Importing a Boat to Australia

[TrevC]

Here's a quick warning to everyone about another fee the Australian authorities will potentially apply against anyone importing a yacht to Australia.

It's called the "Pre charged equipment license", and is levied by the Department of environment. If your boat has any refrigeration or air conditioning, you will be liable for this extra $400AUD fee while your boat is under customs control. We were totally unaware of this, so had provided them with our fridge model and coolant info when requested. Our compressor (and coolant) is a very common type, and not restricted in any fashion. They didn't even want us to change it, just pay for an "import license".

When my wife politely questioned them over the phone about why we needed an importers license for a tiny fridge, the woman simply made threats about not releasing our vessel from customs control. "Pay it, or else" was the bottom line with these guys. I feel I should also mention that all of our dealings with Customs so far has been fantastic, It's just the workers at the department of environment that generally seem like soulless drones.

I would strongly recommend that anyone undertaking the import process claim their system arrived de-gassed, and not use the fridge or AC until you're clear of customs control. You could even drain the gas yourself if you're paranoid about anyone checking it. It would probably be cheaper to refill later.

One more point that I nearly forgot... They also tax you on the volume of coolant in the system. We paid $0.05 (yes, 5 f'ing cents) total for our volume of r134a, which we had to calculate. Total bill: $400.05AUD

Just doing my bit to hopefully decrease the revenue stream of these agencies/thieves

Cheers

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by DtM

One interesting issue that might arise is exchange rates in calculating GST etc.

Say you buy when the AUD is strong against the USD so that the price is very favourable and then the AUD falls (or the USD rises) on the date you import so that the price woudl appear more in AUD terms.

Surely what you actually paid in AUD is the basis?

Yes you are right unless the rules have changed recently, you pay all taxes based on the exchange rate of the day that you purchased the item you are paying tax on not the date of importation.
If you are serious about this get yourself a customs agent whom is on your side to get you the best deal on what you must pay.
Don't ask the customs people, although they are very nice individuals they are working for the government who wants as much tax as they can get from you.

[DtM]

I am just about to start the registration process.

Any tips I discover I will post.

d

[Gordon]

Hi Daniel does that mean we can expect to see you in a new boat soon ?

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by DtM

I am just about to start the registration process.

Any tips I discover I will post.

d

Are you sailing it in or shipping it?

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lady

Yes you are right unless the rules have changed recently, you pay all taxes based on the exchange rate of the day that you purchased the item you are paying tax on not the date of importation.

There was a good looking Hans Christian on Yachtworld last year called Dragon Lady. Did you buy it, or do you just have a yacht that gives you a hard time?

[Dragon Lady]

Originally Posted by VirtualVagabond

There was a good looking Hans Christian on Yachtworld last year called Dragon Lady. Did you buy it, or do you just have a yacht that gives you a hard time?

Nah, that is our boats name but it's an Etchells racer not a cruiser, horses for courses and all that. Don't know about the boat giving us a hard time but she has been in the wars a bit lately.

[Dragon Lady]

Hey can anyone recomend a foreign exchange agent for using to buy a boat O/S?
Marquarie Bank's Ozforex seems like a good deal but are there better options available?

[TrevC]

We used CBA. Just tell them you want to open an account held in USD (or any other currency). We paid a one off fee for transferring AUD in, and the rates were good. We used the account to hold a favourable exchange rate until the final boat balance was transfered. Most of the banks seem to have similar fees for forex. Make sure you get a teller that knows what they're doing, or you'll end up signing up for more than you need.

[TrevC]

Also, I nearly forgot to mention my wife Ali is working on a little project. We did all of our customs paperwork (ok... she did, I supervised). It was completed 100% correctly to the surprise of customs, so we're going to post an online guide for people that prefer to DIY. You can save yourself the broker fees.

The paperwork was very confusing and full of BS, so the guide should be useful to anyone importing a boat to Australia. We'll also include tips on how to avoid extra fees, deal with quarantine, etc. There will be PDF's of our completed forms (which could almost be copied directly for the typical yacht import).

Our only agenda is that we want to help other cruisers who are importing, and also hopefully decrease the revenue stream of the authorities!

[DtM]

I bank with Suncorp and they have a facility to make payments on line if you organise it.

You might need to become a client of the bank treasury to get better rates.

[DtM]

Trev,

That guide would be fantastic. I hope to be a user of it soon.

daniel

[TrevC]

We've been really busy with the boat, working hard to get out of this stupid marina (mechanical work, etc). We're finally really close.

I'll remind Ali to get working on it! The PDF's of our completed forms alone would be really useful to someone.

[starfish62]

George Stewart at AirSea International was very helpful when I imported my Pearson 10M in 2007. He's in the Brisbane area. We compared his costs with some folks who were doing all of the work themselves and it came out about even.

george@airsea-intl.com.au

[Dragon Lady]

Thanks everyone it's really helpful having these shared experiences, Trev that guide sounds great. I have some broker/importer friends who are giving me some info which I'll try and post.
Does anyone have a good insurance broker who covers delivery my broker covers Etchells which most companies won't insure but he had a fit when I asked about insurance for a cat delivery.