Buying gear overseas?

**specter** · 15th January 2011, 16:46

whats the deal with buying stuff overseas. i understand that if the product is over a certain value you will have to pay gst on it... where do i pay it to? do you recieve a letter from customs or something explaining your goods have been seized blah blah blah

**swamy** · 15th January 2011, 17:30

Originally Posted by specter

whats the deal with buying stuff overseas. i understand that if the product is over a certain value you will have to pay gst on it... where do i pay it to? do you recieve a letter from customs or something explaining your goods have been seized blah blah blah

If the items you import get caught by customs you will receive a letter with instructions.
I imported a leather jacket, helmet visor and a pair of gloves in 2009. Paid $120.00 NZD duty in total. The declared value for all three items was $500.00 USD, which is what it cost.

On the other hand, I imported more gear in early 2010 declared at 1200.00 NZD and they arrived at my doorstep with no duty charged.

More info:
1. http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/43...online-imports
2. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mone...nline-shopping

**KiwiNinja** · 15th January 2011, 17:32

I talked to customs the other week and they basically said that if the GST on the value your importing is less than $60 they don't bother collecting it. Otherwise you need to add 15% for GST and also duty applies to some items.

Give NZ Customs a call and they will be able to tell you what charges will be applied.

**specter** · 15th January 2011, 17:47

do ya reckon i can loophole it by getting a mate overseas to buy me a "present"?

**YellowDog** · 15th January 2011, 18:10

Originally Posted by specter

do ya reckon i can loophole it by getting a mate overseas to buy me a "present"?

Yes you can. But if they open it and it looks new, they may get suspicious.

The last item I bought for NZ$700 had a US$40 invoice inside and was labelled "Trade samples" for demonstartion purposes.

I was expecting to have to pay the GST

**cbfb** · 15th January 2011, 18:40

It's all a bit random, I imported some gun stocks which I got stung for, but I also get a fair bit of vinyl records sent over from Europe and the States and so far haven't been caught at all.

**specter** · 15th January 2011, 18:41

Originally Posted by YellowDog

Yes you can. But if they open it and it looks new, they may get suspicious.

The last item I bought for NZ$700 had a US$40 invoice inside and was labelled "Trade samples" for demonstartion purposes.

I was expecting to have to pay the GST

lol good dealer. it doesnt bother me paying gst its only an extra 80ish bucks and the item will still be less than half of what it costs in nz!

**hellokitty** · 15th January 2011, 18:58

I got stung $200 when my jacket came in from America

I got a letter saying that I had to pay it before I could get the jacket.

**specter** · 15th January 2011, 19:52

so by the looks of it, its really a hit and miss thing...

**PeeJay** · 16th January 2011, 05:50

Originally Posted by specter

do ya reckon i can loophole it by getting a mate overseas to buy me a "present"?

You can but depending where he is the sale could be subject to sales tax of whatever. Coupled with the extra domestic shipping cost, by the time it gets here it can be more expensive than if you just got it shipped direct.

**Suntoucher** · 16th January 2011, 07:20

Have never seen it more expensive than buying locally in the end, but then again I to buy large NZ margin items.

The rule was always 400($50 tax) value or less when GST was 12.5 wouldn't be taxed and they were trying to decide whether to make that limit 60 or keep it 50($333 goods) when 15% came in.

I find all my suppliers are more than happy to both gift the goods to me AND severely reduce the stated value. Just ask them. Have never paid GST and buy tonnes of goods overseas.

**Robert Taylor** · 16th January 2011, 11:01

Originally Posted by specter

so by the looks of it, its really a hit and miss thing...

Less so now, NZ Customs are tightening up on this.

**st0n3y** · 17th January 2011, 20:17

yeh i think the limit is nzd400- if your goods are worth over then they hold it until you pay tax on it (like 12.5%?).

if youre lucky some passes w/o inspection i think. could prob say its a present and maybe leave the receipts out (but then you got no warranty) but if theyre being tight asses they'll estimate how much it costs and still charge ya

**imdying** · 20th January 2011, 13:21

Now we're at 15% GST the limit is $333, and as Robert has indicated, they have a flash new computer system to track all this stuff, so you're a lot less likely for it to fly under the radar now. Said $150 million computer system has to be paid for ya know!