In Mercator Lighting Pty Ltd v Chief Executive Officer of Customs, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the proper customs classification of particular electric ceiling fans with integrated lights.
The recent High Court decision of Thiess v Collector of Customs emphasises the importance for importers and their customs agents to take care when paying customs duty and associated GST.
The Infringement Notice Scheme (INS) allows the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) to issue infringement notices for strict liability offences.
The issue of whether “substitutable goods” are produced in Australia turns on the “use” of the imported goods compared to the locally produced goods.
The judgment in Commissioner of Taxation v SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd [2011] FCAFC 74 is the first decision of the Full Federal Court of Australia on a substantive transfer pricing issue. The Court concluded that the taxpayer, SNF Australia, had provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Commissioner’s assessments were excessive.
Australian retailers have recently campaigned for the government to remove the exemptions that allow certain imported goods to be exempt from customs duty and import GST.
The GST treatment of supplies relating to international transport is set to change from 1 July 2010.