Fitness enthusiasts and gym owners importing equipment might be paying thousands of dollars more than they need to because they don’t know the possible avenues to reduce their import and GST costs.
People importing gym and weightlifting equipment think they are saving money by buying their equipment from China, but they are more than likely not aware that a proficient customs broker also looks at ways to reduce the import duty from 5% to 0%.
In Australia, the import GST is calculated on the cost of the gym equipment plus any import duty plus the shipping to bring the goods to Australia then multiplied by the rate of GST 10%.
If the import duty aspect is reduced, the GST is also reduced.
Platinum has a dedicated team who look at ways to save import duty for fitness importers. In one example, customers starting a new business purchased $90,000 of gym equipment overseas, because to buy the same equipment from a local reseller in Australia was going to cost them $270,000. They were expecting to pay $4,500 in import duty but Platinum® Freight were able to bring the import duty down to zero.
Two areas that individuals and business owners need to consider when importing fitness or sporting equipment are 1) whether they need to pay any customs duty and 2) how long it will take them to complete and process the customs documents.
If you don’t move the equipment out of the Customs sea freight depot within three days, you start paying storage fees in the range of $200 for the fourth day and then $100 a day for every day after that, depending upon the size of the shipment. A customs broker has direct electronic links to Customs and DAFF and will if possible pre-clear the cargo before it arrives into Australia.
So how much does a customs broker cost? At the most for an individual or a small business the cost is about $250, depending upon complexity and resources required.
It’s a lot cheaper than paying storage fees and you could save on the import duty as well.
Other factors to consider when importing gym or weight lifting equipment to Australia:
- The costs of the gym / weight lifting equipment
- The shipping costs from overseas to Australia
- Customs clearance in Australia
- Import duty 5% (if applicable)
- Import GST 10%
- Customs entry $ 55.20 – $ 88.00 (depending on how goods arrive into Australia)
- Sea freight port charges / Air freight terminal fees in Australia
- DAFF fees (time based charges)
Platinum® Freight Management customs clears gym and weight lifting equipment in all states of Australia.