Customs and taxes when importing

[FitzTech]

Hey peoples. Im looking into importing a car or two in the next few months and i need to know what the tax and custom duties are on the cars. I was told htat there is a 22% tax as well as a 15% stamp duty but i cant find out how much the customs fees are. can anyone help me??

[cefiro]

Yeah not really it goes like this. purchase price of car then x 15% customs, then purchase price + customs then another 10% gst on top. I cannot remember if you have to add the shipping before or after though.

[DJ984]

If I have one imported for me then buy it from the importer, then go and register it... who pays the taxes?.... Are there any other taxes when registering it?

[Garage Menace]

FitzTech and Cefiro...

The import duty is worked out at 15% of the purchase price of the vehicle NOT including shipping. There are further costs incurred with clearing customs (around $150 at last check) but then GST is worked out on the total: Vehicle purchase price, shipping and the import duty (in other words you are paying a tax on a tax - GTS on import duty... I await the comments on that one!). The easiest way to work out your budget (in my humble but experienced opinion) is to convert the purchase price from yen to AUD (I work it out at around 2 yen below the published rate to allow for fluctuations and bank fees), add 15% to this, add around $2,000 for shipping and customs and quaranteen clearance fees, then add 10% of this total to this total. Also, if you didn't already know, only a RAW can actually apply for an import approval so ensure you have one before the vehicle lands at an Australian port or you will have to re-export or destroy it. Then there are the obligatory compliance costs etc as I assume you already know.

DJ984, different importers have their own policies and I cannot speak for any other than myself but I can assume that most would either pay the taxes etc as they arise with your money (how I started), or just pay them themselves and pass the cost on to you. The only other taxes that most importers / consultants wouldn't cover would be the state government stamp duty which is payable upon first registration or on transfer of ownership. These vary from state to state and currently in SA consist of 4% of either the market value or total cost of the vehicle; whichever is the highest (of course).

[FitzTech]

well htat sounds better than ive been working out. in other words with the permission from the powers that be, a person can import a car and pay 15% customs, the shipping costs, and then 10% on the total of all of the above(of course there are compliance costs etc but i was more concerned about tarrifs). if this is correct cars can be brought over here alot cheaper than alot of people i know think. if sum1 can correct me or can spot a mistake ive made please correct it as im eager to know the low down on importing

[Duncan]

check out prestigemotorsport.com.au they have a calculator to work out costs. But as Garage Menace said don't forget compliance $4,500-$8,000 + say $1000 for tyres +$1000 for rego.

But yes, importing directly can be cheaper...as long as you are confident about the quality of the car you have bought

[Garage Menace]

One point I forgot to mention. Some vehicles of a higher value ($40K I think) attract a luxury car tax in addition to the other charges, however only vehicles like the R34 GTR attract this tax.

It has also been tempting in the past to purchase cars that are modified from Japan but the strictness of the RAWS system is making this virtually impossible. The reason for this is that a vehicle must be returned to a completely standard condition before DoTaRS will issue a compliance plate. The RAW then has to destroy all aftermarket parts (they cannot be sold). DoTaRS are rumoured to be conducting random inspections of shipments arriving at various docks and recording VINs as well as the aftermarket parts installed on the vehicles. When the RAW then submits a VIC (Vehicle Inspection Certificate) to DoTaRS in order to be issued with a compliance plate DoTaRS then asks for photographic evidence of the destruction of all the recorded aftermarket parts. I have had many a sleepless night trying to find a way around this rule (and the senseless destruction of perfectly functional and often extremely expensive aftermarket parts) without success (and after witnessing another RAWS applicant being sodomised by DoTaRS inspectors in the past I have no intention of trying to bend the rules - they have more power than police but are considerably more inconsistant and unpredictable; at least you know cops are going to be...). While this may seem to be off the topic of this thread, it is important to consider that compliance costs may be more expensive than anticipated if the RAW has to purchase OEM parts (they cannot be borrowed either as it is illegal for the RAW to re-install aftermarket parts - or even to supply them to the customer - after attaching the compliance plate) to replace aftermarket parts which came with the vehicle. Also, damaged cars (even damaged and repaired) are totally prohibited from being complied so as Duncan suggested, you must trust whoever is purchasing the vehicle for you in Japan. Otherwise when the RAW refuses to comply a vehicle you have imported you end up with a very expensive mistake as you must either re-export or destroy the vehicle and you cannot just take the vehicle to another RAW. DoTaRS will only issue a compliance plate to the RAW named on the import approval.

If this info has been posted somewhere before... Sorry. Otherwise, good luck.

