Customs Page Update

[ShaneJ]

Oh man. A forum wouldn't be a forum without the kids personally attacking others

[SundownMarine]

This is the information we have gathered from NARO(Northern Australian Regional Office),this is the office who enforces the rules of the ACMA.


Through various communications we have established these facts.
For those who would like to check the information.

NARO.

424 Upper Roma Street Brisbane.
PO Box 288 Red Hill QLD 4059
ph # 1300 850 115
email naro@acma.gov.au


VHF.
Under NO circumstances at all can a non C-Tick Approved VHF radio be used in Australia,this includes one offs.This is due to the safety of life issue to take into account when using VHF.

GPS.
One off GPS can be used in Australia as long as the importer is using it for private use.
Once that unit is sold,given away or passed onto the next person the importer then becomes the supplier and it MUST be C-Tick approved for legal use.The responsibility rests with the supplier here hence once the goods are passed on the importer becomes the supplier and the laws regarding C-Tick approval apply,it is then the supplier who is liable if things go wrong(ex importer) and not the customer (end user).

Sounders.
Same as above.

Insurance,
The law in Australia states insurance companies must take C-Tick into account and this happens more often than not.We have heard from here of one Insurance company that does not and we have heard of one company that made their customer that imported lots of Furuno equipment get it C-Tick approved and that cost him almost as much as the goods in the first place.

GST,

A hint to all.DO NOT #brag about saving GST here,tax evasion is a jailable offence and lots of people are watching.


These are the rules that apply,no ifs,butts or mabeys.

NARO are in the same boat as the rest of us and are trying to keep up with the state of play regarding imports and some misinformation has been passed around,these facts have been triple checked with NARO.

Throughout this process we have learned as much as anyone on this subject.Golden rule is research what rules you may be breaking before acting.


Sundown Marine.

[revs57]

Nicely put to bed!

[Heath]

Great reply Sundown Marine.
It is a worry that a Compliance Officer for the ACMA could get it so wrong ( seemingly )

I've forwarded my email from the compliance officer to the NARO for investigation.
See what they come back with.

[seatime]

sorry if this has been flogged to death but i'm still a bit confused about the c-tick approval sundown mentions. my understanding was if the item is purchased over the internet it will arrive in oz via a mail service and automatically be subject to customs entry reqs and hence be c-ticked. if the item is under $1000 value it comes straight thru, if over duty and gst apply, so any vhf regardless of value, or gps or sounder, if it comes thru the mail it will have c-tick for insurance cover. if this is incorrect please illuminate?.

[seatime]

9 hours and no reply from sundown marine. lets face facts , they are a in business and need coin to live just like the rest of us.
they advertise on this site to drum up business.
it would not be easy to cop all the criticism that they get on this site, but business is business.
sundown marine is just one of many who look to extract the hard earned, that's their business, they are not out to be anybody's best friend.
no different to any other money making enterprise.
great, they have discounts for members, whoopee, crazy if they don,t as they advertise on this site.
i do think they have constructed the wording in their posts to make anyone who hasn't bought electronics from them think they are breaking the law or unaustralian or something, i don't know what.
my point is, believe only what u have determined to be fact, retailers are in the business of taking money out of your pocket, not holding your hand or spoon feeding u din dins.
i always shop around and research purchases thoroughly, some stuff i've bought locally, some overseas, never had a problem with either service, warranty etc and i mean big expensive stuff too.
sure there is the warranty thing, but how often do they break in the warranty period, after warranty ur on ur own anyway.
what are they worried about anyway they sell boats don't they, not just electronics. i will be interested to see if they reply, though i believe they are digging a deep hole for themselves if they continue to criticise members who buy online or os. regards steve

[ShaneJ]

Whos criticising who? Do you think Sundown Marine employs someone to sit at a computer all day and monitor this site just to reply to these stupid posts? I doubt it!
If people here think they can get gear from OS for less than half the local RRP, then good for them. It would just be nice if they kept their dreams to them selves, as anyone who really shops around would know, this is complete rubbish!

[seatime]

shane,
it is only my opinion, never said otherwise. i'm entilted to mine just as u r to yours, isn't that what forums are about? wouldn't it be boring if everyone agrees.
i will try in future to not be so scathing in my attacks on businesses with 7 figure turnovers, i wasn't singling out sm (they just happen to advertise here), but there does seem to be a huge unaccounted for price difference out there. i think its wonderful they reply to posts at all, but if they want to be a part of forums they have to accept it warts and all. don't want to offend, just voice an opinion. steve

[ShaneJ]

I find it very offensive that people are trying to make out that myself and others that buy locally are being ripped off.
I also find it very offensive that people with no clue are saying that retailers are making massive figures on the gear they are selling. I have an account with GME and I can tell you right now that the retailers(all around my area at least) are not making much at all on the electronics they are selling. And as posted above these retailers have this gear on display for you to go in a screw around with. They also employ people to help give you information on the gear they are selling and alos help advise what is best for you. And then they also backup the product when you have some trouble, and I dont mean in case of failure, I mean when you dont know how to do something.
If these retailers were only selling elctronics at the price they so, their doors wouldnt be open very long!
I think you guys should be questioning our government reguarding import taxes and all the other rubbish that goes with.

