The Government’s Taskforce on Low Value Parcel Processing on Thur 6.9.2012, released its report into the concerns surrounding the current GST and other revenue arrangements of imported goods valued at or below $1,000.
The final report stated that potential solutions warranting future consideration were:
- the collection of duty and/or GST by financial intermediaries; and
- the deferral of payment of GST for all GST registrants.
The report said that potential solutions not considered viable for future consideration included:
- simplified tariff arrangements;
- the collection of GST on foreign exchange transactions;
- reverse charging GST to registered purchasers;
- collection of duty and/or GST by overseas postal authorities, and
- declaration of duty and/or GST liability through income tax assessment processes.
The taskforce report emphasised that the assessment undertaken is designed to provide guidance for policy development and does not constitute a business case for any proposed new approach. Among other things, the report made the following recommendations in relation to GST:
- ongoing consideration of initiatives which may facilitate the collection of duty and/or GST in the future from financial intermediaries;
- consideration of the option for the deferral of payment of GST for all GST registrants; and
- the separation of duty and GST low value thresholds to facilitate more efficient process for handling low value imports.
[LTN 174, 7/9]