Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


Ge0rge

2052 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

#248886 14-Apr-2019 19:52
Send private message

I brought an item from Australia via Trademe. Cost, including free shipping, of NZ$396.65. A smidgen under the limit to incur gst etc via the "What's My Duty" estimator so I was happy to buy it.

I have received a letter today from NZ Post saying I owe customs $114 if I want my package - the seller has written AU$385 on the package (NZ$410 - a smidgen over the limit).

I have had a look on the customs website and can't find anything about contesting the value - does anyone have any experience with this and do I have a leg to stand on or am I up for paying the extra to get my goods?


Yup, I'll be ringing customs in the morning, but the idea of paying $114 extra has compelled me to post here first.

View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2 | 3
PeterReader
6018 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217065 14-Apr-2019 19:52
Send private message

Hmmmm. Here we go.





I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

 

These links are referral codes: Sharesies | Mighty Ape 




gregmcc
2147 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217092 14-Apr-2019 20:49
Send private message

surely you have the auction price from Trade me showing the price in NZ dollars, this should be sufficient evidence of the actual price.


Ge0rge

2052 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217093 14-Apr-2019 20:51
Send private message

gregmcc:

surely you have the auction price from Trade me showing the price in NZ dollars, this should be sufficient evidence of the actual price.



I do, one would hope that would be enough - can't find out myself until tomorrow.

Was hoping someone may have had a similar yarn with a happy ending.



sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217098 14-Apr-2019 21:03
Send private message

A customs declaration is an official document that should be the official price of a product.

 

FWIW I know a couple of people who have tried to challenge customs declarations over the years under similar circumstances (declared values or assessed values by customs were too high) and in both cases Customs wouldn't budge... So good luck!

 

 

 

 


Ge0rge

2052 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217100 14-Apr-2019 21:07
Send private message

sbiddle:

A customs declaration is an official document that should be the official price of a product.


FWIW I know a couple of people who have tried to challenge customs declarations over the years under similar circumstances (declared values or assessed values by customs were too high) and in both cases Customs wouldn't budge... So good luck!


 


 



Hmmm, that's pretty much what I expected too unfortunately. Oh well, I will call tomorrow and see but not holding my breath.


jnimmo
1097 posts

Uber Geek


  #2217119 14-Apr-2019 22:53
Send private message

Hopefully an invoice from the company showing the value in NZD may be able to persuade them. Especially as you paid in NZD.

 

I've been stung by having sent money using a better exchange rate than the official Customs exchange rate, they wouldn't budge, but that's a bit more understandable as I'd been invoiced and paid in EUR.


mattwnz
20141 posts

Uber Geek


  #2217131 14-Apr-2019 23:42
Send private message

If you don't have any luck, you could contact the company that sent it to you, that you paid a specific amount in NZ dollars and the amount they put on the form does not match it. As it was purchased va trademe, I presume they did bill you in NZ dollars too, and you will have a tax invoice in NZD.  If they put the wrong amount on the customs form, to send a corrected one to customs.Sounds like they should have put the NZD amount on , based on your purchase price. 

 

Also you may want to contact trademe if you don't have any further luck to tell them about the problem, as their own website does say that buyers don't expect nasty surprises when it comes to duties with their international sellers, at https://www.trademe.co.nz/seller-information-centre/international-sellers/shipping-expecations/ . I am sure trademe would be interested in this, as they would want buyers from their international sellers to have good experiences. Potentially it could be a major issue for anyone buying off an international seller, who is getting close to that threshold. 


 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
E3xtc
773 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #2217157 15-Apr-2019 07:37
Send private message

mattwnz:

 

If you don't have any luck, you could contact the company that sent it to you, that you paid a specific amount in NZ dollars and the amount they put on the form does not match it. As it was purchased va trademe, I presume they did bill you in NZ dollars too, and you will have a tax invoice in NZD.  If they put the wrong amount on the customs form, to send a corrected one to customs.Sounds like they should have put the NZD amount on , based on your purchase price. 

