Online E-commerce Giant Amazon has announced that it will block Australian shoppers from its international website to counter new tax laws on online purchases.
Australians were free to buy goods from United States i.e via Amazon.com for years. But from 1 July, customers will be able to purchase goods only from Amazon’s Australian website that was launched last year.
The company has claimed that it will suspend shipments to Australian addresses from now on and will redirect all Australian requests to its local website.
Why has Amazon done this?
The Sydney headquarters etailer has said that it is making the change to remain compliant with the new GST collection laws coming into effect from July 1.
Until now, a 10 percent GST is applied to items bought overseas for more than $1,000. As per the new rules, online retailers must apply GST to all purchases made overseas and shipped to Australia, regardless of the price.
A company spokesperson said in its statement,
This will allow us to provide our customers with continued access to international selection and remain compliant with the law which requires us to collect and remit GST on products sold on Amazon sites that are shipped from overseas.
What will users be able to buy and what not after the change?
Amazon is yet to disclose the details on which products will be available to customers. Though, it has announced to launch an international platform called the “Amazon Global Store” that will showcase 4 million items which were earlier limited only on the US website.
With over 60 million products on Amazon Australian store, it is unclear how Australian prices will compare with its stores in other countries