Does your UK business export goods or services to the Australian market? If so you have probably received a letter from the Australian Government Tax Office to say that you need to register for Australian GST. At first this looks like a scam, however it appears that this is a legitimate request. Here is a copy of the letter received by a client.

This letter states

Important: You need to register for and pay Australian goods and services tax

It then goes on the state that businesses are required to register if you sell goods to consumers in Australia for A$1000 or less per item and have a GST turnover of A$75,000 or more in a 12-month period.

This can be quite a shock, especially for smaller businesses who export to Australia who will find it more difficult to put the systems in place to deal with this extra paperwork and burden. Especially as competitors may not sell enough to Australia to need to charge GST.

The deadline for registration is 1st July 2018.

How Can I Charge Australian GST In the UK?

Australian GST is currently at 10%, and this should be charged on goods and services. So for most companies selling retails goods into Australia 10% should be added to the shipping price too.

The first thing to do is to make sure that your business is registered for Australian GST. The Australian Tax Office has created a fast track registration system for overseas businesses. This can be accessed here: ato.gov.au/GSTSimpleReg.

As when charging VAT, the GST charge should be made clear at the point of purchase. This means enabling your website to charge GST at the point of checkout for goods being sent to Australia. This is a service which we can help with on Magento or Woocommerce. Your invoicing system also needs to be able to display this GST, as well as your GST number and this invoice should be placed on the outside of any shipments as per your courier’s standard requirements.

Australian GST on EBAY & Amazon

It seems that as yet, the Australian tax office have not agreed on a solution with marketplaces such as Ebay and Amazon. However both seem to fairly reluctant to play ball.

It is recommended that you contact your marketplaces to ask how you can comply with the rules.

Updating a UK Magento Store For Australian GST

If you need your Magento or Woocommerce website updating to charge GST, please contact us for a quotation.

We can make sure that the hassles are taken out of charging GST to the correct customers.

We would always recommend speaking with a tax specialist in order to get the best advice for your business.

More Information on GST

• www.ato.gov.au/AusGST