GST on imports NZ: Customs, Over $1000, and claiming
What is GST on imports? It is 15% GST on goods brought into New Zealand. NZ GST on imports is collected either at checkout on low value parcels, or by the New Zealand Customs Service at the border on higher value consignments, plus alcohol and tobacco at any value.
GST on imports of goods is not the same as 15% of the overseas invoice. GST Act 1985 section 12 levies GST at 15% on importation (not being fine metal). The value is the Customs value of the goods, plus duty and other tax under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 (other than GST), plus the amount paid or payable to transport the goods to New Zealand and to insure that transport, if those costs are not already in the Customs value. Section 12 is treated as part of the Customs and Excise Act 2018. Inland Revenue still owns claiming and GST returns.
Duty and GST on imports can both apply to the same shipment. A Customs and MPI Goods Levy can apply even when Customs does not collect GST. This is not tax advice. Figures are working papers from Customs, Inland Revenue, and the Act.
| Value | Who collects GST | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| GST on imports under 1000: physical goods at NZ$1,000 or less, excluding GST | Overseas seller, marketplace, or redeliverer that must register, from 1 December 2019, for sales to consumers. Inland Revenue measures the NZ$1,000 line on customs value, so shipping and insurance are left out of that test. | Customs will not collect GST or duty unless the item is part of a larger consignment valued over $1,000. Alcohol and tobacco are always collected at the border. |
| GST on imports over $1,000: goods valued over NZ$1,000 each (high value goods) | New Zealand Customs Service at the border. You need a Customs Number for shipments valued at NZ$1,000 or more. | Duty (if the tariff says so) plus GST at 15% on value, duty, freight or postal or courier, and insurance. The duty estimator does not include the High Value Goods Import Levy Customs collects for Customs and MPI. |
Who collects GST on imports into NZ?
Work the collector first, then the maths. Category home: Advanced GST Rules. GST on imports into new zealand follows Customs at the border and Inland Revenue at checkout.
Duty and GST on imports: the Customs formula
How to pay GST on imports at the border follows Customs, not your bank’s exchange rate. Paying GST on imports is either internet banking after an NZ Post letter, or through the courier that contacts you. If duty is payable, it is a percentage of the value of the items. Foreign currency is converted with Customs rates of exchange, set fortnightly in advance from Westpac data and published 11 days before they apply. Customs’ duty and GST FAQ says the rate used for an assessment is the rate for the day the goods arrive into NZ, not the day they were purchased. The duty estimator page says the rate applies on the date an electronic clearance is submitted, not the purchase date and not the arrival date. Use the rate printed on your import entry.
GST Act 1985 s 12(2): value = Customs value (Schedule 4 of the Customs and Excise Act 2018) + duty and tax under that Act (not GST) + transport and insurance to New Zealand if not already in the Customs value.
Inland Revenue (when to charge GST on low value imported goods): checkout GST on a taxable supply is 15% of the value of the supply, which is not the same as estimated customs value. IRD’s fascinator example: NZ$23 including GST plus shipping NZ$11.50 GST inclusive, total NZ$34.50, GST returned NZ$34.50 × 3 ÷ 23 = NZ$4.50.
If goods are already in New Zealand and sold through a third party logistics provider, Inland Revenue says that is not a supply of low value imported goods. Ordinary GST rules apply. Use the NZ Customs duty estimator for a first look at border GST. It does not include Goods Levies, and it does not apply preferential free trade rates. Confirm the entry. Everyday plus GST invoices still use the GST calculator.
Claiming GST on imports
Inland Revenue’s claiming GST page: when you import the goods, you will likely be charged GST by Customs as they come into New Zealand. You can claim this amount back if you are GST registered and are using the goods solely to make taxable supplies. You cannot claim GST you use privately or to make exempt supplies. BR Pub 22/07 is the importer evidence ruling. More: claiming GST NZ.
