In this Article
Overseas Sales Tax Regulations
Australia - Goods and Services Tax (GST)
The Australian federal government has passed a law that extends GST to low-valued imported physical goods. Legislation for digital goods to include GST was introduced in 2017, and the same regulations apply to both digital and physical products and services.
Previously, goods valued under AUD $1,000 sold internationally and delivered to Australia would not have Australian GST applied to them. Due to the new Australian tax legislation, overseas businesses may need to register for Australian GST, and charge GST for exporting low-value goods to Australia ($1,000 or less). They then need to pay the GST collected to Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which is currently 10% of the price (e.g. a $49 item would incur $4.90 of GST).
Please Note: The current law and the processes to collect GST on imported goods above $1,000 remain unchanged. The importer (usually a customer) will be required to pay any GST, customs duty and clearance charges at the border for goods imported in a consignment over AUD $1,000.
New Zealand
Overseas businesses that sell goods under $1,000 to consumers in New Zealand may need to register for, collect and return GST of 15%. This excludes the shipping any insurance costs.
Note that the tax rate applies per item under $1,000, and not on the order total. Goods over $1,000 will continue to be taxed at the border as they come into New Zealand.
Check if Sales Tax Applies
Australia
As stated on the Australian Tax Office (ATO) website:
You must register for GST in Australia if both of the following apply:
- You are carrying on an enterprise.
- Your GST turnover from sales that are connected with Australia and made in the course of your enterprise is equal to, or greater than,
the registration turnover threshold of A$75,000 (or A$150,000 if you are a non-profit business).
Source
If you meet this criteria you will need to register for Australian GST.
Please Note: Online marketplaces (e.g. eBay) are classified as an EDP (Electronic Distribution Platform). These entities are required to register for GST, collect, and remit it back if the GST turnover exceeds the threshold. Exporters who sell through an EDP should verify whether their EDP is required to register for GST and charge GST.
New Zealand
As stated on the IRD website:
Overseas businesses, online marketplaces and redeliverers need to register for GST when their total supplies of goods and services to New Zealand consumers:
- Was NZ$60,000 or more in the last 12 months, or
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Will exceed NZ$60,000 in the next 12 months.
Total supplies are all sales to New Zealand consumers that GST applies to including:
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Low-value goods valued at $1,000 or less each
- Remote services (online services and digital products) such as e-books, software downloads and streamed movies and music, and
- Amounts paid by the consumer for
services such as delivery, insurance and your fees.
Do not include supplies to New Zealand GST-registered businesses when determining if you meet the NZ$60,000 registration threshold.
Source
If you meet this criteria you will need to register for New Zealand GST.
Register for Sales Tax
Australia
To register for Australian GST, please visit the Australian Tax Office website. There are two methods of registering that will give you different reporting numbers, either an Australian Business Number (ABN) or an ATO Reference Number (ARN). Please refer to the ATO’s website to determine which method is right for you.
When it comes time to pay your GST, you will need to lodge a Business Activity Statement (BAS). The ATO will automatically send you a BAS to complete when it is time to lodge one.
New Zealand
To register for New Zealand GST, visit the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department website. You will need to provide your:
- Customer registration information including your taxpayer identification number from your country of residence
- GST application details.
New Zealand Inland Revenue will process the application within 5 working days, and provide you a GST number, which is also the IRD number for your business.
Once you meet the requirements, and have registered for GST, you can then set up Maropost Commerce with your ABN or ARN and Australian tax rate.
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In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to Settings & Tools > Currencies & Tax.
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Select the Registered for GST in Australia checkbox.
Please Note: This box will only appear if you do not have Australia set as your Default Country Code.
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Enter your ABN/ARN into the field that appears, and check that the Australian Tax Rate percentage is correct (default is 10%).
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Click Save Changes.
You can now update your products that will not attract GST that will not attract GST.
Important: This feature will be available on December 1st.
Once you meet the requirements, and have registered for GST, you can then set up Maropost Commerce with your GST/IRD number and New Zealand tax rate.
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In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to Settings & Tools > Currencies & Tax.
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Select the Registered for GST in New Zealand checkbox.
Please Note: This box will only appear if you do not have New Zealand set as your Default Country Code.
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Enter your IRD/GST number into the field that appears, and check that the New Zealand Tax Rate& percentage is correct (default is 15%).
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Click Save Changes.
You can now update your products that will not attract GST.
Update Products that are Tax Exempt
By default all products will be set up to include overseas tax in checkout where applicable. There are two ways to update your products so that are tax exempt, in bulk or individually.
Individually
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In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to Products > Active.
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Click on a product SKU to open the product details.
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In the Pricing & Tax section check the appropriate Exempt checkbox, and click the Save button.
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Repeat these steps for any products which are tax exempt for the appropriate country.
In Bulk
If you have a large number of products which are tax exempt it may be easier to update them using the export & import wizards.
Tip: Navigate to Products > Active and click the Export button. Choose all fields and modify the file as in step 7 below. Then click the Import button on the products page to upload your file.
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In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to Settings & Tools > Export Data.
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Click the Perform Complex Export button and choose Start Data Export Wizard.
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Enter a Name for your file and click the Continue to Next Step button.
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Click the Add New Field to File button three times. Add the Product Data fields SKU , Name, and the tax exempt field applicable to you (e.g. AU GST Exempt). When complete click the Continue to Next Step button.
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Add any filters to exclude or include products in the file. This is useful to only include categories which have products that are tax exempt. Once done, click the Continue to Next Step button.
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Change the Send Export File To dropdown box to Local URL, and click the Export Now button.
On the next page you will see a link to the automated process that generates your file, and a URL to download the file from once it is created.
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Open the file and enter a 1 in the tax exempt field for any products that don’t attract the selected country’s sales tax. Save it when you’re done.
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In your Maropost Commerce control panel navigate to Settings & Tools > Import Data.
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Click the Perform Complex Import button and choose Start Data Import Wizard.
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Click the Choose File button and browse to the file you just saved. When complete click the Continue to Next Step button.
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The field mapping will be done for you, so click the Continue to Next Step button.
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The update options can be left as they are, so click the Continue to Next Step button.
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Click the Process File Now button.
Your file will be imported into Maropost Commerce, and any products that have been marked as tax exempt will be updated.