So i have a friend in the US who has a hookup with a certain kite company, he can get me a great deal for brand new kites and new boards, but im just wondering about how to get it posted here?
I recall reading somewhere here that there is a tax on items over $1,000 and also it will be a rather large parcel.
Has anyone got any tips/tricks or advice/recommendations????
I would normally buy local but this is too good to refuse!
May be ask for help from your local kite shop or importer. They do this stuff all the time...
keep it under $1000 u'll have no probs. Got stuff sent recently. Sweet as. Use paypal if from a shop, safest.
its not from a shop, its from a mate via a shop.
How will customs know if its worth over $1,000?
Hi guys - I left Customs employ recently to go to another agency. They can hold your goods until you provide them with a kosher commercial invoice. If they believe you are providing an invoice which is not kosher, they will hold the goods until you provide them with a genuine invoice. If you still don't comply, they will have the goods valued (at your expense) and then assign duty (if applicable) and GST; and then charge penalty units on top. Your great deal rapidly turns into an ordinary one. That's if you strike someone who gives a rats on the day... Lottery time...
My advice - be up front; declare, declare, declare...
If you wish to avoid the duty and GST (which will certainly be apportioned to your goods if the value is over $1000, and you get someone on the ball), then there are people out there who would advise you to have your friend break the goods up into several consignments and send them over a couple of weeks. I am not advocating this course of action, but it is a course of action available to you. Your choice.
Or... Go to a reputable kiteshop/importer/supplier locally who's already paid the costs and is getting a good deal on current exchange rates; get good warranty (will you get this from your US mate?) and be happy.
Not sure if this helps or not.
Just get your mate to declare it as a gift and put a reasonable value on it $750 and youll be sweet.
It also helps if you take all the new tags off and unwrap the lines. Make it a 'used/gift' with a value under 1k and you will be fine.
Dunk , What is the rate of tax anyway, IF you did declare the goods cost you over a thousand aussie bucks, or got caught out by customs ?
Do you get the first $1000 duty free, and then pay tax on any amounts over $1000 ?
The tax applies to all of the value once it hits the $1000. It is not applied to the freight costs. Its the good old GST - 10% Custom may inspect in which case you will be charged an inspection fee. If it is sent by a courier..ie EMS, DHL, Fedex you may also get charged customs clearance charges. If you can get it sent regular post and keep it under $1000 you will have the best chance of getting it with no extra costs.
Not sure but I think thay will take the sum of the values i.e. board plus all kites which will most likelly add to more than 1k. If each item is under 1k you can send it seperately (send on different days) and you should be able to avoid the tax - but pay more in postage.
The kites won't bee too much of an issue sending it with USPS but the baord could be too large, you may want to check that. Sending the boars with DHL or UPS is gonna cost you more that it s worth.
I think I paid around US$ 120 to get 2 kites sent from the US. Although the price was a bit over 1k and I declared what I paid, I never got charged any tax on it - should have played lotto that day.
Get him to pack the kites in vacuum bags and then box it. It reduces the volume and therefore the postage price. Worked fine for me.
So hang on, if he uses the kites and boards once, then sends it over, its technically second hand, does it then face the duty + GST?
Dosen't really matter if its new or used just comes down to the value,if its sent and marked as a gift then you only have to specify a value,so no need for a commercial invoice ,just make sure value is sub 1000 inc frt cost as its added to the value of the goods.
Ok guys, I do this all the time....
No duty on second hand goods...period!
The duty on new goods is generally 10% and the GST is 10%.
Bundleing it all together and saying it's a "gift" wont work either...Unless it genuinely looks second hand. And they will inspect it....
Sending it separately is the best option here.... but increases the cost of postage.
One other thing to consider is the value of the item and if the means it's being posted by has coverage for "lost" items of that value. In my case I sent a kite and the postal company "lost" it (but could find the address label surprisingly). As it was sent as a tracked parcel and declared at above a certain value limit for that means of post ($300 - not that they told me that when I sent it) they wouldn't pay out compensation.
Haha, Charl you need to contact the on duty customs dude that's now getting around in his newly lowered Charger.
Hi,
Posting can be a bit of a worry, I have seen plenty of cases where stuff goes "missing". I always send stuff wrapped in brown paper or in cardboard so you can't see what it is.
Your parcel goes through many hands on it's way to you and can get "lost" in a warehouse or postal depot or sorting center. If it is obviously kiteboarding gear ana kiteboarder in a depot or driving a truck may just "forget" to scan it and then it's "lost". If there was no additional insurance taken out on the parcel at time of dispatch, then it's gone.
Stuff goes missing in the post more often than you would think if not carefully packaged and responsibly freighted.
DM
Incidentally, the maximum length of any parcel by any Post Office service world wide is 1.05m. Boards HAVE to be sent by (air) courier.
Post Office services sending internationally work on weight not volume although there is a limit to the overall size of the package (in case you wanted to send a 1.05m cube box of feathers)!
I would be surprised if you got a board couriered in for under $200 and likely a lot more. Couriers usually work on volume. Call it board-length-plus-10cm X board-width-plus-10cm X about 8cm. They often multiply this figure by 250 to reach the effective cubic measurement in weight format. The straps and pads probably won't fit into this box.
There certainly IS duty and GST on used articles. I paid over 5 grand on my car!
cheers
Neil
