Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?  

Proceed to checkout, check the price just before confirming payment; if there is any discrepancy contact Prusa support before confirming.

Cheerio,

RE:

This is just one example but Prusa are adding these extra charges to every individual product in their store, not at checkout if the total amount exceeds $1000?

RE:

And another?

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

I'll give Prusa the benefit of the doubt here but If they are serious about these price hikes then these ridiculous prices will be the death knell for a lot of people down under on already overpriced items, not to mention the exorbitant shipping costs to Australia.

I have started a communique with Prusa to ask them to clarify their justification of the implementation of these extra charges, especially the double-dipping.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Posted by: @muddymaker

"Things you buy over the internet will have the same rules, duties and screening processes applied as any other import.For goods with a value of AUD1000 or less, there are generally no duties, taxes or charges to pay at the border."- https://www.abf.gov.au/buying-online/buying-online#:~:text=For%20goods%20with%20a%20value%20over%20AUD1000%2C%20you%20will%20need,alcohol)%20regardless%20of%20their%20value.

It seems that you have overlooked the paragraph which directly follows the sentence you quoted:

However, From 1 July 2018, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) may be collected by overseas vendors of such low value goods when imported from overseas by consumers in Australia. GST will be charged at the point of sale and not at the border.

Isn't that what Prusa are charging? And they should, as a legal obligation. They don't keep the money; it goes to the tax authorities. And I am not sure where you see "double dipping"?

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Isn't that what Prusa are charging? And they should, as a legal obligation. They don't keep the money; it goes to the tax authorities. And I am not sure where you see "double dipping"?

I don't know? Are they? 

It is very difficult to interpret intonation through a post but I'll assume that your response was written with good intentions and not arrogance and condescension and you're not just posting a reply for the sake of just posting a reply to increase your status.

Prusa are talking about import duties and charges associated with buying something online abroad being imported into Australia,

However, From 1 July 2018, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) may be collected by overseas vendors of such low value goods when imported from overseas by consumers in Australia. GST will be charged at the point of sale and not at the border.

And more importantly why would a company inflate their prices to collect an added tax they don't need to? As stated in that same paragraph that you pointed out, it is NOT mandatory?

I have spoken with a Prusa representative and he is going to get back to me with an answer.

"Sebastian B.

07:47 yes now we have added taxes on the items to avoid people be charged when package arrived to country but I will ask if there is a way to pay with no taxes included I will let you know this week via email"

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Posted by: @muddymaker

It is very difficult to interpret intonation through a post but I'll assume that your response was written with good intentions and not arrogance and condescension and you're not just posting a reply for the sake of just posting a reply to increase your status.

I posted to point out that you had quoted from the government page selectively, whether intentionally or as an oversight, since the next paragraph contains relevant information. I have no idea what to make of your slight regarding "posting to increase one's status". 

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

This page provides a bit more detail: https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/international-tax-for-business/gst-for-non-resident-businesses/gst-on-low-value-imported-goods

If you are a non-resident business and you sell goods into Australia with a customs value of A$1,000 or less, GST applies and you will have to collect this from your customer and send the GST to us.

It does not seem to be optional. The "may" wording on the other page was probably meant to reflect the exemptions for certain types of goods, e.g. food and beverages. 

Prusa *might* even be saving you a little money...

The UK has a similar system, no avoiding tax 'though business use might make it reclaimable.

For low value items, due to an EU-UK agreement, vendors including Prusa can include the local VAT (EU sales tax) in the price then they pass it on to EU revenue so we pay the inclusive price plus carriage and that's it.

For high value items we pay the basic price plus carriage and, unless we collect it from the port and do all the tax transactions ourselves, the shipping company will act as an import agent and handle the tax payment then send us a bill for the UK tax PLUS A FEE for their admin costs.  In practice, as the UK tax is lower that the Czech VAT we save a small amount of tax but the agent fee is usually more than the saving.

It used to depend on which country you traded with but I still remember the shock, many years ago, when I imported a small part costing under a pound, the import duty was a few pence but the port clearance and agency fee was four times the price of the contents 'though this did include the cost of opening, inspecting and repacking the part because the customs declaration was not filled correctly.

https://help.prusa3d.com/article/vat-value-added-tax-customs-fees_1505#orders-outside-eu

Cheerio,

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Prusa price increase? Well ackshually...

Hi there! We're now rolling out some improvements to our eshop, partnered with Global-E, allowing for a more transparent shopping experience for customers outside of the EU.

What is Global-E?

It's a platform that handles the entire import process on behalf of the customer, allowing for a much simpler purchasing experience. The price may seem higher at first glance, but this is due to all import taxes being included upfront, so there should be no surprises when you place an order. This simplifies the import as all the documentation is already done, so nothing should get stuck at customs, getting the order to you much faster. As a bonus, we now also include nearly all currencies based on region. Here's a basic article covering it in some more detail on our help pages.

We've been slowly rolling this out over the last few weeks, starting with smaller countries and scaling it up. While most countries should be enabled at this point, notably the USA and Canada are not set yet, and are expected to be enabled during next week.

Do I have to use it?

Nope! It's the recommended and default ordering option, but if you would want to order and import the same way as before, it's possible to deselect it during checkout.

