Also be aware that both of those strategies are dangerous from the point of view of Customs regulations, although the chance of getting caught may be low:
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Originally Posted by The Australian, 1 Jun 2012
CUSTOMS has confessed it is powerless to stop foreign e-tailers falsifying invoices so Australian shoppers can avoid paying import taxes.
An Australian Customs Service spokeswoman yesterday said Customs was aware of a tax avoidance scam exposed by The Australian this week, but had no jurisdiction over foreign retail websites.
Overseas retailers are instructing Australian cyber-shoppers how to avoid paying GST and import duties, by issuing false invoices for goods that cost more than $1000.
Imports worth less than $1000 are exempt from GST or import duties, but Hong Kong based website eGlobal electronics has offered to send The Australian a $900 invoice for an $1800 camera in an effort to evade GST.
A Customs spokeswoman yesterday said the imports watchdog was "aware of eGlobal through our own compliance activities and industry referrals".
"While our jurisdiction does not extend to foreign online shopping stores, it does cover Australian importers and intermediaries," she said.
"Customs' ongoing compliance activities have not revealed any significant evidence of widespread undervaluation of goods or splitting of shipments to avoid duty or GST liabilities."
Customs had fined 51 people this year for making "false and misleading statements" about the value of imported goods, the spokeswoman said. The fines are equal to 20 per cent of the tax evaded.
But secret correspondence between Customs and Treasury reveals Customs takes cyber-shoppers' tax-free claims at "face value", with "limited verification" to check the value of goods bought through offshore websites. In memos to Treasury, released under Freedom of Information laws, Customs said it lacked the resources to check all parcels or collect duty on everything brought from overseas.
Customs officers take 45 minutes to process an international parcel with a declared value of more than $1000.
"Limited verification is undertaken to determine if the declared value is correct; generally this will only occur if it is obvious to a Customs officer that the value of the goods is likely to exceed the amount declared on the import declaration," one memo states.
"The vast majority of declarations for low value goods are taken at face value."
A Customs crackdown on parcels imported between January and March last year detected 1942 cases of duty and GST underpayments totalling $718,000.
Customs estimated last year that 3.2 per cent of parcels sent by mail, and 9 per cent sent airmail or by sea, had false declarations of value, at a potential cost to revenue of $57.5 million a year.
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Splitting shipments to avoid duty (where payable) and/or GST may also attract a fine. Where Customs suspects a package to be one of a series that would otherwise be duitiable/taxable, they may hold all your packages until satisfied otherwise.
As mentioned, astronomy products do not attract duty, only GST on amounts over $1000 (including shipping and insurance).