Frequently asked questions on Australian Low Value Imports GST

What is Low Value Imported Goods GST?

Australia implemented legislation on July 1, 2018 that imposes Goods and Services Tax (GST) on imported goods which have a customs value of AUD $1,000 or less (known as Low Value Imported Goods or “LVIG”). Since then, Amazon is required to calculate, collect and remit 10% GST on LVIG sold on Amazon.com.au by third-party sellers that are shipped from outside Australia to customers in Australia.

How does Australia’s LVIG affect my Selling on Amazon account?

Since July 1, 2018, a 10% GST applies to sales of taxable LVIG that you make on Amazon.com.au. To cover the GST payable, Amazon will deduct 1/11th from the price and delivery costs you set in Seller Central for any goods you want, to be shipped from outside Australia. To ensure that we can determine if we need to collect GST on your sales, and to streamline the process for you to generate the required customs documentation for orders which you ship from outside Australia and that are subject to LVIG GST, you will need to: (1) make sure that you have set your prices and delivery costs to include the GST and (2) update your ship-from location in Seller Central.

Am I responsible for collecting and remitting LVIG GST in to Australia?

No, when shipping LVIG from overseas to customers in Australia, Amazon will calculate, collect, and remit the LVIG GST directly to the Australian Tax Office (ATO).

Are my responsibilities different if I use FBA to sell in Australia?

You (and not Amazon) are responsible for your own GST obligations when selling to customers in Australia using the FBA service. If your turnover is greater than AUD $75,000 per annum, you will be required to register and account for GST on sales of taxable products. If you are registered for GST in Australia and you import your products into Australia, you may be entitled to claim any GST that you incur.

How do I identify what orders are subject to LVIG GST?

LVIG GST is payable on imported goods which have a customs value of AUD $1,000 or less sold on Amazon.com.au by third-party sellers that are shipped from outside Australia to customers in Australia. In the Order Details page under Tax Collection Model section, each order that is subject to LVIG GST will be identified as LowValueGoodsAustralia

Where do I find which transactions are subject to LVIG GST on my monthly reports?

You can use the Date Range Reports page to generate individual transactions reports for a specific date range. Additionally, inside the monthly Sales Tax Reports, you can find monthly transactions that are subject to LVIG GST

How does Amazon calculate the 10% GST on LVIG?

For LVIG items sold on Amazon.com.au and shipped from outside Australia, 1/11th of the sales price and delivery costs you set in Seller Central will be deducted by Amazon and remitted to the ATO to cover the LVIG GST.

What is considered a taxable item?

Taxable items are goods which are ordinarily subject to GST in Australia. Items which are classified as GST-free (such as certain health, food, beverages and medical items) will continue to be non-taxable regardless of customs value.

How will LVIG GST impact Selling Fees?

The prices that you independently set for your items in Seller Central must be inclusive of GST. All Selling Fees payable by you will be calculated based on these GST-inclusive list prices.

How do I ensure that my LVIG package clears Customs and is delivered to an Australian address? What additional information do I need to include on my invoice or package when shipping LVIG into Australia?

If you are shipping from outside of Australia, the customs documentation* which you provide with the order must include the details of the products you are sending, as well as the GST collected for each item within the order and the ABN of the company collecting the GST (Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd). You can find the required information when confirming the order on Seller Central, in the order reports and through Marketplace Web Services.

*Note: Customs documentation is different to invoices that you issue to your customers. Any invoice that you are required to issue should not state that Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd is the seller of your products.

Where can I find Amazon’s Business Number (ABN) in order to include this information on my import documents?

Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd’s ABN is 30 616 935 623. As above, Amazon’s ABN should not be included on any invoices that you are required to issue.

I am a Business and am GST registered. I have provided Amazon my Australian Business Number (ABN). How does LVIG GST impact my selling experience if I am a Business?

