Duty by product

The short version

• Nearly every fit-out product carries 5 percent general duty.
• From China it is Free under ChAFTA, if you hold a valid certificate of origin when the goods are entered.
• A few products are Free anyway: mosaic tiles under 7 cm, toughened glass shower screens, LED drivers.
• GST is separate: 10 percent of the customs value plus duty, freight and insurance, paid at the border.

Product by product

Tariff classifications are a guide. Your customs broker confirms the code for each line; where two codes were possible, both carry the same 5 percent general rate.

The certificate of origin

To claim ChAFTA Free, the importer must hold a ChAFTA Certificate of Origin (CoO) or Declaration of Origin (DoO), or a copy, at the time of import. The CoO is issued in English by a Chinese authorised body (the General Administration of Customs of China or the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, CCPIT) before or at export, follows the Annex 3-A template, covers one shipment of up to 20 items and is valid 12 months. A DoO made by the exporter is only accepted for goods covered by an ABF advance ruling on origin. No documentary evidence is required when the total customs value of the originating goods is AUD 1,000 or less, unless the shipment is split to avoid the rule. Goods whose general rate is already Free (mosaic tiles, toughened glass, unframed mirrors, LED drivers) gain nothing from a CoO.

If duty was paid because no valid CoO or DoO was held at import, the importer can claim a refund once it holds a valid one, up to 4 years from the date duty was paid. A CoO missed at export can be issued retrospectively within 12 months of shipment, marked 'ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY'.

• ChAFTA Certificate of Origin (Annex 3-A) issued by GACC or CCPIT
• ChAFTA Declaration of Origin (Annex 3-B) by the exporter or producer, only with an ABF advance ruling
• Commercial invoice and bill of lading matching the CoO line items (max 20 items per CoO)

Anti-dumping that touches a fit-out

• Aluminium windows and doors, assembled (7610.10.00): dumping and countervailing securities from 15 October 2026 while the investigation runs. 5.3 to 51.6 percent for named exporters, 24.4 percent for other cooperating exporters, 73.3 percent for all others, on the FOB price. A certificate of origin does not remove them.
• Aluminium extrusions, including unassembled kits such as shower screen frame kits and window frame kits: dumping and countervailing duty in force to 28 October 2030, at exporter-specific rates.
• PVC flat electric cable: an anti-dumping measure is on the register.
• Steel ceiling framing, stud and track: anti-dumping measures are on the register.

Banned outright

Engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs cannot be imported into Australia. Porcelain, sintered stone without resin and natural stone can. Australia also bans asbestos, and the ABF can test ceramic and stone imports at the importer's cost.

Questions