Australian GST & eCommerce retailers
Apr 16, 2018
In 2017, the Federal Parliament in Australia announced that goods and services tax (GST) would be extended to low value imports from 1 July 2018. Are you ready for the changes?
From July, cross border retailers that sell goods to Australian consumers online valued at A$1000 or less, and sell more than A$75,000 taxable supplies in one year, will need to register with the Australian Taxation Office and start charging GST (usually 10%). The GST charges collected would then need to be paid to the Australian government either monthly, or quarterly depending on the size of your business.
Not ready, what’s next?
eCommerce retailers that meet the A$75,000 registration threshold will need to:
- Register for GST
- Charge GST on sales of low value imported goods (unless they are GST-free)
- Lodge returns to the ATO and pay your final charges
Retailers can register under the Simplified GST system, which is an online platform that is fully secure and accessible via a portal on the ATO’s website. This digital system will allow you to register, lodge and pay your Australian GST, manage your account details, and authorise others to securely access your account. Register using this URL - www.ato.gov.au
Once you have registered for GST, you will need to:
- Include GST in the price of low value imported goods
- Meet reporting, payment and record-keeping requirements
- Ensure the required information is provided to customers and included on customs documents.
We are working very closely with our partners in Australia, who are in contact with the Australian Tax Office to ensure we are completely ready for the changes, and can help our retailers through the process.
If you are unsure about how to manage the changes to Australian GST, and how this will affect your business, contact us on export-experts@wnDirect.com.
