A Sydney-based fabrication business has been ordered to pay more than $67,000 in penalties and recovered Duty and GST following an investigation by the Australian Border Force (ABF) into the importation of Chinese aluminium products though Thailand.
The investigation by ABF Customs Compliance Operations focused on an import declaration last December for just under 15 tonnes of aluminium sections shipped into Sydney in a sea container.
The investigation uncovered three false and misleading statements, which included a false declaration regarding the origin of the goods, to avoid the payment of Countervailing Duty, Dumping Duty and Customs Duty.
The Australian Government imposes Countervailing Duty and Dumping Duty to combat the dumping of low priced overseas goods below their “normal value” which causes, or threatens to cause, material injury to an Australian industry.
The shipment was also under-valued. The false and misleading statements caused a shortfall of $35,722 in Duty, and a further $4,676 in GST.
On top of paying the under-declared Duty and GST the company received a penalty of $26,791 – the equivalent of 75 per cent of the Duty shortfall. In total it was required to pay $67,189.
ABF Acting Commander Malcolm Phelps said the case was a reminder for all businesses of the requirement to correctly declare their imports.
“At the end of the day importers who don’t pay the correct amount of duty and GST are depriving the Australian economy and ultimately Australian taxpayers,” Acting Commander Phelps said.
“In this case, considerable effort was made to route the consignment through Thailand to conceal the fact that it originated in China.
“ABF Customs Compliance Operations officers work diligently to ensure importers comply with reporting and revenue collection requirements so there’s a level playing field for both industry and consumers.
“Failure to comply can result in severe penalties, or the suspension or cancellation of licences and potentially prosecution.”
As Australia’s customs service, the ABF has made trade enforcement one of its key operational priorities.
Information to help businesses comply with their obligations is available at
