I've ordered under $1k previously of silver from Scottsdale but I'm wondering what users experiences have been like with importing silver bullion over $1000. Have you run into trouble explaining that it is GST exempt/input tax 0% to customes or the shipping company? As far as the information I have found so far there should be no GST payable on precious metals, however it seems that people are getting slapped with a GST invoice anyway. Do you need to ask the dealer you are buying from to include the GST exemption code on the package LPM to get around this or do the shipping companies like UPS, FEDEX just ignore this anyway? Any advice on making this process as easy as possible from anyone who has experience importing over $1k of silver to Australia. I'm looking at placing an order at First Majestic or APmex soon. Cheers
last time I looked, it depends on fineness. If pure bullion, no GST. Never done it myself, mind you. Even if coins are .9999 fine eg Maples customs slap GST on it and you have to do all the donkey work to have it lifted
I ordered from first majestic twice before, each order is over $1k. When the parcels arrived in Australia, custom and UPS ask me to pay for GST even after I explain that PM bullion is exempt from GST, they came up with all excuses under the sun. In the end I paid the GST and swore to never order from overseas again!
From what I've read so far on the customs website and the ATO, I can't see how these guys can justify charging GST on bullion. What was the reason UPS gave you for charging GST on your PM bullion?
I've recently ordered 100oz from Scottsdale Silver in the US. It hasnt shipped yet so I'll let you know how it goes when it comes in. It's obviously above the $1000 limit but as others have stated it should be GST 0%. I'm not sure who they use for shipping.
i have never ordered more than 1k from o/s due to this reason i try and keep all my ordered under. with the rising prices though this is going to be harder for stackers buying from o/s. alot of the orders i did were through copper cave and the items were just marked metal sample.
this topic is scattered across several threads atm. bottom line is investment grade silver and gold are exempt from GST via "input taxation" at 0%, if you call the ATO and ask whoever answers the phone, they will readily agree with you. The problem is with the courier companies. Someone posted about DHL point blank refusing to ship silver, I have an ongoing issue with FedEx atm where i was forced to pay $650 GST and then submit a written application for a private ruling with the ATO which i can then take back to FedEx and get my money refunded. I was told by their customs agent in Sydney that FedEx have a blanket policy to charge GST on all bullion and put the onus on the customer to procure a private ruling. I submitted the application just before Christmas so i have no idea how long it will take to hear back from them. A friend of mine bought a Lunar Dragon typeset off ebay for around $2000 and it was shipped via USPS. When it arrived he got a letter from Australia Post demanding GST - he simply filled out the N10 customs import declaration with the LPM code and tariff number and it processed successfully and he didn't have to pay. Bottom line is it's haphazard. If you are looking at making regular orders from a particular company it might be productive to just obtain a private ruling from the ATO and email a scan of it to the seller and get them to include it with every shipment.
Use USPS or the postal service if you order from other country. All postal service parcels handled by Australian Custom. Courier companies doing their own custom clearance for a higher fee, and they are also cutting their cost by applying GST to everything.
They say import over $1000 attract GST. I told them 99.9 silver bullions don't attract GST. They said only if you are a registered bullion dealer. If you are just a collector or an investor, GST exemption doesn't apply to you, only to bullion dealers. I know it's bullshit, but what can I do, they got my bullions.