Deferred GST on imports (Customs deferred payment)
GST deferral on imports is a Customs deferred payment account, not a separate Inland Revenue registration. Approved importers and brokers can clear goods without paying each shipment as it arrives. Eligible duties, GST, and levies (including HERA, HPA on alcohol, and the Customs and MPI Goods Levy) are paid together. Customs says you can defer for up to seven weeks, with a minimum of three weeks, and settle a month’s transactions in a single payment due by the 20th of the following month, or the next working day if the 20th is a weekend or public holiday. Payment is by direct debit only.
You cannot defer simplified import entries unless you use an importer code, assessment notices, temporary import entries, or sight entries. Apply in Business Connect. Credit limits between $25,000 and $100,000 need a signed current balance sheet. $100,001 or over needs a signed current financial statement. Trusts and overseas incorporated companies need a bank or equivalent guarantee (NZCS 608) or a cash deposit matching the requested credit limit. If the account balance exceeds the credit limit by 20%, Customs will reject later entries on that account.
BR Pub 22/07: a Deferred Payment Statement issued to an importer is an invoice. An invoice basis registered person can claim input tax when an invoice is issued or when payment is made to Customs, whichever is earlier. Keep the invoice under GST Act s 75(3). If it does not list the goods, keep the import entry as well.
Use case: Hamilton importer, invoice basis
Situation: Hypothetical GST registered Ltd brings in stock over NZ$1,000. GST: Customs assesses 15% on Customs value, plus duty if any, plus freight and insurance. Action: Get a Customs Number before the first high value shipment. Keep the passed electronic import entry or Deferred Payment Statement. Claim only the taxable use. File in myIR.
Use case: double GST on a mixed parcel
Situation: Inland Revenue’s twice charged page: a single parcel valued over NZ$1,000 contains items that individually have a customs value of NZ$1,000 or less, or the supplier’s exchange rate differs from Customs. GST: GST may be charged again at the border if the correct information is missing from the customs documents. Action: Keep the supplier receipt showing GST and GST number. Give it to Customs. The customer asks the supplier for a refund of GST charged at sale, with a declaration that GST was paid at the border.
Accounting for GST on imports, including Xero
Accounting for GST on imports is the Customs invoice plus your GST return, whether you use Xero, MYOB, or a spreadsheet. How to record GST on imports in Xero is the same legal test as any other ledger. Xero GST on imports, including gst on imports xero screens, still needs the Customs document that BR Pub 22/07 treats as an invoice. Do not copy Australian Xero GST on Imports or BAS rates. New Zealand is 15%.
If you are GST registered and buy low value goods for the taxable activity, give the supplier your NZ GST number so they generally do not charge GST. Inland Revenue: if they accidentally charge a GST registered business, that business will likely seek a refund from the supplier. If the value is NZ$1,000 or less, the supplier can choose to provide taxable supply information instead of a refund. File the claim in myIR on your GST return: how to file your GST return in myIR. Digital services from offshore are a different file: GST on imported services and GST on digital services.
GST on car imports NZ
GST on car imports NZ still uses the same 15% GST base: Customs value, plus duty if any, plus freight and insurance. Customs’ importing goods for personal use guidance says household and related effects, and vehicles, can be imported free of duty and GST where the person has arrived in New Zealand, holds a document authorising residence at the time of importation, has resided outside New Zealand for more than 21 months, and has owned and personally used the goods before import. Motor vehicles, small ships, and aircraft also need to have been owned and used for 12 months prior to surrendering for shipping or the owner’s departure, whichever is earlier. Used vehicles must still meet MPI’s Vehicles, Machinery and Parts 2021 Import Health Standard. If you do not meet those tests, expect GST, and duty if the tariff applies. Form NZCS 80c is Customs’ private individual vehicle concession declaration. The form’s undertaking: if you sell or otherwise dispose of the vehicle within two years from the date of importation, you must notify Customs and immediately pay the charges that would have applied if duty were levied at import, or any lesser sum Customs requires. Company stock cars are not that concession. Also see GST on motor vehicles.
