If you haven’t received a Customs Letter in the mail within 72hrs of the tracking showing “Held in Customs”, then you can call Customs on 131 881 (option 5, then 1) and request your Customs Reference, which will be a letter followed by six numbers – e.g. N123456.
Once received, you can submit a customs clearance request online, just select “I did not receive this notice” when you’re prompted to provide your Customs Notice.
If your importing good via international post, then a good customs broker will save you time and money, typically more than you pay them. For example, over 83% of our clients pay less to use us than DIY lodgement of a B374 – Import Declaration (N10) – Post, and they get to snooze while it all happens.
Using a customs broker also protects you from the risk of liability for lodging an erroneous import declaration, which can be anything up to a $12,000 strict liability fine.
So, while it’s not mandatory to use a customs broker to clear your imported goods, in the majority of cases it’s certainly beneficial.
In relation to goods imported via international post, no. You can DIY by submitting a manual B374 – Import Declaration (N10) – Post, however there are some risks. Under S.243T of the Customs Act, if you submit an erroneous declaration you can be liable for a $12,000 fine, but it gets worse… because the legislation is strict liability which means that if there’s an error, you’re liable, regardless of your intent or even knowledge of the error.
Using a customs broker not only protects you from this liability risk, but in most cases, it will also save you time and money, typically more than you pay them. The bottom line is that if you’re not 100% confident that you understand the legislation and know exactly what your lodging in your declaration, use a customs broker.
When you import goods into Australia valued over AUD $1,000 you’re required to lodge a formal import declaration. Customs brokers electronically lodge these declarations for you to ensure your compliance with the relevant import legislation applicable to your imported goods.
This covers all government legislation relating to the Department of Border Protection (DIBP – AKA Customs), the ATO, Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR – AKA Quarantine), CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), The department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities and any other relevant legislation that may be applicable to your particular imported goods.
The tariff classification is an 8-digit reference number and 2-digit statistical code, obtained from the Australian Customs Tariff that identifies the imported item and the rate of Customs duty that applies.
The Customs value of goods imported into Australia is based on the value of the goods as determined by the importers commercial invoice and is typically equivalent to the Australian currency purchase price of the goods.
When the goods are valued at more than AUD$1000 threshold (or if they include alcohol or tobacco products of any value), a Customs value will be determined which is used as the basis for calculating the value of any duty and/or GST.
The Customs value is combined with other items such as customs duty, international transport and insurance costs and, where applicable, Wine Equalisation Tax to produce the value of the taxable importation (VoTI) which is what the GST calculation is based upon.
Tobacco duty rates also vary but again to give you an idea, the most common rate is $1,076.35*/kg of tobacco content. If your importing cigarettes not exceeding in weight 0.8 grams per stick of tobacco content, the duty rate is $0.80726*/stick.
*Quoted rates are indicative and subject to change.
Tobacco duty rates vary, but the most common rate is $1,076.35*/kg of tobacco content. Molasses Tobacco is deemed to be 100% tobacco by weight, hence if you have 1kg of molasses tobacco that contains only 20% actual tobacco, you will pay $1,076.35 in duty based on a 1kg calculation of tobacco content.
*Quoted rates are indicative and subject to change.
The duty rates for spirit alcohols vary depending on its exact specifications, however to give you a general idea spirits commonly attract the 5% duty PLUS $84.51* per litre of alcohol content.
Whiskey Calculation Example:
The Duty and GST payable on a 700ml bottle of Whiskey valued at $100 with an alcohol content of 37.0% would be calculated as follows:
If the Customs value (CV) of the Whiskey = $100.00
Then the Customs duty @ 5% of the $100 (CV) = $5.00 (Payable)
The Litres of Alcohol (La) content is 0.7L x 37.0% = 0.259 La
The La duty rate of $84.51/La x 0.259 La = $21.89 (Payable)
International transport and insurance or postage (T&I) = $50.00
Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI) = (CV + 5% Duty + La Duty + T&I) = $176.89
Goods and Services Tax (GST) @ 10% of the VoTI = $17.69 (Payable)
Total Payable (Duty + GST) = $44.58
*Quoted rates are indicative and subject to change
The duty rates for alcohol varies depending on its exact specifications, however to give you a general idea most Wines are 5% duty, however in addition to duty and GST, most wines also attract Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) which is calculated at 29% of [the customs value (CV) PLUS the duty PLUS the Transport and Insurance (T&I)].
Wine Calculation Example:
The Duty, WET and GST payable on a 700ml bottle of Wine valued at $100 with an alcohol content of 13.5% would be calculated as follows:
If the Customs value (CV) of the Wine = $100.00
Then the Customs duty @ 5% of the $100 (CV) = $5.00 (Payable)
International transport and insurance or postage (T&I) = $50.00
Wine Equalisation Tax (WET) @ 29% of (CV + Duty + T&I) = $44.95 (Payable)
Value of the Taxable Importation (VoTI) = (CV + Duty + T&I + WET) = $199.95
Goods and Services Tax (GST) @ 10% of the VoTI = $19.99 (Payable)
Total Payable (Duty + WET + GST) = $69.94
*Quoted rates are indicative and subject to change
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