here is an email i sent to customs last month ___________________________________________ Dear xxxxxxx Thank you for your email. In response, All goods imported into Australia must be cleared by Customs. Consignments arriving into Australia with a value of less that AU$1000 do not attract duty and GST (excluding alcohol/tobacco products) and do not require the completion of an import declaration. Consignments arriving into Australia with a value over AU$1000 or containing alcohol or tobacco items attract payment of duty and GST and require the lodgement of an import declaration. In general the goods would attract a 0% rate of import duty and 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST). To ascertain the duty rate of the product you wish to import you need to classify the goods in the Customs tariff. The Customs Tariff is available from the Customs website at http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5663.asp The import duty would be paid on the purchase price of the goods. The 10% rate of GST is paid on the combination of: - The purchase price of the goods - The import duty paid on the goods - The cost of freight and insurance into Australia Customs applies cost-recovery charges for the processing of entries by Customs. You need to contact a customs broker to arrange clearance of your goods. He will charge you do this and it will include a processing fee of $50 for customs. Sincerely Marilyn S. | Senior Customs and Border Protection Officer | Customs Information and Support Centre | CE&CS |Australian Customs and Border Protection Service Customs House, 10 Cooks River Drive, Mascot NSW 2020 P: 1300 363 263 | F: 02 8339 6714 E:[email protected] W:www.customs.gov.au -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From:"xxxxxxxxxx Sent:Monday, 22 November 2010 4:56:48 PM To: [email protected] Subject: importing silver taxes? Hi, i wish to import silver (in investment bullion form) into australia from the US. can you please outline all fees/taxes that i would be required to pay if the value of the goods+shipping was less than AUD$1000 can you please do the same if the value is greater than AUD$1000? i tried speaking to one of your customer services officers but he told me that 10% gst is payable on precious metals and that i would have to pay $70-80 just to lodge an application to pay the GST- I don't think this is true based on what is written on your website. if you can clear this up for me that would be great. Regards, xxxxxxxxxx
I have a pending Order with Scottsdale silver & i informed them of all the BS that was going on & that stood to loose business because of it. They wrote back letting me know that they recently became aware of this. They have marked the goods "LPM" & said they have contacted their freight company & told them that what they are doing is not correct & to stop doing so. The proof will be when my order shows up i guess as to whether or not this has done anything to change the situation. They also asked me to let them know if their are any problems when it does show up, i suggest anyone ordering from them (under $1,000) do the same. Maybe with the experience from the different members here we could put together a "standard" letter or "Cheat sheet" outlining the relevant Tax codes / acts etc to have on hand if & when contacted by the freight company's. I personally believe what their doing is against the trade practices act & if it continues we should contact the relevant Govt overseeing body & bring them to task. It's not like they are unaware of the regulations as its an everyday occurrence for them, it's purely a money grabbing exercise & i don't understand how they are getting away with this kind of business practice.
Saw the Customs response. A typical "non answer". Just pro-forma reply, no mention specifically if bullion is or isnt subject to the GST. They then refer you to chapters of acts for you to spend hours trying to piece it together and even then you cant be sure.
sounds to me like just ask the seller to split orders into sub 1000 lots, shipping won't be much extra due to fact that such high density and exceedingly un-fragile objects will be priced for shipping by weight not volume, and not a great deal of packaging needed to protect them. not something i've had to consider so far, biggest buy yet is 10oz of walking liberties and the seller in question ships them out in ziplocs inside bubblewrap parcels. would be useful for someone to dig up the specific links to the ATO website that specify bullion as being exempt from GST though, for everyone's sake.
so i got a phone call from a woman at the ATO today, and she indicated they will likely give me a favourable GST ruling which i can then send to FedEx and demand a refund. They just need a few extra details first. Brisbane is kinda shut down for the time being so won't really be able to get anything done til next week maybe, fingers crossed. But still, this is a useful precedent.
i can see the confusion rampant over this GST issue. we are the pioneers. in another thread i posted the following, i hope this is helpful in clarifying that GST is NOT payable on bullion imports over $1000. ------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep - input taxed doesn't mean GST free, but it does mean no GST is collected. This is where the confusion over "GST free for dealers" comes in - private imports are to be considered "input taxed" with no GST collectable.
just a heads up everyone, i got my favourable private ruling in the mail today - whole process took about 4 weeks and did not cost anything - i can now write to Fed Ex and demand my $650 back. Thieves.
Whenever i have made an order >$1000 i have asked the seller to list the package as "investment bullion - input taxed 0% - no GST applicable". I have never had a problem. There are a number of rulings by the CoT (Commissioner of Taxation) explaining the difference between input taxed bullion and other taxable precious metal items. Proofs are taxable, rare items are taxable, but mass produced coins/bars etx minted for bullion investment is input taxed (ie zero GST) - even old world coins such as ducats and sovereigns are classed by many sellers are bullion (but always check on each sellers labeling habits). Maybe iv been lucky, maybe it just depends on the customs officer processing the package, i dont know. But so far so good. If you are charged GST for something like ASE's or Maples or PM stuff from the US for example, it is a mistake. Both legislation and CoT rulings (available from the ATO website i believe) clearly indicate that bullion is tax free, always.
