Australia’s federal vehicle legislation is currently being overhauled. The existing ‘Motor Vehicle Standards Act (MVSA)’ was written back in 1989, and is in the process of being scrapped and replaced by the Road Vehicle Standards Act (RVSA), as of 01 July 2022.
The latest news will be of particular interest to those considering the purchase of an electric vehicle. The Australian Border Force (ABF) has just issued Australian Customs Notice No. 2022/34: “Removal of customs duty on certain electric vehicles.”
It announces that from 01 July 2022, customs duty on electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with a customs value less than the fuel-efficient luxury car tax threshold (LCT) will have a ‘Free’ rate of duty.
Regarding the LCT Threshold for 2022-23, the ABF advises that:
“Consistent with Australian Customs Notice No. 2022/25 for the 2022-23 financial year the LCT threshold for fuel efficient vehicles is $84,916.”
The ‘Free’ rate of duty applies to all goods that meet this requirement except, of course those from Russia and Belarus. As reported in our recent news article, these two countries currently have an additional duty of 35% applied.
The Customs Notice operates from 22 July 2022 and applies to goods entered for home consumption from 01 July 2022. Any goods entered for home consumption on or after 01 July 2022 until the time that the new classifications have been entered into the ICS will need to apply for a refund.
Before importing any motor vehicle, including a disassembled or partly completed road motor vehicle, you will need to contact various authorities, including the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. The ABF has a web page with general information on importing motor vehicles. We recommend a better option is to contact us.
Colless Young should be your first stop for shipping cars, trucks and motorcycles. If you are buying a second-hand vehicle make sure you contact us prior to shipping so that we can help make all the necessary arrangements and ensure you do not encounter any surprises that could be expensive in the end. We offer shipping by Airfreight, Roll-On Roll-Off vessels and Containerised seafreight movements.
As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, Colless Young professionally handles all your consignments, whether vehicles or general cargo. We provide import and export shipping, as well as airfreight, including customs and quarantine clearance, fumigation treatment, warehousing and trucking. We are based in Brisbane and offer a complete range of logistics services through all Australian ports and airports.
