GST display in Australian Storez Reply to topic

Does anyone have a store setup for Australia, The GST (Goods and Sevices Tax) component has to be included in the displayed price by law, thats if you are registered for GST. Where as all the countries are more flexible in this regards and the tax component can be add on checkout if applicable.

So thats why I am asking if someone has one setup and how they worked around this problem, or is there something I am missing.

TIA

Storez provides for adding a VAT/GST component - it's been so long since I 5tinkered with it I simply don't recall the details

The law requires you to charge GST on Australian sales, and return that to the ATO, but the only place you are required to display it is on an official tax invoice.

In a couple of local cases that I know of, their displayed pricing simply includes the GST to avoid customer confusion. When they ship the product, they include a tax invoice with the product(s) which shows the included GST component.

In the case of downloadable product sales you would have a need to provide a tax invoice - I'll check whether I made provision for that.

Phoenix wrote

Storez provides for adding a VAT/GST component - it's been so long since I 5tinkered with it I simply don't recall the details

Yeah thats not a problem it does that.

Phoenix wrote

The law requires you to charge GST on Australian sales, and return that to the ATO, but the only place you are required to display it is on an official tax invoice.

This is where it gets a bit murky, as I understand
All displayed prices must contain GST as from 1 July 2000. Displaying a price that is not GST-inclusive is likely to constitute a breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Phoenix wrote

In a couple of local cases that I know of, their displayed pricing simply includes the GST to avoid customer confusion. When they ship the product, they include a tax invoice with the product(s) which shows the included GST component.

Yeah I thought of doing that and setting the ecopy of the invoice as a types transaction id but you could lose potential overseas sales who would be frightened off by the displayed price that is 10% more.

How difficult would it be to display the the 2 prices (with tax) and (ex tax) and on checkout when you select your country from the drop down box below GST will be removed or added depending on your country or location.

Cheers

What I was trying to convey is that there is no requirement to display or mention the GST component (other than in a tax invoice), which is why Australian retailers can display just the price (so long as it includes GST).

Storez is setup to calculate and display VAT/GST etc at checkout and is careful to point out where tax is not yet displayed. AFAIK, this is acceptable internationally, specifically the US and EU.

Technically, Storez is in breach of the Fair Trading Act in Australia

• an Australian site selling only to non-residents can display GST exclusive prices but must state that the price doesn't include GST.
  
• an Australian site selling to residents and non-residents can also display GST exclusive prices but is required to additionally display either the GST inclusive price or the GST amount for residents.
  

The simplest way to handle that would be to check against the country provided in storez configuration and then display something like "excludes GST of $x" in all areas where a price is indicated.

Then the checkout proceeds as it does now.

Regrettably, I have converted Storez to meet DF10 requirements, so I'm not inclined to working on both atm.

Thanks for the info Phoenix,
I'll play around with your suggestions and see what I come up with.
Cheers

In your case, the solution is simpler since we already know yours is an Oz based site - just a matter of adjusting a couple of files and templates. Which version are you using?

For Storez a little more work since I must make it check for an Oz site in each instance.

Phoenix wrote

Which version are you using?

The Latest Version 9.4.1

Just a quick sample - the attached zip includes:
modules/Storez/index.php
themes/default/template/storez/index.html

Upload those files and see what you think.

Should simply display a line that says,
For Australian customers $x.xx GST will be added at checkout.

If that's okay, I can add the same info to the product page and any block that you use.

Thanks again Phoenix, I'll check it out asap and get back to you