I also have to wonder why you guys(the ones putting down Sundown Marine) even bother coming to this forum. These advertisers/sponsers are the ones fitting the bill for the operation of these forums. Without them there would be no forums, do you guys not understand this?

[revs57]

Shane you're a champ...well done...good stuff!!! Maybe we should start a debate thread about Aussies supporting Aussie Businesses...not!!!

Sorry gelsec, and no offence intended, but you're right...this issue has been done to death IMO and I think Sundown have proved they're not dodging anything having given a definitive and authoritative clear reply...I'd suggest a PM to them if you want more info rather than defaming them by posting unnecessary speculations questioning their integrity. I don't see they've critisised anyone who does not buy locally anywhere in their posts - they have simply given good solid advice and underscored the legalities and issues concerned for punters playing with importing .

Cheers

Rhys

[SundownMarine]

Gelsec,

Shane was on the money.On some days we don't have the time to respond to everything on this board , we get busy.

What we will say on your query is this.

The reason we posted the NARO details is so that everyone including you can contact them direct and find out the information you need.
We have posted every bit of information we have on this post and are now done on this subject.We posted the information we have and nothing else.

Please give us a call or do what we did and contact the ACMA/NARO for further information.


Sundown Marine.

[whiteman]

Just wait until the $A drops through the floor and local retailers will claw back a lot of the "direct" overseas business. I used to import software from a US company and they tried to force me to sell locally at $US prices when the exchange rate was $2:$1 in their favour! They simply didn't understand value for money outside of their country. I tried negotiating based upon $BigMac comparisons and it took me nearly 12 months to get them to see some sort of reason.

I think you'll find the large companies set the regional pricing and the local buyer wears this. If it was easy to go to the US and buy a couple of thousand Lowrance units at $US wholesale prices and ship them to Oz, then slap on a 20% margin and make a KILLING, someone would have done it!

[Heath]

Now it gets interesting!

I fired off an email to naro@acma.gov.au in regards to the info Sundown Marine was supplied by the NARO office. `Below is the email I sent.

Hello,

I recently was given the below information regarding the one off importing of a VHF marine radio for personal use by one of your compliance officers below. I have since been advised that an enquiry with NARO in regards to a similar matter was contradictory to the information I was given below.

Just wondering if someone in your office/department might be able to shed some light on the matter.

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards
Heath

Now this was their reply.

Hello Heath



I answered the question you sent to comply.label@acma.gov.au on the 24 November 2005.



I am gathering some additional information regarding your inquiry. As soon as I have this information I will forward it to you



Regards



Joanne van Uden

Compliance Officer

Australian Communications and Media Authority

And today I recieved this. I have highlighted the important bit oin my mind.

Hello Heath



There are several points that could be taken into consideration in relation to your question.



Firstly, your original question involved the term supplier. This is a term defined in the Radiocommunications Act 1992 as supply - includes supply (including re-supply) by way of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase. In reference to the C-Tick symbol, if a person or business were to supply a VHF marine radio to the Australian market they would be required to comply with the requirements of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 and other relevant legislation such as the Radiocommunications Devices (Compliance Labelling) Notice 2003. Your second email advised that the VHF marine radio you intend to import is for your own personal use, therefore in this circumstance you would be outside the scope of the C-Tick regulatory requirements.



Please note: Prior to a person or business applying a C-Tick label to a device they must hold appropriate documentation showing that the device complies with the relevant standard.





Additionally, In Australia, all radiocommunication transmitters must be covered by a licence. In regard to VHF marine radio a Class Licence allows a person to transmit on pre determined frequencies, with power limitations and with devices that meet Australian and New Zealand standards. If a VHF marine radio is found to be in use and it does not comply with the Class Licence the user may be in breach of sections of the Radiocommunications Act 1992.



You may wish to compare the specifications of the VHF marine radio you plan to import for your personal use with the requirements of the Class Licence, to ensure that it complies.



For your information I have included links to the legislation I have referred to.



Radiocommunications Act 1992

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Mana...t&mostrecent=1



Radiocommunications Devices (Compliance Labelling) Notice 2003

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.484...609:pc=PC_2066



Marine Class Licence

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.131...9302:pc=PC_301









I would also like to bring your attention to the requirement to hold a Marine Operator's VHF Certificate of Proficiency, to operate a VHF marine radio. Please refer to the following web site for additional information.

http://www.amcom.amc.edu.au/







Please contact me again if you require further clarification



Regards





Joanne van Uden

Compliance Officer

Australian Communications and Media Authority

Don't know who you were talking to at the NARO office Sundown Marine, but it certainly mustn't be the same person I am talking to, who is a Compliance Officer

Thats thrown a cat amongst the pigeons hey!

[SundownMarine]

Heath,

Well that is just amazing!.

The VHF rules outlined in your return e-mail are exactly what the rules are for GPS/Sounders as advised to us but VHF is different,as advised to us.

We advise calling the NARO and speaking directly to the officers there to obtain the same information we did.

Sundown Marine

[Heath]

I intend to.
Who was it you were speaking to at NARO ?