UPS seems like the only way to go and relatively hassle free with orders over $1000. When they call you up you quote the relevant tax codes, you pay the customs entry fee and you don't even have to fill out any forms. FEDEX are ridiculous. You should send them an invoice for the cost of holding your funds for 3 months.
Hello , I have just done my first international siler purchase from APMEX for over $1500 I was contacted by UPS delivery service that I had to pay %10 GST I told them no GST was payable on Bullion investment UPS emailed me the forms to sign to have customs exempt the GST On my response i did not add an ABN and noted on the email to UPS that an ABN is not required for precious metal investment importatrion as it was investment bullion. Its what is called a Straw man argument , trying to set you up to fail with the implication that an ABN is necessary to obtain an exemption when its not. My rule is , be firm but fair and sure of your argument. The ACT and legislation is very clear, Investment Bullion 9999 and non numismatic coins are GST Free. It doesnt say you have to be a dealer to deal investment material. The gorm offered to you to be signed refers to sections in the ACT 38 - 385 which specifies the recipient is a dealer. Simply choose to view the sections of the act and state the rules that apply to your self. Dont feel the document they offer you to sign is relevant. i.e , if customs offers yo ua document staing the importation of FROGS is illegal you wouldnt sing it as you are importing silver. Dont accept the part of the act that is not relevant to yuourself and odnt argue about it, dismiss it as irrelevant and claim the GST free status on the fact it is raw material also known Bullion. The LAW has been written and must be obeyed by the Gvt. Use the correct part of the Law. So UPS had already paid the tax on my behalf and required me to fill in another very simple form reuquesting a refund from customs to UPS. UPS did make me pay $55 for a customs clearnace fee and $10 UPS processing fee. Thats better than $175 GST. So Fill in the form without an ABN thats good. Tell them its investment Bullion. Tell them oil coins are not numismatic coins. Maples and all APMEX coins are non numismatic. Proof coins may be a different story but I didnt buy any. Tell them RAW SILVER in the form of bars and coins are investment BULLION - Key Word Bullion. Pay $60 to process it , I think this would be payable on all parcels being inspected anyway. looking for drugs etc. Good Luck , my first time was simple , I am just waiting on the courier to drive it to my door. I currently have another APMEX delivery coming in and some coins from Royal Silver Co Bolivia.
Surprised it was even assessed for GST in the first place - unless APMEX weren't clear in the invoice it was bullion. I too just left the ABN blank on the form - they didn't care.
Weird. I have bought lots of rounds and bullion out of the usa from straightsilver.com and many times over $5000 worth. It always arrives within 10 days via UPS and I have never been questioned by anybody or any department. It just arrives on a courier and I sign for it and off they go.
I thought APMEX uses UPS too. That's what they list as their shipping option anyway. But they sent my delivery notification and tracking number with FEDEX. DAMN! Next time I will put a notice to use UPS only.
Yea they list it, maybe send them an email asking Y they didn't use UPS and tell them FEDEX sucks. I read a good thread on kitco about fedex just making up fake bills, I still wonder if there pocketing gst that people can't be bothered fighting for.
With bullion being tax input item, it really depends what Fedex does. If they custom clear by quoting the right custom article 40-100 I think, then they dont pay GST and they do Pocket the cash. If they are morons, they charge GST and then declare wrong article and pay GST to GOVT.
is it worth while just keeping your orders orders $1000 and paying about $6.50 postage for each ounce? i dont really care about short term profits just building a stack.
sadly and in a stupidly thoughtless way it does include postage. what were the GOVT thinking when they placed these rules?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Also if you're buying a small amount it's cheaper to just buy local as well.
Recently came into this problem. When the courier brokering company called me they asked whether I wanted to apply to "extend GST," whatever the hell that means, and I simply and confidently stated that it's precious metal bullion that is GST exempt. He seemed to just take it at face value and sent it on its way. Still, I'll be keeping any future orders under a gorilla.
you can always ask the seller to stamp "FREE POSTAGE" or doctored the receipt FREE. FOC FOC FOC FOC FOC "FREE SHIPPING"
Yeah I was preparing to go into detail and turn hulk on their asses, but the guy just accepted it. The older I get, the more I realise that all you need is confidence to get you anywhere.
Sorry to bring up another thread about this...but the quote above is relevant to me Stupidly bought $2500 worth of junk silver off ebay without even thinking about input tax. Should have checked here first. My problem is it's 40% USA junk silver coins. I know we've established clearly that investment bullion is GST/input tax free however I'm unlucky enough to have 40% junk silver which may not be. Has anyone found the relevant document quoted by MickMelbourne above that states Investment Bullion AND non-numismatic coins are GST exempt? I accept my coins are not investment grade, but they aren't collectibles either (bought purely for silver content only, not rarity). I rang the ATO about the GST/Input free issue already and they had no idea about taxing silver (I didn't even mention that it wasn't 999 grade!) They are "calling me back within 48 hours". Thanks for your help guys/gals. I've really enjoyed reading this forum over the past couple years and I plan to start posting here a bit more as things start to get interesting #floodofnewbs Tom
