cappuccino

I'm in the process of having a lovely shopping spree of things to bring with. Does anybody know if its ok to ship new goods in their original wrappings or do I have to unbox everything, put a few scratches on and claim they are used goods?

Has anybody tried to claim VAT back on larger items that they were taking for 'personal export'? How does this work?

Boopy

Hi there, we were advised b our shippers to unwrap large new items from original packing. Apparently they can charge you with GST at this end. We didn't bother with the smaller stuff.

CAN2NZ

Boopy is correct. You don't want to present new goods or you may get stuck with GST at this end. As for VAT I am not sure for you. We did buy a few new things from a company that deals frequently with expats and they shipped our new goods directly to Crown, or maybe that is how the invoice read so there was no tax for us to pay him as the goods were being exported. You can call the tax department and find out.

hazeandsteve

We spoke to Pickfords about this, and they gave us good advice, but you'd need to talk to your shipper.
Basically, you need the shop's receipt to state it's going to your load at the shipper for export, no VAT is paid, and you pay GST at this end.
GST is a lower rate than VAT, so it makes sense.
We brought a new washing machine with us, and are glad we did.