WELLINGTON: On the eve of Christmas many people around the world started shopping online to send presents to their dear ones. The trend is practicing is New Zealand on a large scale as well. Seeking the trend Customs department impose import tax shopping exceeding $60 instead of imports law showed duty free limit under $400.
People who bought their presents online from overseas retailers are facing extra, and for some, unexpected charges.
“There is a common misconception that goods purchased online from overseas websites for less than NZ$400 can come into the country without incurring any duty, GST, or charges,” the Custom website states.
“This ‘rule of thumb’ does not apply to goods that attract both duty and GST, such as clothing, shoes, and accessories.” Customs said smaller gifts were exempt from added costs, with no duty and/or GST payable on goods less than $60 in value. Auckland father Nick Spencer said he feared his children may miss out on their presents this year.
“More people are shopping online, so more expensive items are coming in. It will be happening to quite a lot of people and especially if they’ve left their Christmas shopping for the last run they may not get their gifts by Christmas.”
Spencer said he had spoken with multiple people from Customs but there was no chance of getting them to budge.
He said his other option was trying to get the items delivered back to England and then brought over with his parents who are visiting in January.
A survey of Kiwi shoppers by Mastercard showed the most common presents bought online were books, DVDs and CDs (51 per cent), followed by vouchers for goods and services (48 per cent), toys and games (35 per cent), and make up and fragrances (34 per cent).