 

Also you may want to contact trademe if you don't have any further luck to tell them about the problem, as their own website does say that buyers don't expect nasty surprises when it comes to duties with their international sellers, at https://www.trademe.co.nz/seller-information-centre/international-sellers/shipping-expecations/ . I am sure trademe would be interested in this, as they would want buyers from their international sellers to have good experiences. Potentially it could be a major issue for anyone buying off an international seller, who is getting close to that threshold. 

 

 

This is very sound advice. From my experience I understand Customs to be like a great brick wall and you would be very lucky to get any movement. However going back to the seller and getting them to resolve the issue and/or letting trademe know as this goes against the intent on the trademe site, and finally (assuming you get no luck with anything else) I would (assuming you paid via credit card) invoke a charge-back on the purchase because you never got the goods you received based on the purchase. 

 

Or pay the extra $100 and get the item, but that seems a bit off given the situation :) 


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217160 15-Apr-2019 07:45
Send private message

If Customs won't do anything I too would be complaining to Trademe and demanding they provide a resolution. 


SirHumphreyAppleby
2844 posts

Uber Geek


  #2217177 15-Apr-2019 08:17
Send private message

Schedule 4 of the Customs And Excise Act 2018 states that "the primary basis for determining the Customs value of imported goods is the transaction value". The transaction was in NZD, below the de minimis, no duty is owed.

trig42
5809 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #2217180 15-Apr-2019 08:26
Send private message

It was my understanding that the $400 limit is not a concrete limit, but more a 'suggestion' based on the fact that if the item is below that, it wasn't worth their effort. 

 

That they have made the effort with your parcel, they won't reverse the charges would be how I see it going.

 

 

 

Go back to the seller, and let them know it has cost you extra. Can't see you getting far with them either. They should have written NZD rather than AUD, but I find that a lot of businesses you deal with in AU don't seem to understand NZ is different (try explaining to them that NZ GST is 15%, blows their minds :) )


Coil
6614 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


  #2217197 15-Apr-2019 08:37
Send private message

When I had an iPhone GIFTED to me from my Mother in Australia, Customs stopped it as it had a value of $800 AUD or so.
We learnt that the threshold was under $100 for GST. Don't be surprised that our country will take every last cent you got at every turn. Thanks to the taxing red party for this! 


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217204 15-Apr-2019 08:49
Send private message

Coil:

 

When I had an iPhone GIFTED to me from my Mother in Australia, Customs stopped it as it had a value of $800 AUD or so.
We learnt that the threshold was under $100 for GST. Don't be surprised that our country will take every last cent you got at every turn. Thanks to the taxing red party for this! 

 

 

As discussed when you posted this a while back the Customs threshold for products marked as a gift is NZ$110. Marking something as a gift does NOT mean it won't incur charges.

 

 


sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217208 15-Apr-2019 08:57
Send private message

trig42:

 

It was my understanding that the $400 limit is not a concrete limit, but more a 'suggestion' based on the fact that if the item is below that, it wasn't worth their effort. 

 

That they have made the effort with your parcel, they won't reverse the charges would be how I see it going.

 

 

 

Go back to the seller, and let them know it has cost you extra. Can't see you getting far with them either. They should have written NZD rather than AUD, but I find that a lot of businesses you deal with in AU don't seem to understand NZ is different (try explaining to them that NZ GST is 15%, blows their minds :) )

 

 

The de minimis is actually $60 - so on goods that don't incur any duty but only GST, it means the $60 threshold is passed when the value of goods exceeds NZ$400

 

For products that incur duty such as clothing or shoes the $60 de minimis threshold is reached at around NZ$230.

 

The irony of the new import changes is that it'll mean people who import goods that incur duty will actually be better off, as NZ$230 worth of clothing that would have incurred $113.62 of fees (10% duty + 15% GST + $51.25 IETF fees) will now only need to pay $37.95 for GST

 

 


freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

  #2217214 15-Apr-2019 09:13
Send private message

Coil:

 

When I had an iPhone GIFTED to me from my Mother in Australia, Customs stopped it as it had a value of $800 AUD or so.
We learnt that the threshold was under $100 for GST. Don't be surprised that our country will take every last cent you got at every turn. Thanks to the taxing red party for this! 

 

 

Why would you blame "the taxing red party" when the Customs thresholds have been set many years ago? Why bring politics into this? Better stop the trolling.





Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


 1 | 2 | 3
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.