Appendix G: International mail and cargo volumes

1 The Kahala Posts Group (KPG) is an alliance of 10 leading postal services, which includes Australia Post, China Post, Correos (Spain), Hong Kong Post, Japan Post, Korea Post, La Poste (France), Royal Mail, Singapore Post and the US Postal Service.

2 The Mails Electronic Data Interchange and Customs Integration (Medici) Group are a subset of the 24 members of the International Postal Corporation (IPC).

3 The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is an international organisation that coordinates postal policies among member nations. The WCO/UPU Contact Committee was established in 1965 to deal with issues of common interest between postal services and Customs organisations.

4 19th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting: 'The Honolulu Declaration - Toward a Seamless Regional Economy', November 12-13, 2011.

5 Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry, Productivity Commission Inquiry Report, No. 56, 4 November 2011, Commonwealth of Australia 2011.

6 With the exception of alcohol and tobacco products and some other prescribed items. Further, a different threshold applies for goods brought into Australia by international travellers.

7 Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

8 Currency conversions undertaken as at 22 March 2012.

9 See National Retail Association Ltd ‘The threshold question: Economic impact of the low value threshold on the retail industry’ (2012) (prepared by Ernst and Young), Table 6.

10 In addition to those matters outlined, there are also issues relating to the way in which border security activities are undertaken.

11 Prior to 2005, goods imported by post had a $1,000 threshold, while goods imported by sea or air cargo had a $250 threshold. In addition, customs duty and GST was collected only if the combined liability exceeded $50. Following a review by the Competitive Neutrality Office of the Productivity Commission, the threshold was standardised in October 2005. Underlying the decision to move to a uniform threshold was that it promoted a significant reduction in ‘red tape’ for a large number of importers and logistic service providers involved in the importation of low value goods. It also meant that low value goods arriving by all modes of transport were treated in a similar manner.

12 While section 42-5 of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 specifies that goods are non-taxable importation for GST purposes if they are duty free under the Customs by-laws (because, for example, their value is below the threshold), the value upon which GST is assessed is the Value of Taxable Importation, which includes the customs value on which customs duty is assessed, any duty payable, transport and insurance costs, and the Wine Equalisation Tax where applicable.

13 The place where goods are produced and valuation of those goods are primarily determined by the Customs Act 1901, Pt VIII, Division 1A – Rules of origin of preference claim goods and Division 2 – Valuation of imported goods whereas the classification of the nature of the goods and the dutiable rate is determined primarily pursuant to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. Tariff concessions are also available under Item 50 of Schedule 4. See also Pt XVA of the Customs Act 1901.

14 For further details, see http://www.customs.gov.au/tariff/tariff.asp.

15 For further details, see ABS Cat No. 5368.0.55.016 - Information Paper: Proposed Changes to Statistical Codes in the HTISC, 2012.

16 GST is liable on both the supply and importation of goods. The tax on supply and the tax on importation are administered independently. Therefore, when the overseas supplier is also the importer of the goods, they may be liable for GST on both the supply and importation of the goods. While the eligibility for an ITC will ensure there is no double taxation, there will be two GST assessments on the same goods in these circumstances.

17 Centre for International Economics (2011) ‘The GST threshold for low value products: Economic analysis’, prepared for the Conference of Asia Pacific Express Carriers.

18 The ICS is a software application that is used for all import and export reporting and processing procedures and is the only method of electronically reporting the legitimate movement of goods across Australia's borders introduced by Customs and Border Protection in October 2005. While there were a number of implementation issues associated with the ICS (see the Commonwealth Auditor-General’s report ‘Customs’ Cargo Management Re-engineering Project’ (2007) and the Booz Allen Hamilton report ‘Review of the Integrated Cargo System’, May 2006) industry participants have indicated that these issues are now resolved and generally report satisfaction with the ICS. The issues that arose with the introduction of the ICS highlight, however, the care that needs to be taken introducing any changes to import handling and administrative processes.

19 As to details required to be included in a FID, see the Customs and Border Protection’s ‘Documentary Import Declaration Comprehensive Guide’. As to information to be included in a SAC – which may be either a Short Format, Long Format or Cargo Report declaration, see http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4226.asp. There is no equivalent SAC requirement with respect to goods imported through the international mail stream.

20 The declaration is also required to be in either English or French.

21 Quarantine Service Fees (Australia Post) Determination 2005 by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

22 Quarantine Service Fees (Australia Post) Determination 2010 by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

23 Article 4, Universal Postal Convention.

24 Article 5, Universal Postal Convention.

25 Source: Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry, Productivity Commission Inquiry Report, No. 56, 4 November 2011, Commonwealth of Australia.

26 The Taskforce notes that certain information with respect to the attributes in each import stream is difficult to obtain, and this information gathering exercise is ongoing.

27 IPC was established in 1989 to provide’ leadership by driving service quality, interoperability and business-critical intelligence, and gives its members an authoritative, independent and collective voice’. Source: http://www.ipc.be/en/About/Mission.aspx

28 IPC member countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Source: http://www.ipc.be/en/About/Membership/Members.aspx

29 Universal Postal Union: Postal Technology Centre. UPU Customs Declaration System White Paper (2011).

30 Note this is per addressee, ie. if you send to a four addressees on the address label, the threshold is £40 pounds each addressee, ie £160 pounds total.

31 Customs duty becomes payable if the value of the goods is over £135 but duty is waived if the amount of duty calculated is less than £9.

32 Foreign exchange rates as at 22 March 2012

33 NZ Customs does not collect duty and GST where the total revenue payable on any one importation is less than $60.

34 If the gift is worth more than NZ$110, Customs charges will be payable on the value of the gift that is worth more than NZ$110.

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