Quick rant thread.

[Olaf 3339]

5 hours ago, gjm said:

 

Most frustrating thing for me was the whole NZCS224 form that (apparently) must be used when purchasing anything with value over $1000. How is Joe Average supposed to know about this, and what happens if (s)he orders something with higher value, without completing the form ❓
And then the palaver about "Who is your customs agent?" comes into play. Why would I need a customs agent? I accept I'm being reamed for tax - just let me pay it!

you read up on the NZ Customs website, and find all that info.  www.customs.govt.nz 

I used that to good effect to register an NZ Customs Number for my company.  Once you've submitted the forms, and got a number, you select a decent carrier like Fedex, and life is easy.  Calling Customs for guidance on this process is pretty pain-free.  

As long as you've included your NZC reference in your shipment's addressing, you get a call from Fedex before the parcel has even left the USA (or other market), and you're emailed a letter with details, and if you pay within 1 or 2 days there's *no delay* at the border, it comes straight through.  Sweet eh?!

[Olaf 3339]

PS:  what happens when you don't fill in the form and it's over a grand?  weeks of misery, if it's coming in through NZ Post or UPS!

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

That's our punishment for not supporting local businesses..

Well, despite dealing with useless f**ks at fedex I saved over $1400 on parts buying oseas for a full set of front Lemforder suspension parts.

 

[Eagle 1670]

That's why i usually do multiple orders under $400, spaced apart.

Im sure it ends up costing more long term in shipping costs but as soon as Customs (also NZ post these days) are involved the process slows to a crawl. It's a lot of work to make a simple GST payment at the moment.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

DHL are pretty good.

Have ordered bits attracting gst from Schmiedmann and i get a text 2-3 days before arrival taking me to a link to pay the customs bs.

[gjm 3258]

14 hours ago, Olaf said:

you read up on the NZ Customs website, and find all that info.  www.customs.govt.nz

I know about the form, thresholds and so on, but only by originally having stumbled across it. I suspect the majority of people are surprised to be hit for duties on anything and won't have the faintest idea that you're supposed to register before buying anything of value. 

What purpose does this serve, other than to feed an already over-bureaucratic process? What is the different end result? Duties are still paid, but now there is more effort for everyone (other than the sender, but that's coming!) involved. 

[Olaf 3339]

Simply, if you're going to import something, you consult with the border control before importing.  Anything less, and you're throwing yourself into the unknown.   You wouldn't stand on the sideline at a rugby game and just throw yourself in without permission or knowing the rules.

[Olaf 3339]

12 hours ago, Eagle said:

That's why i usually do multiple orders under $400, spaced apart.

Im sure it ends up costing more long term in shipping costs but as soon as Customs (also NZ post these days) are involved the process slows to a crawl. It's a lot of work to make a simple GST payment at the moment.

not if you use FedEx. They make GST/and those other entry charges quick and painless. As @BreakMyWindow points out, DHL are pretty good too. They'll delier to Post Office  Boxes as well!  Though the changeover to Courier Post can be awkward where this is required.

[huff3r 347]

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

Simply, if you're going to import something, you consult with the border control before importing.  Anything less, and you're throwing yourself into the unknown.   You wouldn't stand on the sideline at a rugby game and just throw yourself in without permission or knowing the rules.

That's all easily said, but it's pretty easy to get caught out buying off websites that appear to be NZ based, only to find out everything is shipped straight from China etc. It can be too late by the time you realise that your simple online purchase is actually you importing goods.

Sure most overseas websites for car parts it's obvious, but many overseas companies also have an NZ website that is only a front.

[Olaf 3339]

Caveat emptor!

[gjm 3258]

My issue is that a buyer needs to pre-empt an order by completing a form, and so on.

If you're on eBay and see an auction ending in 20 minutes for a widget that you've been after forever, most people will bid. In every other country I've lived in that works - item is bought, shipped, possibly held at border for duty payment, and delivered.
But not in NZ. Here you have to apply for a number before you can buy something!
C'mon. WTF is that about? Why????

[Driftit 2093]

1 hour ago, gjm said:

My issue is that a buyer needs to pre-empt an order by completing a form, and so on.

If you're on eBay and see an auction ending in 20 minutes for a widget that you've been after forever, most people will bid. In every other country I've lived in that works - item is bought, shipped, possibly held at border for duty payment, and delivered.
But not in NZ. Here you have to apply for a number before you can buy something!
C'mon. WTF is that about? Why????

I have a number from when I once imported vehicles for a living back in the 2000's.  But we are talking $20,000 items.  Not $500 worth of car parts.

I agree.  You should not have to register unless you are frequently importing as a business or are bringing in expensive items.

I would say they are trying to force you to go through an agent rather than register.  Makes it easier for them.  Their rules are out of date.

Edited August 28, 2019 by Driftit

[Eagle 1670]

6 hours ago, Olaf said:

not if you use FedEx. They make GST/and those other entry charges quick and painless. As @BreakMyWindow points out, DHL are pretty good too. They'll delier to Post Office  Boxes as well!  Though the changeover to Courier Post can be awkward where this is required.

Yeah im well aware but sometimes its not worth using them it due to excessive shipping costs.  USPS were the best in my experience but they all are expensive these days. Id hate to know the amount of $ ive spent on postage from overseas.

[M3AN 4016]

The problem is that the laws haven't been updated to reflect the digital economy.

Simply put, consumers rarely used to trigger such border requirements because large purchases from overseas for private use were almost unheard of and volumes were so low that a bit of paperwork wasn't too much of a problem.

