Australia

Unlike UAE, Australia government is quite careful to collect its due for each and every import. Each vehicle crossing the line of Australia needs an Import approval permit completed and approved by government agency. The duty for new cars is up to 10%.

The customs value of an imported vehicle can be the original country purchase price. Or it can be rated on the Australian value. In this case the price often goes down to 50% of the current Australian market value.

Since Australian customs do follow a number of rules and regulations, it is advisable to seek their help before any import. If you are importing an old foreign car less than 30 years old, it will need compliance certificate. This includes child restraint anchor points, Engineer certificate, imported blue slip and Road and traffic authority visual identification unit inspection.

Apart from the import duty there is GST that is Goods and services tax. If the vehicle is 30 years old the custom duty will be 5% of the price and the GST will be 10%. If the vehicle is more than 30 years old, the duty charge becomes zero though the GST rate remains same i.e. 10% of the price.

There is another additional provision known as luxury car tax. The rate is about 33%. As the rulebook says, there is depreciation allowance too. The maximum allowance is 76% for cars owned more than six years.

Depreciation Allowance only applies to originating country Purchase Price valuation method and if a vehicle was purchased before 2nd March 1998. The maximum allowance of 76% is for cars owned over 6 years.