Amazon US only option for Kiwis

Most of Amazon’s international sites are suspending sales to New Zealand because they are not yet able to comply with changes to GST laws.

A law change requiring foreign firms to levy GST on their sales to New Zealand customers comes into effect on Sunday.

The change applies to foreign firms that send goods worth more than $60,000 to New Zealanders each year, and to items costing less than $1000.

An Amazon spokeswoman said sales from Amazon sites other than the United States would be suspended in the leadup to Christmas as the company grappled with the technical aspects of the law change.

Sales will continue from Amazon US which is able to add GST to New Zealand sales.

‘‘Shipments from Amazon’s other international stores to New Zealand shipping addresses will be temporarily suspended.

‘‘For these stores, further technical work is required to ensure compliance with the legislation,’’ the spokeswoman said.

Amazon sells from Australia, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and China as well as the US.

Tax experts cautioned earlier this year that even some wellresourced online stores might find it hard to meet the December deadline.

The tax changes were supposed to come into effect on October 1, however, the Government pushed the date back to December after concerns over the ability of companies to be ready on time.

Inland Revenue spokeswoman Gay Cavill said 370 foreign retailers had registered for GST numbers since mid-september.

Deloitte tax partner Allan Bullot said each individual company had to make a call on how they reacted to the rule change.

‘‘It is very easy to underestimate the degree of systems that need to be changed when these sorts of changes come through,’’ Bullot said.

‘‘The larger you are, the more sophisticated you are in your systems, probably the more challenges there are ... in terms of putting through these changes.’’

Trade Me’s head of marketplace, Lisa Stewart, said the online auction site supported the Government’s move to collect GST from foreign sellers.

‘‘We think this new law will help level the online retail playing field for Kiwi businesses,’’ Stewart said.

All of Trade Me’s foreign sellers were aware of the change and Trade Me was working with them to ensure everything ran smoothly from Sunday, she said.