Importing a Boat to Australia

[onthehunt]

on the subject of import duty - USA and NZ have free trade agreements -so I am lead to believe no import duty applies to vessels bought and brought into Australia from these locations.

does anyone how they determine the USA or NZ status.

Is it the port of departure
Is it where the buyer lives or holds an account.
Is it where the craft is registered.

The reason i am asking is that i am looking at a boat that is registered in the USA but the owenr has decided to settle down in an idylic place after cruisng for several years. It is a genuine situation and i am not trying to avoid duty - but it means the boat will be collected from outside the USA even though it is registered in the USA.

[Dragon Lady]

Sorry to give you the bad news but duty exemption applies to the country of origin, which is where the boat is made in the first place not where it has been residing.
To get an exemption I think you have to have a certificate from a registered broker.
It will only get you relief from the 5% duty not the 10% GST which even applies to Australian built boats.
If the boat has been built in the USA then you don't have to worry where you pick it up from.

Good luck I hope it goes well for you

[lordgeoff]

I would suggest you speak to a Customs Agent. Importing yachts into Australia or NZ is not complex but there are some tricky rules when it comes to calculating tax, particularly GST.
I can highly recommend the guys below. Send them an email with your questions.
It was the absolute best $500 I ever spent.
Unit 4/20 Leda Street
Burleigh Heads. Queensland. 4220
PO Box 2337, Burleigh MDC, Queensland 4220

Phone within Australia: (07) 5535 1666 (07) 5535 1666
Phone international: 61 7 5535 1666 61 7 5535 1666
Fax within Australia: (07) 5535 1777 (07) 5535 1777
Fax international: 61 7 5535 1777


Send them an email with some questions.

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Sorry to give you the bad news but duty exemption applies to the country of origin, which is where the boat is made in the first place not where it has been residing.
To get an exemption I think you have to have a certificate from a registered broker.
It will only get you relief from the 5% duty not the 10% GST which even applies to Australian built boats.
If the boat has been built in the USA then you don't have to worry where you pick it up from.

Good luck I hope it goes well for you

Correctamundo !

Nothing tricky about the GST lordgeoff. Everybody pays 10% with no exceptions. Nothing tricky there so your only hope is to depreciate the boat but that is not always possible.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by savoir

Correctamundo !

Nothing tricky about the GST lordgeoff. Everybody pays 10% with no exceptions.

Well here's a tricky one to ponder... in the end it will take a call to the ATO and even then I suspect the answer could vary depending who you get...

I know a guy who bought a boat in the Med in 1998. He is an Aussie citizen and resident. He registered it here with AMSA in 1998 so has sailed under an Aussie flag, in the Med, since then.

He is considering sailing his boat back to Australia.
Now, he has owned it since before GST was introduced in 2000.
So, can he be hit for GST when he brings it in to Aus, or just the 5% duty?

Opinions?

[Hannahocean]

slightly off topic but just wondering if anyone has shipped a boat into aus from the med- we have a boat rusting away in Turkey and don't have time to go over to work on it- thinking it would be good to get it back to aus to do so but having trouble finding a company that will ship it. Any ideas gratefully appreciated

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Well here's a tricky one to ponder... in the end it will take a call to the ATO and even then I suspect the answer could vary depending who you get...

I know a guy who bought a boat in the Med in 1998. He is an Aussie citizen and resident. He registered it here with AMSA in 1998 so has sailed under an Aussie flag, in the Med, since then.

He is considering sailing his boat back to Australia.
Now, he has owned it since before GST was introduced in 2000.
So, can he be hit for GST when he brings it in to Aus, or just the 5% duty?

Opinions?

Most certainly he will have to pay the GST there is no way around it, but I would think he has a good case for claiming depreciation. But you must remember GST is supposed to be charged at the current market value in Australia.

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by Hannahocean

slightly off topic but just wondering if anyone has shipped a boat into aus from the med- we have a boat rusting away in Turkey and don't have time to go over to work on it- thinking it would be good to get it back to aus to do so but having trouble finding a company that will ship it. Any ideas gratefully appreciated

There are plenty of people who will ship it for you, try Dockwise they do a float on float off service.

[svrodeorm]

My wife and I do deliveries.... from wherever and to wherever you'd like.

Just send me a PM

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by savoir

Correctamundo !

Nothing tricky about the GST lordgeoff. Everybody pays 10% with no exceptions. Nothing tricky there so your only hope is to depreciate the boat but that is not always possible.

Not quite correct Savoir. The calculation of the GST is the value of the Bill of Sale OR an Australian valuation demanded by Customs. Once the value of the hull is determined then the duty is 5%. The GST is then calculated by the value of the hull plus 5% PLUS the estimated costs of getting the boat back to Australia. This would include Dockwise or similar but even if sailed back by the owner Customs will say that the expense of getting the boat back is $25,000 or $30,000 so the tax base for paying GST is
Hull Value Plus 5% Duty Plus the determined costs associated with getting the boat back THEN it is as you say SAVOIR 10% of this value. As I say there are some tricks. Customs will also look at the exchange rate used to convert to Australian Dollars. If the boats was purchased more than a year previous then Customs will want a cuerrent valuation of the boat in Australia THEN Customs will do the currency conversion based on when the boat entered Australian waters. This may or may not work in your favour. Oh and the thing to keep front of mind is Customs make it up as they go along and you will get a different story depending on whether you are talking to Sydney, Coffs or Brisbane Customs.
As I said a few tricks with taxes and it is best to pay a Customs Broker $500 to go and bat for you.

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by svrodeorm

My wife and I do deliveries.... from wherever and to wherever you'd like.

Just send me a PM

Tell me more?

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

Well here's a tricky one to ponder... in the end it will take a call to the ATO and even then I suspect the answer could vary depending who you get...

I know a guy who bought a boat in the Med in 1998. He is an Aussie citizen and resident. He registered it here with AMSA in 1998 so has sailed under an Aussie flag, in the Med, since then.

He is considering sailing his boat back to Australia.
Now, he has owned it since before GST was introduced in 2000.
So, can he be hit for GST when he brings it in to Aus, or just the 5% duty?

Opinions?

See the post I did later about tax valuations etc.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Most certainly he will have to pay the GST there is no way around it, but I would think he has a good case for claiming depreciation. But you must remember GST is supposed to be charged at the current market value in Australia.

If he had bought the boat in Aus in 1998, he would have paid no gst because it was not in existence. If he had sailed out of Aus and been away for 12 years... he would not be hit for gst coming back now.

Should he be hit with a tax that didn't exist when the transaction took place?

I'll ring the ATO and report back... if I can get some logic out of them!

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

If he had bought the boat in Aus in 1998, he would have paid no gst because it was not in existence. If he had sailed out of Aus and been away for 12 years... he would not be hit for gst coming back now.

Should he be hit with a tax that didn't exist when the transaction took place?

I'll ring the ATO and report back... if I can get some logic out of them!

Have a read of what I put down earlier about GST calculations. Forget the ATO. Ask the advice of a Customs Agent.

[meyermm]

Pantaenius insurance for world wide coverage thay are excellent I dealt with New York from Mexico thay were terrific. As for the couple with problems reading between the lines they miscalculated and are short of dollars so that is not the ATO's fault, yes bad luck maybe with exchange rates but not a reason to put others off.
One of the reasons many have difficulties dealing the authorities is the fact that they are always dealing with people trying to avoid paying their fair share and using avoidance schemes which makes it hard for the rest. You only have to read this forum to no what they are up against daily. Use a broker!