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Old 08-14-2013, 05:59 PM
peter.coombe peter.coombe is offline
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: Bega, Australia
Posts: 138
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The USA-Australia FTA is a long and complicated document so this gets complicated. I have sent instruments to the USA and have done the FTA paperwork, but have not done the paperwork when importing into Australia because I never buy anything above $1000. According to the FTA there is no import duty payable if the item has been manufactured in the USA or Australia. However, you will still have to pay GST if the value is over $1000. The FTA is one of the most complicated and long winded documents I have ever had the displeasure of needing to wade through. The complications occur in the definition of what is meant by made in USA or Australia. There is a different rule for each customs duty code, and in many cases there is more than one rule for one code, and you need to work out what is the relevant rule. There is no such thing as a certificate of origin that applies in other FTA, so you need to write up a document that quotes the relevant sections in the FTA, and itemise every thing with country of origin and value so you can prove that it conforms to the relevant rule in the FTA. If it is a one off, it is easier to just pay the duty! It took me around 8 hrs of work to figure it all out and write up the document, but now I have a template I can use for the next time. The document needs to be done by the manufacturer, in my case that was me. In my case, from memory, the rule in the FTA stipulated a USA or Australian content of a minimum of 35%, but I worked out the content was actually 93%, and that did the trick, my USA customer did not need to pay import duty. I don't think the rules apply to vintage insrtruments, they need to be manufactured recently.

If it was me I would just pay the duty, unless the item was worth a lot of money. A saving of $100 in import duty for 8 hrs of work is not worth it.
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