Having an ABN on file does not change the requirement for Amazon to collect and remit GST on LVIG sold on Amazon.com.au. You remain responsible for collecting and remitting GST on goods you sell on Amazon.com.au that you ship from within Australia if you meet the GST registration threshold.

A customer claims they are a Business and are looking to be GST exempt. What do I do if a customer contacts me for a tax refund on orders I fulfilled?

If the goods sold are LVIG, ask the customer to contact us via Customer Service, as Amazon will handle all customer inquiries related to LVIG GST.

I am shipping multiple items that are individually valued below the AUD $1,000 to an Australian address. The total amount of the combined items is above the AUD $1,000 threshold. How will Amazon calculate GST on these items?

At the time of order, Amazon cannot determine whether items will be shipped separately or together as one consignment. Therefore, if your Ship-From location is outside of Australia, Amazon will treat individual items less than AUD $1,000 in the order as LVIG and calculate and collect 10% GST on these and on the associated delivery costs. The customs documentation which you provide with the order must include the details of the products you are sending, as well as the GST collected for each item within the order, and ABN of the company collecting the GST (Amazon Commercial Services Pty Ltd).

I am shipping multiple items that are individually valued below the AUD $1,000 to an Australian address. The total amount of the combined items is below the AUD $1,000 threshold. How will Amazon calculate GST on all these items?

Since the items are below AUD $1,000, if your ship from location is outside of Australia, Amazon will calculate and collect 10% GST on every item and on the associated delivery costs.

I sold an item that is above AUD $1,000 that will be shipped from overseas. What do I need to do to make sure that my shipment is delivered to an Australian address?

This item would not be subject to LVIG GST because its customs value is greater than AUD $1,000. However GST, customs duty and other import processing charges may apply. To enable the item to clear Customs you will need to contact your carrier or obtain independent advice to determine the amounts payable, to ensure that you provide the right information, and ensure that you provide sufficient funds to the carrier to cover these amounts. Any GST payable in this scenario will not be assessed, collected or remitted by Amazon.

What happens when the buyer returns my item?

Where the buyer is entitled to a refund, you will be expected to provide a full refund (subject to any applicable shipping charges payable by the buyer), excluding the GST that was withheld by Amazon. Amazon will refund the GST to the buyer.

One of my warehouses is located outside of Australia and another warehouse is in Australia. How does Amazon calculate Australian LVIG GST if I have multiple ship from locations?

To ensure we have the correct details on where you are shipping from and improve the customer experience, your Default Shipping Address is required and will be used to populate the Offer Listings page to provide buyers with the location you ship from.

• If you only ship from within Australia, please make sure your default shipping address is set up as 'Australia'.
• If you only ship from outside of Australia, please set the default shipping address to the location outside Australia that you ship from
• If you ship from more than one address, but all are outside of Australia, please set the default shipping address to the location you ship the most from.
• Sellers who ship to Australian customers from both within and outside of Australia will need to take additional steps to set up their Ship-From Location. For more information on how to set up your ship-from address in your shipping templates, go to Create, edit, or delete shipping templates.

It is your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the ship-from addresses included in your shipping templates, and the listings associated with each shipping template. You are responsible for checking that the information in your shipping templates is accurate at all times, and for addressing any inaccuracies. Failure to provide accurate information in shipping templates may result in Amazon incorrectly calculating the GST payable and result in breaches of the GST law. Misrepresenting your ship-from address may also have other consequences and result in action being taken by Amazon on your account, including termination of your seller account.

What happens if my Ship from location is set to Australia but I am shipping an item outside Australia?

You must provide Amazon with accurate information about where your order is shipped from. Failure to do so may be a breach of law and result in Amazon incorrectly calculating the GST payable. Misrepresenting your Ship-From location may also have other consequences and result in action being taken by Amazon on your account, including termination of your seller account. Items shipped from outside of Australia that do not include the required customs documentation and that have not had GST collected may be held up at customs and may be seized, incur delays, or be subject to fines or other consequences. In addition, if the buyer does not receive their order, you will not be paid for the sale.