Amazon 'Import Fees Deposit'

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bazzer

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#430853 25-Jan-2011 08:53

sbiddle: Has anybody had to pay the new $24.75 import transaction fee and $12.50 biosecurity fee on goods that are exempt from GST and duty?

What's exempt from GST?

In any case, I wouldn't expect anyone to have to pay since the total amount owing (actually what Customs cares about) is below $60. It really means the minimum amount payable will always be near enough to $100. It is a big jump but just be glad they don't chase everything like they do in some countries.

freitasm

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#430854 25-Jan-2011 08:54

Chasing everything is a waste of resources - would you waste time, postage, payment processing fees, etc, to get paid $1.50?

National GST is easy - the companies are your collection agents. Import GST costs more to collect.

sbiddle

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#430862 25-Jan-2011 09:03

bazzer:
sbiddle: Has anybody had to pay the new $24.75 import transaction fee and $12.50 biosecurity fee on goods that are exempt from GST and duty?

What's exempt from GST?

In any case, I wouldn't expect anyone to have to pay since the total amount owing (actually what Customs cares about) is below $60. It really means the minimum amount payable will always be near enough to $100. It is a big jump but just be glad they don't chase everything like they do in some countries.

Sorry exempt was the wrong word - I meant on goods with a value under $400 that don't attract GST.

There was a big discussion on the new fees here http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=62622

bazzer

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#430882 25-Jan-2011 09:35

freitasm: Chasing everything is a waste of resources - would you waste time, postage, payment processing fees, etc, to get paid $1.50?

National GST is easy - the companies are your collection agents. Import GST costs more to collect.

I wouldn't bother, but as I understand it, they are pretty zealous about it in the UK. They don't only get the $1.50 but also the transaction fees etc. It costs more to collect, but you are charged for that too.

mad01

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#431405 26-Jan-2011 14:13

sbiddle: Has anybody had to pay the new $24.75 import transaction fee and $12.50 biosecurity fee on goods that are exempt from GST and duty?

On this note, does anyone know what are these charges and when the decide to apply them?
I've just ordered a Nexus S and got hit 100$ for GST (which I was expecting) and 38$ "Entry Fee" from Fedex (which I am searching where it's coming from and found this thread). I can only assume that $38 is from the fees you are describing, but there is no explanation.

And why is there a biosecurity fee on a mobile phone?

Behodar

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#431407 26-Jan-2011 14:19

mad01: And why is there a biosecurity fee on a mobile phone?

I had to pay a biosecurity fee on my phone too. I planned to ask when I called Customs to pay it, but the guy on the other end was being very short and rushing through the process so I got cold feet!

bazzer

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#431418 26-Jan-2011 14:42

mad01:
sbiddle: Has anybody had to pay the new $24.75 import transaction fee and $12.50 biosecurity fee on goods that are exempt from GST and duty?

On this note, does anyone know what are these charges and when the decide to apply them?
I've just ordered a Nexus S and got hit 100$ for GST (which I was expecting) and 38$ "Entry Fee" from Fedex (which I am searching where it's coming from and found this thread). I can only assume that $38 is from the fees you are describing, but there is no explanation.

And why is there a biosecurity fee on a mobile phone?

Check the Customs website, but I'm pretty sure it's $25.30 and $12.77 = $38.07.

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#431419 26-Jan-2011 14:45

I just got a statement from UPS (Amazon told me I had to contact them directly). Amazon were charged (on $405 NZD) -

GST - $65.85
Misc - $33.11

So, the import fee deposit they take is reasonably accurate ($65 USD for me). The $33.11 misc fee wasn't broken down so don't know what it is for.

Cheers,

Matt.

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mad01

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#431743 27-Jan-2011 10:38

bazzer:
mad01:
sbiddle: Has anybody had to pay the new $24.75 import transaction fee and $12.50 biosecurity fee on goods that are exempt from GST and duty?

On this note, does anyone know what are these charges and when the decide to apply them?
I've just ordered a Nexus S and got hit 100$ for GST (which I was expecting) and 38$ "Entry Fee" from Fedex (which I am searching where it's coming from and found this thread). I can only assume that $38 is from the fees you are describing, but there is no explanation.

And why is there a biosecurity fee on a mobile phone?

Check the Customs website, but I'm pretty sure it's $25.30 and $12.77 = $38.07.

Yup, that makes sense, thanks for that.

But it doesn't explain why they are charged though. The custom website says "In addition, an import transaction fee of $25.30 may apply." - MAY apply? No way to know if it applies or not...

Anyway....

bazzer

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#431750 27-Jan-2011 10:48

It always applies if you have to pay anything, I think. The "may" refers to the times when you won't have to pay anything (i.e. under the Duty+GST threshold etc).

nigelj

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#431753 27-Jan-2011 10:57

bazzer: It always applies if you have to pay anything, I think. The "may" refers to the times when you won't have to pay anything (i.e. under the Duty+GST threshold etc).

That's my understanding as well, as far as why Bio Security fees on a Mobile Phone, my guess is that they still x-ray doggie sniff most/all packages, for all they know, the electronics of the phone has been ripped out, and there is a bunch of seeds you aren't allowed into the country.

Now to put this all into perspective, compared to stories I've heard of the old days, the search methods that we are now funding via the Import Fee/Biosecurity Fee are much better/less invasive than the 70's/80's when MAF (or whatever they were called back then) would open boxes of say punch cards, confirm they are punch cards, and then put them back in a completely random order. I'll stick w/ the Doggies/X-Ray to be honest.

freitasm

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#442347 22-Feb-2011 12:20

nigelj:
bazzer: It always applies if you have to pay anything, I think. The "may" refers to the times when you won't have to pay anything (i.e. under the Duty+GST threshold etc).

That's my understanding as well, as far as why Bio Security fees on a Mobile Phone, my guess is that they still x-ray doggie sniff most/all packages, for all they know, the electronics of the phone has been ripped out, and there is a bunch of seeds you aren't allowed into the country.

That's still strange, because I wanted to buy RAM for my laptop and they quoted biosecurity Fees. Instead of buying RAM we bought four pair of kids' shoes, books and CDs. Three separate shipments, no biosecurity fees.

Seriously, four shoe boxes would have to be more logical things to search for biosecurity threats than memory chips...

Kyanar

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#442666 23-Feb-2011 10:07

wreck90: It is presumptuous of amazon to try and guess any payable fees - and , if they are wrong do they give a refund? I bet they do not.

Actually, they do. And if they under-guess it, they pay the difference out of their own pocket. It's not really a raw deal at all.

freeviewfan

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#443524 25-Feb-2011 21:16

hay when i go to buy something on Amazon and it says it cannot be shipped to my address ive tried to by like 38 things and always get this i have been able to only buy one thing why is this help!

freitasm

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#443673 26-Feb-2011 15:47

freeviewfan: hay when i go to buy something on Amazon and it says it cannot be shipped to my address ive tried to by like 38 things and always get this i have been able to only buy one thing why is this help!

They don't send everything out of the U.S for many reasons, including probably customs regulations. There's nothing to help with here. You can always get a store-and-forward proxy postal address such as shipito, but that will bring costs up.

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