June Newsletter

The introduction of GST on low value transactions

From July 1st, goods with a customs value of A$1,000 or less may attract GST at the point of sale if imported by consumers in Australia.

A purchaser is a consumer if they are either;

  • Not a business registered for Australian GST
  • Registered for Australian GST but do not purchase imported services or digital products for use in their business

There will be no changes to:

  • The A$1,000 threshold for reporting and collecting duties and taxes at the border
  • The current requirements for tobacco, tobacco products or alcoholic beverages

Overseas suppliers will need to register with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if its current or anticipated annualised GST turnover equals or exceeds A$75,000 to consumers in Australia within a 12-month period. They will need to collect GST at the point of sale and remit that GST to the ATO. If suppliers don’t reach the threshold, they will not need to register with the ATO and therefore not charge GST at the point of sale to Australian consumers.

Country of Origin food labelling requirements from July 1st 2018

If you sell food in retail stores in Australia, the new Country of Origin Labelling laws will become mandatory on July 1st  following a two-year transition period. This requirement means that products packaged from July 1st must display the new labels as per the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016. The ACCC will conduct market surveillance checks on food products to ensure businesses are correctly displaying the new labels. We trust that all food importers are aware of the news laws and will ensure they are complying with the  requirements.

ICAL Quarantine Clearance Fee

With the introduction of new Quarantine Regulations regarding both individual broker accreditation and company accreditation (Approved Arrangements), as of July 1 ICAL’s clearance fee for DAWR clearance will increase by $10.00 to $45.00

Airline Terminal Fee’s

Since the beginning of April we have seen an increase from all CTO’s on their terminal and document fees applicable to both imports and exports Australia wide.

As of July 1, the Import Terminal fee will increase by $0.06 per kg and Import Document Fee by $6.00 per Air waybill, on the Export side the Terminal fee will increase by $0.02 per kg and Import Document Fee by $5.00 per Air waybill