So, only being in oz for near 3months i was thinking what parts i could try and accumulate for my bus.

having come from the uk, where you get stung by import tax and VAT etc etc when importing from states, I was wondering if Australia was any better.

my brief search found this:
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/importingGoodsByPostFaq.asp 

which implies that anything imported under $1000 is not subject to any duty GST etc.

Is this really true?
I have always wanted a gene berg shifter so would i only need to pay the the price of the part and shipping without fear of being stung for any customs/import/GST etc?

NaFe

I better get involved then...

Generally there is no duty between Australia and the US. But GST applies where the product and shipping is over $1000. Not just the product. Then GST is calculated on the total.

Better order soon before our dollar becomes worthless

hmmmmmmm worthless for your wallet not for your country

Just a question on this.
How does the tax dept/government know how much my products cost me from the US?
Theres no price tag on the packaging,only my address and details of the sender..

Everything I buy from the US has a decleration sticker attached with the price of the goods. I would assume with no decleration they have the right to seize goods and you have to provide invoice to prove cost of goods, and charge you a fee to check it.

i've heard some stuff in the news about the strength/weakness in the dollar. if its making news as a bad thing, then surely its only bad one way - i presume its bad exporting, so US buying Aus goods....i.e. good for Aus people buying US goods (in terms of historical exchange rates)

Our $ low makes our exports more attractive to overseas but makes imported products less attractive to Australian consumers, therefore good for the country but not for the consumer

Yes, that is true..
the value should be written on a sticker on the parcel
for tax import duties etc...

so, if someone wrote that your parts were worth $1250
then You would be charged import duty and anything else they want to charge you..

they can write : used parts with no value
regardless of whats in the box...
and chances are You wouldnt pay anything..

if You buy parts from the UK.. Yes I know they are expensive...lol You won't pay VAT... or shouldn't..
and even if You buy from some states in the USA that have state VAT or GST You wont pay them either...

but You better be quick as Our dollar is falling to the USA dollar.. it was wprth $1-05 at one time..

but read today that the US GOV is no longer going to top up their $$ by buying bonds...
this doesn't finish until next year by US Government..
so Our dollar may keep going down for a while..??

but also Read where Aussie businesses told NOT to expect Our dollar to keep going down

cheers

Lee

Yeah, everything I have ever received from the states has the dollar value on the outside of the box somewhere....if it isn't declared by the sender then you'll definitely run the risk of the package being searched/opened/seized by customs. If they do open it and are suspicious of you trying to do the dodgy and import goods worth more than the $1000aud threshold and not pay import gst taxes, good chance you'll either get fined or the goods will be seized......

You can have the sender put comments in the description of the goods to say 'samples' or 'used parts' or something of the like, but if customs are suspicious they can still investigate the goods and who knows what they will come up with.

I' d suggest be careful if trying to be dodgy as sometimes it would be better/cheaper to pay the import gst taxes than having your new parts seized and not getting them at all.

In saying all that, if you buy goods worth under the customs threshold it's all good...no taxes and you've more than likely got some killer new parts for way less than what you can buy here locally.....

For parts over a $1000,

Most vw places will do freeshipping in the US
send it to a friend, then have them send it to you

disclaimer: I have never done this for the purpose of tax evasion

WHY the $1000.00 threshold?
I was told that anything below $1000.00 costs the government more to recover than the revenue raised.
Makes sense.

maybe i better order that gene berg this week then hehe will still be cheaper than buying un UK i think

Parts from CIP1 etc in the USA are very cheap even for good quality German made stuff [or USA made parts]

but the postage they charge Us in Australia is just too expensive..
much much more than they should be...
but Most of the big shops over there do it..

but live in the USA and its usually free... [if your order is worth so much]

LEE

It's all relative to what parts you are ordering.
When I first started ordering from cip1 I continually recalculated the shipping costs.
The results were very interesting.
The following results are a rough guess so don't quote me!
At about $120.00 the shipping was more than the cost of parts.
At $300.00 shipping was over $200
At $500 shipping had topped out at somewhere above 300 and had started falling
By the time it reached 850 the shipping had fallen to about 220.

So the more you spend the lower the cost of shipping per dollar spent.

When I order I start with a long list and pile the cart with everything I want.
I then trim it down until I reach the magic $1000.00 mark, save the cart, and walk away.
The next day I go back and check it over, make changes if necessary, and then pay for it.

Sometimes I haven't enough to make the magic 1k, so I will top up with other goodies
such as service items (plugs, fuel filters etc.), tools, books and so on.
If your stuck, phone a friend and see if there's anything they need.

The added cost of shipping when done this way is more than recovered by the lower cost of the parts.
And don't forget the advantage of an excellent response time.
I have waited three weeks for a part from Melbourne.
I have had orders from CIP1 in CALIFORNIA in THREE DAYS!

when i bought a couples of things for from cb
one article got held by customs asking for import tax to be paid,
on the dec it said it was $1152 or whatever it was.
I rang them up and told them that the cost of goods were actually 900 and the rest was postage.
and then sent them email with invoice attatched.
and they released it

at the moment, i wont be buying anything over $1000. but all good details to know

as for postage costs, i remember buying some deluxe clips from a place in the US and their online basket/checkout system was going to charge me some ridiculous amount for two packets of clips. i sent them an email and they confirmed my suspisions - their website was shit . they reduced reduced my shipping to an acceptable amount. i presume people have tried to talk/email these US companies to check postage costs....

My purchase with CB came just over $1000, so customs held it up. But again, like stated i showed them the invoice that the goods themselves were only $835 or so... and thus it got released.

Did CB Performance add the freight into the cost of parts on the docket??

LEE

Yes,
small companies or individuals who actually write the amount on the docket can write whatever, but many won't because they don't know anything about what they are doing... just writing an amount... but You tell them/inform them, they will normally do it.. or [if the Boss will let them??]

[size=5]unless they are afraid of the Government..[/size] lol

Larger companies are usually governed by what their computer says .. and as some states in the USA pay state tax
they are used to writing the correct amount on the end of the order... [not the invoice less freight]
as freight is often free in the USA..

plus as You said, the freight is MUCH more by FEDEX UPS
so adds more to the invoice..

but freight shouldn't be included... ??

cheers

LEE

Quote:

Originally posted by shaven that was lucky... I was under the impression & from everything I have bought from the UK & US that you MUST be under $1000... so $999.99 is SAFE... that is the items you have bought + the shipping charges. This I know because ive been charged extra for goods before... saying this IT also depends who the seller ships your items with... from the US ... UPS, FedEx & USPS are all treated different from Australian customs Im guessing this would be the same from the UK. Quote: Originally posted by nils For parts over a $1000, Most vw places will do freeshipping in the US send it to a friend, then have them send it to you disclaimer: I have never done this for the purpose of tax evasion GOLD PorscheKombi - rumour has it... if you do buy items O/S & for some reason they reach $1350 etc etc over $1000 ... you can always ask the seller to declare the goods are ONLY worth $999.99 or less (under $1k). I read this somewhere once