bunch of FD RX-7 parts back with my personal goods like Kitchen Wares, Bicycle, Clothing, Books etc.. I had to pay a customs fee on the RX-7 parts I brought back as they were not considered 'personal effects'. I marked them down in price on the customs form though to keep it all under $1000 and with a bit of creativity was able to find equivalent parts on eBay that were cheap to confirm I was being honest. (hint the word was equivalent) but I still had to pay a fee. Even though some of the parts were never purchased (like the seats) I had simply removed them from my car and put in the OEM Recaro's instead.

 

I was a bit ticked off about it at the time.

 

I have also been told that a complete motorcycle is subject to duty, but if you split the shipping into 2 (the frame and motor) separate. You can bring in the whole thing (in 2 loads) un-taxed. ;).

 

I know that when my Mikuni carbs were brought in years ago I put them down as motorcycle carbs and didn't have to pay any fee's.

 

Hey they could be used on a motorcycle also!

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What about bring things in via commercial flights?

 

When I flew back from Thailand with some pairs of 370z side repeaters. Customs charged me GST,not so much but I still had to go through the whole process.  No one else with Tshirts , souvenirs or DVD's was paying that. Whats up with it?

 

You shouldnt be charged any duty or gst unless the value of goods are over $1000aud. The only exception in Alcohol and Tabacco.

 

 

Car parts are not viewed as personal items. When I shipped a bunch of FD RX-7 parts back with my personal goods like Kitchen Wares, Bicycle, Clothing, Books etc.. I had to pay a customs fee on the RX-7 parts I brought back as they were not considered 'personal effects'. I marked them down in price on the customs form though to keep it all under $1000 and with a bit of creativity was able to find equivalent parts on eBay that were cheap to confirm I was being honest. (hint the word was equivalent) but I still had to pay a fee. Even though some of the parts were never purchased (like the seats) I had simply removed them from my car and put in the OEM Recaro's instead.

 

I was a bit ticked off about it at the time.

 

I have also been told that a complete motorcycle is subject to duty, but if you split the shipping into 2 (the frame and motor) separate. You can bring in the whole thing (in 2 loads) un-taxed. ;).

 

I know that when my Mikuni carbs were brought in years ago I put them down as motorcycle carbs and didn't have to pay any fee's.

 

Hey they could be used on a motorcycle also!

 

Any item shipped for personal use (not for re-sale) are concidered under australian customs regulations as 'personal effects'. Even though they are for personal use the duty / gst still applies if the value of the goods is over $1000aud. There are a few tricks in 'choosing' the appropriate catergory for your goods. Motorcyles parts have no duty because Australia doesnt manufacture motorcycles. If you can declare your goods as motorcycle parts its a good option to do so. This means that there is no duty to be paid reguardless of the value.

 

Gav how much did you declare for the mikuni's?

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