I finally bit the bullet and purchased a new 3 blade folding propeller. As it was coming from Denmark, I fully expected the 5% duty and the 10% gst. It still worked out a bit under what I would have paid for a VP 3 blade folder buying locally, and I preferred the Flexofold anyway. UPS contacted me today requesting a payment for the above in order to release it from customs. On inspecting the invoice, as well as the duty and gst, there is a $10 Security Fee charge from UPS, and an additional $83 "Customs Entry Fee" levied by Aus Customs. So essentially Customs are charging me to charge me...what a joke! A good bit of Clarke and Dawe material there!
[Whinge Over]

Yeah I copped the same just recently when I got the same 3 blade prop from Flexofold, bit harsh. To add insult to injury went to install it last week and found out the hard way I have a non standard thread on my prop shaft! Flexofold were great, thankfully had another nut with the right thread and got it in the mail that day with no extra charge so my new nut plus a blank pilot just in case should be arriving tomorrow. Fingers crossed the next attempt works better.
Looking forward to seeing what sort of difference it makes when back in the water, maybe then I can forget about the extra money customs got.

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Futurecruiser said..
Yeah I copped the same just recently when I got the same 3 blade prop from Flexofold, bit harsh. To add insult to injury went to install it last week and found out the hard way I have a non standard thread on my prop shaft! Flexofold were great, thankfully had another nut with the right thread and got it in the mail that day with no extra charge so my new nut plus a blank pilot just in case should be arriving tomorrow. Fingers crossed the next attempt works better.
Looking forward to seeing what sort of difference it makes when back in the water, maybe then I can forget about the extra money customs got.

Yes definitely a bit harsh, yet another of those sleazy non tax taxes. Bummer about the nut, that must have been frustrating, but great that Flexofold have been so responsive in helping you. Is yours a shaft or saildrive? I'm replacing an old 3 blade fixed prop on a VP saildrive, so hopefully all the fittings are standard on mine. Let me know how it goes and how it performs? I won't get a chance to put mine on for quite a while yet.

It's a somewhat tricky one. Often on this forum we are exhorted to buy Australian with dire warnings of loss of jobs and skills if we don't.

However, there are also comments on how forum members have achieved better deals overseas.

In this case, I believe that the amount charged is the processing fee for making an import declaration. If the individual making the import doesn't pay the administration fee then it would be borne by the state - and thus general taxpayers would be effectively subsidising foreign imports.

So, if we lower import costs we, individually, get a better deal but at the cost of making Australian businesses less competitive.

Hard call, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts.

Cheers

Bristol

Are you sure it wasn't the customs broker or agent charging a fee to lodge an entry on your behalf??

Yep happens all over the world. My personal worst was paying vat on a warranty replacement watermaker that came from Italy into Turkey. I had already paid the vat on the original one in Italy even though I shouldn't have as an oz flag boat ( but unless you lawyer up you have to just accept customs decisions eh)

Then the icing was an extra 400 euro fee for customs to escort the watermaker to my boat to ensure that's where it went.

Gotta laugh or you cry.

Mind you when I sold my French bought vat paid boat back to a Frenchman french customs hit him up for another 20% vat on the purchase price when he sailed it back to France. He did lawyer up but it didn't help.

Count yourself lucky mate.

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theselkie said..
Are you sure it wasn't the customs broker or agent charging a fee to lodge an entry on your behalf??

I specifically asked UPS to clarify who had levied each of the charges and that's what they came back with. I can request the actual paperwork for that I guess, in case they're being deceptive. Have you had an experience like this?

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Bara said..
Yep happens all over the world. My personal worst was paying vat on a warranty replacement watermaker that came from Italy into Turkey. I had already paid the vat on the original one in Italy even though I shouldn't have as an oz flag boat ( but unless you lawyer up you have to just accept customs decisions eh)

Then the icing was an extra 400 euro fee for customs to escort the watermaker to my boat to ensure that's where it went.

Gotta laugh or you cry.

Mind you when I sold my French bought vat paid boat back to a Frenchman french customs hit him up for another 20% vat on the purchase price when he sailed it back to France. He did lawyer up but it didn't help.

Count yourself lucky mate.

Or laugh and cry!

Ouch to the 400euro fee...

That is a standard customs processing charge, whether it is a $500 item or $50,000.

