Woman complaining about being charged duty and gst on gift

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#1922755 20-Dec-2017 20:42

surfisup1000:

sbiddle:

surfisup1000:

sbiddle:

surfisup1000: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11963313

Was thinking maybe she is hard done by, until the end where it says the package was not marked as a gift in the customs declaration.

She is in the wrong , customs are in the right.

Wouldn't matter regardless if it was declared as a gift - it obviously far exceeds the NZ$110 gift threshold.

Ha ha of course, otherwise you could import some really expensive items in the guise of being a 'gift'.

But why do customs say this...

"A customs spokesperson said Benavides was charged because the label on the package said "assorted goods" rather than "gift".

"The gift concession was not applied and we will be contacting the customer to discuss."

What is the gift concession?

Gift concession is NZ$110 which I mentioned.

This sort of figure is pretty consistent globally - the US is US$100 for example so if she's sent the same products to her mother in the US the mother would have had to pay to receive them also.

Ahh, i thought it was a threshold, below which you pay nothing, above, full costs. Like the GST threshold.

That's exactly how it works - you get a NZ$110 gift concession for all products marked as a gift. If something is marked as a gift and is above this $110 then you have to pay duty/GST/IETF.

This compares to the $60 de minimis threshold for regular goods. If a gift is worth more than $110 but the total value of duty and/or GST falls under the $60 de minimis value then you should not declare it as a gift or you will have to pay.

Bung

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#1922773 20-Dec-2017 21:21

https://www.customs.govt.nz/about-us/news/important-notices/application-of-the-part-2-reference-75-concession-presents-or-gifts/

In the 2nd example of a gitt camera de minimus is still applied to the amount payable after the gift calculation.

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#1922779 20-Dec-2017 21:28

gbwelly:

The older I get, the more bizarre and medieval tax seems to me, especially at the border. Oh, you've moved something to somewhere else, give me some money! Why?? Coz!

I've always felt that way about GST/VAT.

"Oh - you bought a new washing machine with the 65% of your income we allowed you to keep? Well, give us another 15% then!"

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#1922792 20-Dec-2017 21:52

Geektastic:
gbwelly:

The older I get, the more bizarre and medieval tax seems to me, especially at the border. Oh, you've moved something to somewhere else, give me some money! Why?? Coz!

I've always felt that way about GST/VAT.

"Oh - you bought a new washing machine with the 65% of your income we allowed you to keep? Well, give us another 15% then!"

And we'll put in towards a new hip for those pensioners

Technofreak

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#1922794 20-Dec-2017 21:54

surfisup1000:

gbwelly:

The older I get, the more bizarre and medieval tax seems to me, especially at the border. Oh, you've moved something to somewhere else, give me some money! Why?? Coz!

There are costs associated with customs processing. Remember, they do check for illegal and counterfeit goods too. Those scanning machines and drug testing kits and trained dogs don't come for free. I'm sure you would be the first to complain if you were tazed by a gangster.

The costs of their job of checking for illegal goods and their tools of trade shouldn't be coming out of the customs excises imposed. This is part of keeping our country safe and secure and is/should be covered by our taxes just as we pay for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police etc.

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#1922795 20-Dec-2017 21:56

unfortunately none of those departments you listed can charge for services rendered

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#1922893 21-Dec-2017 06:10

She has the right to not accept the gift, and would have to pay nothing...

sbiddle

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#1922901 21-Dec-2017 07:21

Technofreak:

surfisup1000:

gbwelly:

The older I get, the more bizarre and medieval tax seems to me, especially at the border. Oh, you've moved something to somewhere else, give me some money! Why?? Coz!

There are costs associated with customs processing. Remember, they do check for illegal and counterfeit goods too. Those scanning machines and drug testing kits and trained dogs don't come for free. I'm sure you would be the first to complain if you were tazed by a gangster.

The costs of their job of checking for illegal goods and their tools of trade shouldn't be coming out of the customs excises imposed. This is part of keeping our country safe and secure and is/should be covered by our taxes just as we pay for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police etc.

Part of Custom's and MPI funding is based on a cost recovery role and I think that's totally fair. Those who import greater quantities of goods end up paying a greater share of the revenue.

If you think it's unfair that users of a service pay towards the cost I assume you're for all airport, MPI and customs charges paid by airport passengers being scrapped as well and being switched to a funded government model?

Your examples of services above covered by tax totally ignores that many essential services are not fully (or in some cases even partally) funded by the taxpayer - examples of which include our ambulance services and Fire & Emergency NZ.

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#1922950 21-Dec-2017 09:22

How is this news?

While I personally don't agree with GST on the shipping, those are the rules and have been for a long time. And in this case, even if the shipping had been free, the value of the items was well over threshold on their own.

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#1922980 21-Dec-2017 09:58

My Mum ordered something from overseas as a gift for my Dad's 65th birthday that came to about $600NZ (split 3 ways between her, my brother and I) and we expected to get a bill from Customs before it was released but it turned up without that. Doesn't appear as though the seller included NZ GST so is it just that Customs don't check the label on every single parcel and sometimes you get lucky and it gets through? Or could a bill still turn up in the mail eventually? First time any of us have order something over the $400.