Overall, we think this should allow for a much smoother and more transparent experience, and we are looking forward to hear your feedback on it.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Nope! It's the recommended and default ordering option, but if you would want to order and import the same way as before, it's possible to deselect it during checkout.

Hi Tommy, I'm going to assume you are an actual Prusa employee that has something to do with this implementation as you have not stated it in your post.

As I cannot see that option at checkout can you kindly point out how I can disable your wonderful extra tax feature in the Eshop, as this would not only be helpful to myself but many other Australians reading this thread? Cheers mate.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

I too was a bit surprised to see the apparent price increase pre-baking the VAT even on values that would be under Australia's minimum threshold. For example, I had an order in July that priced at $38.59 AUD each for a PLA refill roll and the Global-E system results in them now costing $46 AUD each.

The VAT and Customs fees article ( https://help.prusa3d.com/article/vat-value-added-tax-customs-fees_1505) has a screenshot showing an option to select the ability to not prepay when selecting payment, but I cannot find this option anywhere during checkout regardless of browser / network etc. Seems like maybe the Global-E option has been turned on but the ability to select to not use it has not been enabled? I can only assume that it needs to be turned on and is just a byproduct of the rollout not being complete.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

I had the chat confirm that it can not be turned off for Australia, despite their support page indicating that it can be turned off for destinations outside the EU and showing a screen cap of the off button which doens't appear for Australian orders. My estimate is that it is adding about 15% to 16% on the price even though it only needs to cover a 10% tax. As some examples with prices from last week the $60 (AUD) Buddy camera is now at $71 (15.5% increase) and the Core One Ultimate kit jumped from $2,019 to $2,400 (15.9% increase) now.  

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

 

I had the chat confirm that it can not be turned off for Australia, despite their support page indicating that it can be turned off for destinations outside the EU and showing a screen cap of the off button which doens't appear for Australian orders. My estimate is that it is adding about 15% to 16% on the price even though it only needs to cover a 10% tax. As some examples with prices from last week the $60 (AUD) Buddy camera is now at $71 (15.5% increase) and the Core One Ultimate kit jumped from $2,019 to $2,400 (15.9% increase) now. 

Yeah that's about right. In my 8 years of owning and purchasing products from Prusa, I have bought 10's of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and material from them, and apart from the added usual import charges that apply to the total worth of your item/s that are over the tax threshold in Australia it has been a relatively painless experience. 

I was shocked when Prusa all of a sudden introduced their "helpful" solution to a problem that didn't exist here? Anyway it's good to hear that we Australians can turn off their added tax, but as of writing this, the "turn off your added tax" button still hasn't been added to their checkout. 

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

I would prefer a button or box tick to turn off this feature and I'll pay my tax's as they come up. I hope prusa fixes this up and gives people the  option to choose for themselves.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

There are a few issues here. My concern is that:

1. Prusha/Global-E are collecting tax or at least increasing the price on items that fall under the de minimis  $1,000 AUD limit which is not typically taxed in Australia (eg: everything under $1,000 AUD).
2. The amount added is 15%  to 16% on each item, much more than the 10% GST (eg: Buddy Cam, Core One Ultimate Kit). This is just pushing the price up.
3. The support documentation is incorrect, in that it doesn't reflect how it is working. It indicates that it can be turned off outside the EU.
4. There is no transperancy, the increased price appears in the shop and on the item in the cart and at checkout, which hides the extra (inflated) amount that is being collected.
5. There does not appear to be a way to turn it off for Australia. 

Overall the outcome is that it makes the pricing far less competitive, in a competitve market. I can see in my case how this change has crossed the threshold of causing me to evaluate if I continue buying Prusa and if the cycle of being a Prusa fan boy is coming to an end. 

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Overall the outcome is that it makes the pricing far less competitive, in a competitve market. I can see in my case how this change has crossed the threshold of causing me to evaluate if I continue buying Prusa and if the cycle of being a Prusa fan boy is coming to an end. 

I can see and understand your point. I'm still hoping that they fix the issue soon like they have stated. But I must say, this episode with them has certainly left a bad taste in my mouth that's for sure.

Money speaks louder than words and if they do not allow the end user to disable this added tax feature to their store soon, they will lose business and potential long term customers.

The industry has come a long way and there are very competitive and viable alternatives out there to choose from nowadays, and this latest debacle could tip quite a few over the edge and into the arms of their competitors.

Until they fix the issue I have put any purchases from Prusa on hold.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Australian buyers beware!

Prusa are not only introducing this new change to every item in their store without the ability to opt out, but they are adding an extra 15% on shipping as well. I have confirmed the shipping hike by checking my latest purchase from them just a few weeks ago, just before they made the changes and if you compare like for like all shipping options have been increased by 15%.

Now like I said in an earlier post, Prusa maybe just experiencing teething issues rolling out this "feature" but it sure is hurting their reputation by doing this to their Australian customers.

RE: Australian Import Duty And Tax Charges Added To Everything In Prusa Store Prior To Checkout?

Sorry for not clarifying. Yep, I'm a Prusa employee, though only directly involved on the project. Let me follow-up today to make sure there are no issues and help clear up the matter ASAP