[usuckpoo]

2 Questions... (sorrie if this has been raised before)

1. If the vehicle in question is a personal import, what kind of duties are imposed(and how much)?

2. As a personal import is the vehicle still subject to compliance rules that that state the vehicle must be stock standard?

Thank you!

[Garage Menace]

That's a good question and one that will require some research before I answer as I have never dealt with personal importing (I am sure someone on these forums will know though). I assume (you know what they say about assuming though) that the import duties would remain the same however the compliance rules are slightly different, but the main advantage is that you can bring in vehicles that are not available under SEVS. Unfortunately though, a couple years ago the Federal Government increased the length of time a person had to own a vehicle at it's country of origin before it could be exported to another country from 3 months to 12 months. To me, not worth it unless you already live in Japan and have owned the vehicle for the required length of time.

I will get back to you with a definitive answer soon.

Cheers all.

[simonh]

Yes, Personal Imports attract the same duties, GST and other costs of importation, but compliance is relaxed.

However, as mentioned, you have to own the vehicle for 12 months first, and this includes:

- living in the same country as the vehicle for 12 months and being able to prove it

- actually driving the car for 12 months and being able to prove it by showing parking receipts, insurance paperwork, servicing receipts with mileage etc, blah blah blah

They are extremely tightarsed and I've had a problem or two with this in the past when importing BMW's from the UK.... It's not fun.

Good luck.

Simon.

[Garage Menace]

Cheers simonh. You saved me some time.

[GiJOr33]

So if i bought say an R34 GTR and lived in Japan for a year driving it around and then decided to come back to Australia and bring it with me... could i say i paid $25,000 for it so that i pay less duty and GST and i avoid the luxury tax as well? or will they basically tell me to get ****ed and work it out on market value here?

Cheers,

Andrew

[Torrens]

The best cost calculator I've seen is on Meisei.

www.meisei.com.au -> cost calculator

[SteveL]

So if i bought say an R34 GTR and lived in Japan for a year driving it around and then decided to come back to Australia and bring it with me... could i say i paid $25,000 for it so that i pay less duty and GST and i avoid the luxury tax as well? or will they basically tell me to get ****ed and work it out on market value here?

Customs would require some sort of proof of what you paid for the car, eg an invoice. But they have various methods of working out the value, see here:

http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=4371

[funkymonkey]

also take into account that if your car lands in australia AFTER 1st Jan 2005 then you only have to pay 10% duty as per the new rule. But don't expect it to save you a fortune, just enough to fund some intake mods

[SLK-GTR]

ive got an r32 GTR coming over next month on 15 year rule how much will it cost me at the docks to clear the car and pay for the shipping, gov stamp duty etc geoff from prestige motorsport told me about $5800 but im not sure if the gov. stamp duty etc. is included in the price, ive tried calling him for a few days now but not geting any luck. ive organised SRICAR in melbourne to do the complience and there charging $1000, thats the cheapest place ive come across yet. ive tried using prestige's cost calculator but its to confusing. can any one help me

[drakan69]

ive got an r32 GTR coming over next month on 15 year rule how much will it cost me at the docks to clear the car and pay for the shipping, gov stamp duty etc geoff from prestige motorsport told me about $5800 but im not sure if the gov. stamp duty etc. is included in the price, ive tried calling him for a few days now but not geting any luck. ive organised SRICAR in melbourne to do the complience and there charging $1000,  thats the cheapest place ive come across yet. ive tried using prestige's cost calculator but its to confusing. can any one help me

you may have to expand on this a little more,

like if you've payed the FOB price, prestige's service fee, anything else?

providing you know the price you payed for the 32 gtr you should be able to give you an idea.

say you payed about.....$10000 - $12000 (aud) for the GTR then $5800 for govn't tax and stampduity and otherstuff that i carn't remember now sounds about right.

"FOB price + Import broker's service fee + 15% to this, add around $2,000 for shipping and customs and quaranteen clearance fees, then add 10% of this to the total."

above was pretty much a cut and past of Garage Menace's origional post.

[predator]

Well my initial estimate from prestige was pretty much dead on, up to about $50..

Here is the breakdown I got from customs the other week:

Duty : $979

Freight: $882

Port Service Charges: $155.85

Delivery Order: $45

Quaranteen Fee: $203.50

Quaranteen Attendance: $95

Cartage: $75

Postage & Petties: $12 (their lunch that day )

Agency: $150

Documentation: $35

Redline: $45

==

Sub Total: $2678.30

GST: $61.29

Total: $2739

Original FOB price + Agent Fee was $4500 .. so you are paying about 25% of the original purchase price on duty I think in the end.

[SLK-GTR]

cheers thanks for that