These charges are one of the reasons I find importing spare parts in small quantities leads to very high prices. This is the modern user pays system, but it is also a reason why it is better to support a local distributor.

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Bristolfashion said..
It's a somewhat tricky one. Often on this forum we are exhorted to buy Australian with dire warnings of loss of jobs and skills if we don't.

However, there are also comments on how forum members have achieved better deals overseas.

In this case, I believe that the amount charged is the processing fee for making an import declaration. If the individual making the import doesn't pay the administration fee then it would be borne by the state - and thus general taxpayers would be effectively subsidising foreign imports.

So, if we lower import costs we, individually, get a better deal but at the cost of making Australian businesses less competitive.

Hard call, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts.

Cheers

Bristol

The propeller I purchased is made in Denmark and was my preferred choice. The one business I found in Australia that handles them, didn't even bother to get back to me with a price after I made a phone query. My alternative choice was a Volvo Penta part, again made in Europe and imported. I didn't like any of the Australian made options. So I did, as I usually do, give the local sellers a chance.

I have no real issue with purchasing overseas for a part such as this and I think the buy local argument is pretty moot when we turn around and expect other countries to purchase our exports, and any number of Australia based e-commerce sites are shipping overseas (including local propeller manufacturers).

I paid a 5% import duty on top of the gst, this charge should encompass any processing. The processing charge just seems like a backdoor way of charging more import duty.

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2bish said..

theselkie said..
Are you sure it wasn't the customs broker or agent charging a fee to lodge an entry on your behalf??

I specifically asked UPS to clarify who had levied each of the charges and that's what they came back with. I can request the actual paperwork for that I guess, in case they're being deceptive. Have you had an experience like this?

I was one of 'them' many moons ago before Border Force morphed into something out of Team America.

Perhaps things have changed but, back then, there was certainly no fee to process an entry.

Yeah, thinking about what the organisation has become, a processing fee probably has been instituted

the $83 fee is a $50 "Customs Import Processing Charge" plus a $33 "Quarantine Import Declaration Charge". the current fees came into force on 1 Jan 2016...

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2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..
Yeah I copped the same just recently when I got the same 3 blade prop from Flexofold, bit harsh. To add insult to injury went to install it last week and found out the hard way I have a non standard thread on my prop shaft! Flexofold were great, thankfully had another nut with the right thread and got it in the mail that day with no extra charge so my new nut plus a blank pilot just in case should be arriving tomorrow. Fingers crossed the next attempt works better.
Looking forward to seeing what sort of difference it makes when back in the water, maybe then I can forget about the extra money customs got.

Yes definitely a bit harsh, yet another of those sleazy non tax taxes. Bummer about the nut, that must have been frustrating, but great that Flexofold have been so responsive in helping you. Is yours a shaft or saildrive? I'm replacing an old 3 blade fixed prop on a VP saildrive, so hopefully all the fittings are standard on mine. Let me know how it goes and how it performs? I won't get a chance to put mine on for quite a while yet.

It's a shaft drive, and yeah was pretty frustrating. I have one of those boats where no job, no matter how straightforward it seems, is ever as simple as you expect it to be - hear they are quite common! Standard 1 1/4 inch shaft with standard SAE taper and a weird thread, they said they had shipped thousands and never seen this combo. But getting some other work done anyway so not a big deal in the end thanks to them getting the replacement here so fast. Hoping to be back in the water next week and starting a long cruise to Qld soon after, so will certainly let you know. Good luck with yours, I imagine sail drives are probably a bit more consistently manufactured so hopefully all good.

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Bristolfashion said..
It's a somewhat tricky one. Often on this forum we are exhorted to buy Australian with dire warnings of loss of jobs and skills if we don't.

However, there are also comments on how forum members have achieved better deals overseas.

In this case, I believe that the amount charged is the processing fee for making an import declaration. If the individual making the import doesn't pay the administration fee then it would be borne by the state - and thus general taxpayers would be effectively subsidising foreign imports.

So, if we lower import costs we, individually, get a better deal but at the cost of making Australian businesses less competitive.

Hard call, but I'd be interested in other's thoughts.