The law change on 1 October still doesn't address this, I predict a total mess.

 

[hqstu 780]

The law change is now delayed to 1 December it seems.  http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/publications/2019-ir-cab-dev-19-sub-0153/cabinet-paper

For shipments between $400 and $1000 it gets cheaper as we will no longer pay the $52 import fee plus any other fees like DHL's $15 admin fee. Just GST and it does not stop at border.

I guess the big issue is whether the likes of Schmiedmann or FCP Euro will be bothered with the admin for pissy little NZ way down the bottom of the world somewhere?

As more of this regime of offshore GST/VAT collection comes in around the world I guess they'll have to be...?

[zero 1162]

What happens to orders under $400? Will they have gst added to them?

[M3AN 4016]

19 hours ago, zero said:

What happens to orders under $400? Will they have gst added to them?

Yeah, that's the intent.

The expectation is that the seller registers for GST in NZ and then charges GST on the sale then pays the IRD that GST.

The reality on the other hand is that very, very few offshore companies will register for GST in NZ (let alone write the IRD a cheque) so border control in NZ will still be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. The expectation therefore is that EVERY liable package will be checked for GST payment and if the supplier isn't registered then the package will be held and the receiver will be billed for GST.

The loophole is a foreign company can register for GST in NZ, collect that GST, and never pay it to the IRD because their reach doesn't extend to foreign soil. The consumer then produces a GST receipt (with an IRD GST registered number on it) to prove they paid GST and then how does the government get the money without being accused of collecting it twice (whether the collection was effective or not)?

NZ can't force any foreign company to comply, the most they can do is stop the package at the border. The hope is that eventually, for fear of having every package stopped at the border, that the foreign supplier will voluntarily register. The likely scenario is that the foreign seller will say f%*# off, continue to ship the goods and leave the receiver to pay the GST thereby significantly increasing the number of packages that need to be manually inspected at the border.

The smarter companies will quickly learn to cease sending packages in branded boxes.

All of this has played out before in different countries/markets and it's never worked (properly) so I'm not sure why our stupid ("no new taxes") government thinks we can make it work better than everybody else.

And they say it's to make it fairer on local distributors. That's BS, all it will prove is that local suppliers (e.g. BMW NZ) will be shown up and their price gouging tactics exposed to the public because we'll still be able to land products from the US, Europe and Asia, even including GST and shipping, for less that we can buy locally. If the local price difference was ~15% it might work but with price differences of up to 400% for exactly the same product it simply can't work.

Local companies complain "but it's an unfair playing field" and now, given a level playing field and still being priced out of the market, what are they going to complain about when all we're seeing now is their unreasonable margins?

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by M3AN

[zero 1162]

Thanks for that Dave.

 

Yea, its definitely a mess, and this current government never really thinks things through or plans things properly (ie kiwibuild)

[hqstu 780]

4 hours ago, M3AN said:

all it will prove is that local suppliers (e.g. BMW NZ) will be shown up and their price gouging tactics exposed to the public because we'll still be able to land products from the US, Europe and Asia, even including GST and shipping, for less that we can buy locally

That is generally nearly always the case, although I'm purchasing a new alloy wheel off BMWNZ (good on ya Coombes)  for less than what I can land one for getting it via Schmiedmann, so there can be exceptions... and maybe there's going to be a lot more of them?

[Eagle 1670]

Yeah ive bought some well priced stuff at the dealers lately but i dont know how far that extends or for how long. It maybe new old stock given the car.

It wouldn't surprise me if the ones complaining buy other products from overseas for personal use to save money instead of buying the product locally, not many people would pay 2x or more for the same product given the choice. Saving money usually requires putting in some time\effort which is why more probably don't do it.

For me the Govt\IRD is the only winner here, the local business point is a baseless empathic spin for those who are are lacking foresight.

[Jacko 2158]

Stupid tax rules are about all that has been achieved.

Payday filing stupidity has just resulted in me not paying myself, as it was best option. 

[M3AN 4016]

Speeding tickets...

Just got pinged for 104 in an 80 when I thought the limit was 100. F**k it, I pride myself on not speeding.

City-bound on the north-western motorway, all the electronic signs said 100 but I missed the physical sign that said 80 somewhere around St. Lukes (apparently, I rarely use that motorway). I did however slow down for the very next 80 sign but too late.

And for the first time in ~16 years I got pulled up on my (German) license plates. Cop wasn't a dick, didn't try to take them, gave me compliance instead of a fine but I'll only get away with that once.

Funny thing - he thought the 'D' was for 'Denmark', then the Netherlands ('D'utch) and only clicked to 'D'eutschland once I explained it to him. He thought it was a fitting plate.

He told me he pinged someone for 40km/h over just before... and losing your license is at 41km/h over (I thought it was 50!) so whoever that was was quite lucky I'd say.

[KwS 2429]

Ouch, bet that was an ugly fine. One thing I liked about the late model cars I rented overseas was that they could say the current speed limit in the nav or cluster. I believe waze can do this too, but who needs nav in nz? 

[M3AN 4016]

Actually way less than expected, $170. I mean that's still good money but I was fearing worse.

Yeah, we don't need nav on the motorways for sure but we also don't need arbitrary changes in motorway speeds or changing from one type of sign to another. We also don't need cops sitting just outside speed zones (or passing lanes).

I'll cop the fine, I was speeding but I think there's a big difference between a pretty honest mistake and an actual crime. C'est la vie.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

Would be just easier to get the ticket clip of gst by the shipping company under the new charges. As mentioned dhl already do this.