Consumer goods importers have asked the federal government to defer taxes and customs duties for at least six months to relieve a cash squeeze caused by COVID-19 and stop food, clothing and furniture being stockpiled at ports.
"While state government and port corporations are currently contingency planning and examining staging sites as required to store containers in the event of supply chain failures, this will be a futile exercise if goods cannot be cleared from customs control into home consumption," Susan Danks, head of customs and regulatory compliance for the Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA), said in a letter to Treasury last week.
Companies that import goods into Australia say they can't afford to pay taxes and duties on time because of cash squeezes.
Importers must pay duty on goods brought into Australia, as well as goods and services taxes and an import-processing charge.
A medium-sized customs broker can pay about $5 million a month on behalf of importers to clear goods for home consumption, according to the FTA.
The industry group has met with the Australian Border Force and the Australian Taxation Office over the past week to discuss options for deferring taxes and duties.
There's a lot of stock on its way.
— Paul Zalai, Freight & Trade Alliance director
FTA director Paul Zalai told The Australian Financial Review the government agencies had been responsive, and that fast action was needed to alleviate potential congestion at ports as manufacturing resumed in China.
"There's a lot of stock on its way," Mr Zalai said, adding that online sales of consumer goods in Australia had exceeded importers' expectations.