Cheers

Bristol

I generally agree, and it wasn't really about a good deal for me either, could have got cheaper elsewhere but after doing my research and talking to a lot of people decided this was the product I needed. I try to buy local products where possible but can be hard when it comes to quite specialist items with limited local options, and I don't think just paying extra to someone else to import it is necessarily the way to go. The actual import was a while ago so can't remember the exact breakdown of fees, but pretty sure the GST was also a significant component. Have my views about the GST too but definitely not getting into a tax debate here! So not necessarily advocating for elimination of import duties but the extra sting always hurts, especially when you have already shelled out a fair bit to import the item you need.

Just to clarify for possible future purchases: When do you have to pay the above mentioned Aust Customs fees ?

Does it kick in based on goods value or goods type or transport carrier ?

A couple of years ago I bought usd300 rigging parts from the USA, delivered by UPS and did not have to pay specific customs fees (unless it was built into the shipping fee, but don't recall the shipping fee being a shock).

It used to be that for goods valued under $1000 they just waved them through. Recently, maybe last budget, that value was dropped substantially, Maybe someone here can advise the latest value. If the import has to be assesed for customs duty, that fee goes on, like I said in my previous post, whatever the value. If you use a customs agent, then their fees are extra.

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Yara said..
It used to be that for goods valued under $1000 they just waved them through. Recently, maybe last budget, that value was dropped substantially, Maybe someone here can advise the latest value. If the import has to be assesed for customs duty, that fee goes on, like I said in my previous post, whatever the value. If you use a customs agent, then their fees are extra.

All goods regardless of cost now attract the 10% GST, as you assert it all used to be tax free under the $1000 limit.

$83 if it comes by air or post. $93 for sea. Standard fee on every shipment with a value above $1000. Also subject to duty and gst. All shipments, even those below the threshold subject to gst.

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Futurecruiser said..

2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..
Yeah I copped the same just recently when I got the same 3 blade prop from Flexofold, bit harsh. To add insult to injury went to install it last week and found out the hard way I have a non standard thread on my prop shaft! Flexofold were great, thankfully had another nut with the right thread and got it in the mail that day with no extra charge so my new nut plus a blank pilot just in case should be arriving tomorrow. Fingers crossed the next attempt works better.
Looking forward to seeing what sort of difference it makes when back in the water, maybe then I can forget about the extra money customs got.

Yes definitely a bit harsh, yet another of those sleazy non tax taxes. Bummer about the nut, that must have been frustrating, but great that Flexofold have been so responsive in helping you. Is yours a shaft or saildrive? I'm replacing an old 3 blade fixed prop on a VP saildrive, so hopefully all the fittings are standard on mine. Let me know how it goes and how it performs? I won't get a chance to put mine on for quite a while yet.

It's a shaft drive, and yeah was pretty frustrating. I have one of those boats where no job, no matter how straightforward it seems, is ever as simple as you expect it to be - hear they are quite common! Standard 1 1/4 inch shaft with standard SAE taper and a weird thread, they said they had shipped thousands and never seen this combo. But getting some other work done anyway so not a big deal in the end thanks to them getting the replacement here so fast. Hoping to be back in the water next week and starting a long cruise to Qld soon after, so will certainly let you know. Good luck with yours, I imagine sail drives are probably a bit more consistently manufactured so hopefully all good.

Hey Futurecruiser, my prop finally arrived today. Did yours have any pinholes in the blades?? Two of my blades have these and one of the holes is a good 1mm dia and the same deep. Is this an issue do you think?

I didn't notice anything like that on my blades, I would just email them back and ask their advice. They were very helpful with me and I imagine they would be pretty straight up if it is an issue. They sent my replacement part fast and free of charge. Btw thankfully the replacement nut they sent fitted fine and mine is on now. It doesn't look too smooth in the pic but that's just the propspeed.

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Futurecruiser said..
I didn't notice anything like that on my blades, I would just email them back and ask their advice. They were very helpful with me and I imagine they would be pretty straight up if it is an issue. They sent my replacement part fast and free of charge. Btw thankfully the replacement nut they sent fitted fine and mine is on now. It doesn't look too smooth in the pic but that's just the propspeed.

Yes I emailed Nina and let her know my concern. I've arranged to take some pics in the daylight and send them on to her for their quality control people to look at. Yours is looking good! Glad to hear the new nut worked fine! Are you back in the water this week ready for the trip?

