Australia raises AUS$760 million in GST after withdrawal from the Low Value Imported Goods regime

31 May 2022

The Australian Board of Taxation has announced that since the removal of the Low Value Imported Goods (LVIG) regime in July 2018, it has collected GST on low value imported goods of AUS$ 760 million. This is over four times the amount that it had expected to receive.

Prior to July 2018, non-resident businesses could use an import GST exemption applied to imported goods under a value of AUS$ 1,000, to avoid having to register and charge GST on their sales. However, to remove the unfair advantage this gave these businesses over resident providers, the Australian tax authorities obliged non-resident sellers to register for GST if their remote sales to Australian consumers exceeded AUD$ 75,000 per year.

Australia was amongst the first countries to scrap its low value import exemption, and since then the EU, UK, New Zealand and other countries have followed suit. Singapore will also remove its low-value GST exemption from January 2023.