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#1922985 21-Dec-2017 10:07

So do I have this correct... in general customs won't hold items for GST and charges if the GST is less than $60 i.e. value of goods less than $400... BUT if it is a "gift" they allow an extra $110, so a "gift" less than $510 will come in free of GST and charges?

Should we in general bring in our goods as gifts for our wonderful and deserving partners instead of for ourselves then? I have a feeling my wife would love a new 18V impact driver...

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#1922989 21-Dec-2017 10:15

invisibleman18:

My Mum ordered something from overseas as a gift for my Dad's 65th birthday that came to about $600NZ (split 3 ways between her, my brother and I) and we expected to get a bill from Customs before it was released but it turned up without that. Doesn't appear as though the seller included NZ GST so is it just that Customs don't check the label on every single parcel and sometimes you get lucky and it gets through? Or could a bill still turn up in the mail eventually? First time any of us have order something over the $400.

I think it is just purely luck some stuff gets through - been the odd purchase I've expected to be hit for one fee or another from Customs but never been mentioned.

I do remember reading some conditions on customs etc a few years ago, and found it amusing that I could buy a $3000 camera and potentially not have to pay any extra on it, yet order a box of calendars, and they'd hit you up straight away. The thinking behind it was, who needs 50 calendars ? Someone out to make money by selling them...... dont worry that the $3000 camera was bought to be sold locally at great profit as well. ;)

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#1922994 21-Dec-2017 10:22

kryptonjohn:

So do I have this correct... in general customs won't hold items for GST and charges if the GST is less than $60 i.e. value of goods less than $400... BUT if it is a "gift" they allow an extra $110, so a "gift" less than $510 will come in free of GST and charges?

No.

Please reread what I've posted above. I'll try and make it easier to understand but I'm not sure if I can rewrite in in English that's any easier to understand.

A gift can *only* be up to total NZ$110 before being subjected to duty and/or GST.

A normal package has a de minimis of $60 which includes GST and duty. This *typically* means you can import goods up to NZ$400 before you need to pay GST and/or duty HOWEVER if the good(s) are subject to a high duty value (such as clothing or shoes) then you will find you can only import around NZ$200 worth of product before being subject to GST and duty.

Basically marking a product as a gift if it's worth more than NZ$110 may be a dumb idea as you will need to pay GST and/or duty on it even if the value of GST and/or duty is below the regular $60 de minimis value.

Many people thing marking goods as a gift gets around paying all duty and/or GST. This is incorrect.

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#1923039 21-Dec-2017 10:42

sbiddle:

No.

Please reread what I've posted above. I'll try and make it easier to understand but I'm not sure if I can rewrite in in English that's any easier to understand.

Hey mate, calm down I wasn't replying to you and hadn't noticed your post so the attitude is not necessary.

A gift can *only* be up to total NZ$110 before being subjected to duty and/or GST.

A normal package has a de minimis of $60 which includes GST and duty. This *typically* means you can import goods up to NZ$400 before you need to pay GST and/or duty HOWEVER if the good(s) are subject to a high duty value (such as clothing or shoes) then you will find you can only import around NZ$200 worth of product before being subject to GST and duty.

Basically marking a product as a gift if it's worth more than NZ$110 may be a dumb idea as you will need to pay GST and/or duty on it even if the value of GST and/or duty is below the regular $60 de minimis value.

That's was not clear to me from the NZ Customs website.

Many people thing marking goods as a gift gets around paying all duty and/or GST. This is incorrect.

Perhaps, but that never appeared to be the case to me. What customs say is that for gifts the GST value is calculated on the excess over $110. What wasn't clear to me, what with my struggles with the English language and all, is whether the $60 collection limit is applied *after* that. And given all of that, the gift concession would appear to be largely irrelevant to the story in the newspaper anyway as it would have only made a difference of the GST on $110, i.e. a little over $15. Why are they (including the Customs spokesperson) even bothering to mention the concession?

But thanks for the clarification, even though you felt the need to shove it up my arse.

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned the the elephant in the room (only just noticed it myself): The gift has to be unsolicited. It can't be something you ordered yourself.

https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/duty-and-gst/gifts-inheritance-and-taonga/

Gifts

If you live in NZ and someone from another country sends you a gift that’s worth NZ$110 or less, you won’t have to pay duties as long as:

you didn’t order or pay for it
it’s for your personal use.

Behodar

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#1923042 21-Dec-2017 10:51

invisibleman18:

My Mum ordered something from overseas as a gift for my Dad's 65th birthday that came to about $600NZ (split 3 ways between her, my brother and I) and we expected to get a bill from Customs before it was released but it turned up without that. Doesn't appear as though the seller included NZ GST so is it just that Customs don't check the label on every single parcel and sometimes you get lucky and it gets through? Or could a bill still turn up in the mail eventually? First time any of us have order something over the $400.

I once ordered something from Europe and was stressing about hitting the $1000 limit (after which there are apparently hoops you have to jump through*). On the day of import the exchange rate came to $999.19... and I didn't get charged GST.

That was some time ago and I never got a bill. It does just seem to be pure luck sometimes!

Every time I have been billed, I've had to pay it before I can get the package.

*Although I once brought in a $3000 laptop and didn't have to sign anything, just pay GST to the courier.

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