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2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..
I didn't notice anything like that on my blades, I would just email them back and ask their advice. They were very helpful with me and I imagine they would be pretty straight up if it is an issue. They sent my replacement part fast and free of charge. Btw thankfully the replacement nut they sent fitted fine and mine is on now. It doesn't look too smooth in the pic but that's just the propspeed.

Yes I emailed Nina and let her know my concern. I've arranged to take some pics in the daylight and send them on to her for their quality control people to look at. Yours is looking good! Glad to hear the new nut worked fine! Are you back in the water this week ready for the trip?

Yep, as you can see in the pic it still needs anti foul but that is hopefully going on tomorrow with a cooler less windy day coming, so back in the water by the end of the week and plan to leave early next week if the weather is good. That's if I survive a slightly crazy last week at work and then packing up the house on the weekend. Still coming to grips with actually finally doing the big trip up north, hope to meet a few seabreezers along the way. And hopefully the new prop gets me there a bit faster!
It was Nina that I dealt with too and she seemed pretty good, hopefully they look after you and sort out any issues as well as they did with me. It's not a cheap item (especially with the extra on the way in) so worth making sure you are happy with it.

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Futurecruiser said..

2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..
I didn't notice anything like that on my blades, I would just email them back and ask their advice. They were very helpful with me and I imagine they would be pretty straight up if it is an issue. They sent my replacement part fast and free of charge. Btw thankfully the replacement nut they sent fitted fine and mine is on now. It doesn't look too smooth in the pic but that's just the propspeed.

Yes I emailed Nina and let her know my concern. I've arranged to take some pics in the daylight and send them on to her for their quality control people to look at. Yours is looking good! Glad to hear the new nut worked fine! Are you back in the water this week ready for the trip?

Yep, as you can see in the pic it still needs anti foul but that is hopefully going on tomorrow with a cooler less windy day coming, so back in the water by the end of the week and plan to leave early next week if the weather is good. That's if I survive a slightly crazy last week at work and then packing up the house on the weekend. Still coming to grips with actually finally doing the big trip up north, hope to meet a few seabreezers along the way. And hopefully the new prop gets me there a bit faster!
It was Nina that I dealt with too and she seemed pretty good, hopefully they look after you and sort out any issues as well as they did with me. It's not a cheap item (especially with the extra on the way in) so worth making sure you are happy with it.

Yes it's a bit of a concern having pin holes in the blade, that reflects badly on the casting quality. And if you can see something like that on the surface, one has to wonder what defects may be hidden...

Good to hear you're about ready to push off, how long are you taking off for the trip overall? I'm feeling overworked here at the moment so I'm very envious :)

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2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..

2bish said..

Futurecruiser said..
I didn't notice anything like that on my blades, I would just email them back and ask their advice. They were very helpful with me and I imagine they would be pretty straight up if it is an issue. They sent my replacement part fast and free of charge. Btw thankfully the replacement nut they sent fitted fine and mine is on now. It doesn't look too smooth in the pic but that's just the propspeed.

Yes I emailed Nina and let her know my concern. I've arranged to take some pics in the daylight and send them on to her for their quality control people to look at. Yours is looking good! Glad to hear the new nut worked fine! Are you back in the water this week ready for the trip?

Yep, as you can see in the pic it still needs anti foul but that is hopefully going on tomorrow with a cooler less windy day coming, so back in the water by the end of the week and plan to leave early next week if the weather is good. That's if I survive a slightly crazy last week at work and then packing up the house on the weekend. Still coming to grips with actually finally doing the big trip up north, hope to meet a few seabreezers along the way. And hopefully the new prop gets me there a bit faster!
It was Nina that I dealt with too and she seemed pretty good, hopefully they look after you and sort out any issues as well as they did with me. It's not a cheap item (especially with the extra on the way in) so worth making sure you are happy with it.

Yes it's a bit of a concern having pin holes in the blade, that reflects badly on the casting quality. And if you can see something like that on the surface, one has to wonder what defects may be hidden...

Good to hear you're about ready to push off, how long are you taking off for the trip overall? I'm feeling overworked here at the moment so I'm very envious :)

Our new long service leave laws in Vic that allow for twice as long at half pay are a wonderful thing so I'm off for 9 months. Will be taking my time on the way up and hoping for a quicker trip back with the current as the northerlies start up late in the year. Might have to change my name to current cruiser!

Ha ha, yep Current Cruiser sounds good. Definitely envious, 9 months!