But what will happen in the seller doesn’t charge GST?

The Herald reports:

The Government is set to announce further measures today to collect 15 per cent GST on low-value goods bought by Kiwis online from overseas, a so-called “Amazon tax.”

The tax will be on anything under $400. Anything above $400 already attracts duties.

It follows on from the “Netflix tax” which started in October 2016 and which required foreign providers to levy GST on digital services sold to New Zealanders including Netflix, Spotify, iTunes, Kindle, online games and software.

In November, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash promised further action, saying that leaving out low-value physical goods gave an unfair advantage to overseas sellers compared with New Zealand sellers.

The big reputable firms like Amazon will presumably comply with the law and charge and pay GST on purchases. I don’t have a problem with that.

But what happens if people buy from a firm that doesn’t? Say you buy a $40 toy for your baby from an overseas retailer that doesn’t charge GST. Will Customs intercept the parcel and hold it at the border until you personally pay the $6 GST? That will piss a huge amount of people off, if so.

So the devil will be in the detail.