To import or not

[XW WA]

With the dollar at record levels it got me thinking about importing some gear from the states, so i started doing a bit of research and now i am not so sure with all freight duties taxes handling fees and so forth.Add to that no real back up if it all goes wrong. Has any one imported motors gearboxs diff s etc over the 1000 dollar duty cut off mark to aussie via sea freight .Was it worth it ? What was the real difference in price at the end of the day.
Cheers

[ebxr8240]

Yep bought in the odd auto trans..
I used a container that another Co was importing Mopar gear...
If it's second hand ?? Much less duty etc..

[Cheech]

Licenced Customs broker here.

If its over AUD1000 it will be subject to any duties and/or GST.
Note that if goods made in the USA, they are likely to be duty free under the current free trade agreement.

Generally duty is 5% of value and GST 10% of the following:

(cost of goods + freight + Insurance + duty)

Add local port/airline charges here if not using DHL/UPS/Fedex/AirMail.

If 2nd hand they will be subject to AQIS inspection and possible steam cleaning at your expense.

2nd hand attracts the same duty as new for parts.

If goods are stuck in some-one elses container they still need to be declared via import declaration (AUD1000 and over) or self assessed clearance (under AUD1000). Should you not declare the goods or the owner of the container not declare the goods, you are leaving yourself open to be charged with smuggling in the worst case scenario.

[V8 6I]

Find a regular importer of muscle cars and ask if they can handle the sale at the U.S end(dropping off at their warehouse and so on) and place in their container to fill it up with other stuff they are bringing in.That way all the hard work is done by them and you save on postage.