Not charged Import Duty

[bootz]

My friend wants to import a car that is over 25 years old. Does duty apply?

[bruce]

There is a whole gamut of rules and regs when importing a car..Of course Duties appky as the govt will want their slice.

[bootz]

Yeah, but look at USA. As long as it is 25 years older it is free to bring in and easy to register.

[bruce]

Yes, but this is Australia. You just can't bring any car u like into the country regardless of age.

[apsilon]

So it appears that we may be able to "sneak past" paying duties for smaller, generic packages from smaller vendors - I doubt this would include some of the more obvious stuff such as tyres, rims, exhausts though

In my experience size doesn't come into it for customs. I've had very large boxes, bordering on crates, come in without being charged tax/duty and on the other hand I've had tiny palm size things that were. When buying something if it's over the limit I always factor in paying GST and duty, if it comes through without being charged then I just see that as a bonus.

Remember GST is payable on the total amount as well, ie inc shipping cost. Duty is just on the item/s.

[MadMikey]

I order many things online and I've only ever been charged the gst from flyin miata and things ordered through eBay.

[Mr Morlock]

Be VERY CAREFUL l about bringing any older car into Aust. Take a look at the AOMC site. Any vehicle coming in i.e. older ones may have to have a certificate that there is no asbestos in the car - no certificate and the car can be quarantined and subject to being pulled apart and fines imposed etc. Also there are duties being applied to older cars- again look at the AOMC site and do some homework - its referred to as as luxury tax I think but that is very misleading- it applies to many old cars. The old car brigade are objecting to Politicians.

The car groups are very concerned because historic cars are going one way- out of Au and maybe not able to be brought back.

[ManiacLachy]

I've had a few large orders come in recently and I thought I might update everyone on my experience.

I've had 3 shipments from the US via Fedex that have exceeded the old $1000 limit, all had tax invoices sent to me from Fedex based on the value of the declared goods. The fees are duties, GST and an $88 entry fee.

The duties and tax is not cheap, but still cheaper than buying locally

Usually Fedex sends me the invoice before it even hits customs, so when it does land the fees have been paid and the shipment can go right through without pause. No need to wait for a letter in the post, then arrange a 3rd party to process or to do it yourself. While I resent having to pay them, at least the process is better than it used to be.

I've had 1 shipment from Fedex under the old threshold and it did not get flagged for duties or tax.

I've got 2 shipments coming via USPS still in the pipeline, one will be well under the old threshold, the other could be close. We'll see what happens. I will note that Fedex is way way way faster than USPS.

[Lokiel]

I've now lost 3 items through USPS. The last one was for a US$40 item that cost US$24 to post. I will never use them for anything I'm not prepared to go AWOL. FedEx and UPS have always served me well so I'm happy to pay extra for this.

[bruce]

I kinda think it's funny that someone reckons they can sneak a whole car past customs and not pay duty. I'm gonna order an elephant from India and see how I go!

[bootz]

Why would duty be even considered for a 25 yr old car. It basically is an old antique.

[bruce]

Even antiques get charged import duty.
If you want a reliable answer it pays (literally) to do your own research.
I will make sure my elephant is over 25 yrs old....

[bootz]

Yes, well yr wrong there, antiques do not have any customs duty.

[bruce]

That's nice. Have u looked up cars yet?
The govt would at least charge GST (a duty) on any import.

[bruce]

Yes, well yr wrong there, antiques do not have any customs duty.

Bit light on the details...
Antiques over 100 yrs old and with a CoA, under $1000 are not dutied or GST. Over $1000 results in only GST. Under 100 yrs, you cop everything. Makes sense that the govt would want GST on your multi-million dollar purchase of a Picasso, else Australia would become a pseudo tax haven.
Looked up cars yet as you've had 9 months to clarify it for us? The above took only one goggle search.