GST on imports and exports
GST on exports and imports are opposite directions. Imports into New Zealand follow this Customs and IRD file. Exports from New Zealand are usually zero rated when you ship goods out and keep the evidence. GST on imports from new zealand to australia is not an NZ import. It is an NZ export (often 0% here) and then Australian GST on the Australian side. Walkthrough: exporting goods from NZ.
GST on imports Australia, Canada, and Singapore are not this page
Searches for gst on imports australia, australian gst on imports, australia gst on imports, gst on imports into australia, gst on imports to australia, ato gst on imports, gst on imports to canada, and singapore gst on imports are foreign tax systems (ATO, CRA, IRAS). This guide is paying GST on imports nz under New Zealand Customs and Inland Revenue. Do not treat a 10% Australian rate, a Canadian GST or HST code, or Singapore import GST as the NZ 15% Customs formula.
How to avoid paying GST on imports
You cannot lawfully avoid GST by asking a seller to declare a lower value. Customs: if goods are not declared correctly, for example in an attempt to avoid paying duty, GST, or both, Customs may seize the goods, and in some cases you could be prosecuted. Customs can amend the declared value. Lawful cashflow is different: GST registered businesses claim Customs GST on taxable use (IRD claiming GST page), a Customs deferred payment account delays the cash until the 20th of the following month, low value consumer GST is often already in the checkout price, and qualifying migrant vehicle or household concessions sit on the Customs personal import pages. Splitting cart checkouts does not split a combined arrival.
Pull highlight: Inland Revenue’s low value good is a physical good valued at NZ$1,000 or less, excluding GST, tested on customs value. Shipping and insurance are excluded from that $1,000 test. They can still sit inside the GST amount once GST is charged.
FAQs
Is there GST on imports into New Zealand?
Yes. GST Act 1985 section 12 levies GST at 15% on the importation of goods (not being fine metal) into New Zealand. New Zealand Customs Service collects GST and duty at the border on goods valued over NZ$1,000, and on alcohol and tobacco at any value. For physical goods at NZ$1,000 or less (customs value, excluding GST), Inland Revenue says overseas businesses that must register collect GST at sale from 1 December 2019, and Customs will not collect GST or duty unless the item is part of a larger consignment valued over $1,000.
How do you pay GST on imports NZ, and can you claim it?
Paying GST on imports NZ is either at checkout (low value goods to consumers) or to Customs when the goods arrive (high value, or alcohol and tobacco). Inland Revenue’s claiming GST page (last updated 1 April 2023) says when you import goods you will likely be charged GST by Customs, and you can claim that amount back if you are GST registered and are using the goods solely to make taxable supplies. BR Pub 22/07 (issued 8 June 2022) lets an invoice basis importer use a passed electronic import entry, a Deferred Payment Statement, a cash statement, or a manual invoice or statement as the invoice.
How to record GST on imports in Xero?
Xero is your ledger, not the Customs Act. Accounting for GST on imports, including xero gst on imports and gst on imports xero searches, still follows BR Pub 22/07: keep the Customs document that counts as an invoice (passed electronic import entry, Deferred Payment Statement, cash statement, or manual invoice or statement), plus evidence of the goods if that invoice does not describe them. Code the bill so the GST Customs levied sits in your New Zealand GST return. Do not copy Australian Xero “GST on Imports” or BAS rates. Those are ATO settings.
Read NZ Customs duty and GST, the duty estimator, deferred accounts, Inland Revenue low value imported goods, claiming GST, Tax Technical BR Pub 22/07, and GST Act 1985 section 12. Publisher path: About Us and Contact Us.
Last verified 5 September 2026 against NZ Customs duty and GST, duty estimator, deferred accounts, importing goods for personal use, Inland Revenue low value goods (pages last updated November 2023), claiming GST (1 April 2023), when GST has been charged twice (27 November 2023), BR Pub 22/07 (8 June 2022), and GST Act 1985 section 12. Ads may fund this free site. Not tax advice. Figures are working papers, not a Customs entry or an Inland Revenue assessment.