Buying Tobacco from Overseas

[Guest Øskorei]

Some questions on tobacco importation. Have searched the customs website and it's not so clear - or perhaps Im looking at the wrong documents. I want to buy shisha from the US. (Shisha is a blend of tobacco, molassas, glycerine & fruit flavours and is smoked in an arghile)

1. Shisha contains only about 20% tobacco. Therefore would the customs consider the total product weight or only the tobacco portion - ie a 250gram tub has only 50 grams of tobacco. Or... is the whole blend classified as a 'tobacco product' ?

2. Is 250 grams the maximum allowable amount before having to pay duties/taxes ? It appears that this is what you can bring back if you are returning from overseas, so would ordering from home hold the same limits ?

3. It is stated by Customs that if separate orders are made at the same time, they would consider the combined total as one import (bastards). However what if it was observed that I am regularly bringing in the maximum amount on a monthly basis.

4. Are there any potential state/federal quarantine issues (I am in NSW)

Thanks,

Ø

[Torsten]

sorry, I know bugger all about tobacco imports, but was recently told by someone who looked into the laws that shisha tobacco is exempt from most of those laws because of the low tobacco content.

[AndyAmine.]

Im having trouble finding any organic tabbaco localy, if anyone can get American spirit or similar I would be interested in doing some trading?

Perhaps for some nice cigar leafs for rolling blunts etc.?

[Μορφέας]

Il keep my eyes out for ya Andy

shisha is a rip off in melbourne, $10 for a 50gram packet *Sigh* its less then a dollar in israel my friend tells me. if it works and you want to share your source send me a pm oskorei... Il love you forever, not that i dont already

Edited June 10, 2007 by Tepa

[Guest Øskorei]

Tepa, are you a fellow hookah-head ? We found a funky cafe just last night (due to my regular hookah-spot being closed for smoking) that sells the Al-Fakher range in 250gram lots for $17. But this is in Sydney, so not much good to you. I have also found that the site www.smoking-shisha.com has some awesome shipping rates from the US to Australia if you're after some hard-to-get ma'ssal brands.

Thanks for the feedback so far regarding importation, I'll keep digging around, see what I can come up with - info wise.

Cheers,

Ø

[Pala]

2. Is 250 grams the maximum allowable amount before having to pay duties/taxes ? It appears that this is what you can bring back if you are returning from overseas, so would ordering from home hold the same limits ?

Anyone yet know the answer to this question? I am hoping to get tobacco sent over in the mail. Would it be allowed to have less than 250g sent?

[apothecary]

Forgot about this thread.

www.cheapcigarettes.com.au does good Turkish brand Shisha lots of good flavours, $50/kg

[dntinc]

Im having trouble finding any organic tabbaco localy, if anyone can get American spirit or similar I would be interested in doing some trading?

Perhaps for some nice cigar leafs for rolling blunts etc.?

check there andy, not the best price but still it aint too bad.

www.mindfuel.co.nz

[hebrew]

thats nice but would be good if there were someplace you could purchase it like that in australia.

[dntinc]

thats nice but would be good if there were someplace you could purchase it like that in australia.

there is...all over the place. well in melb anyway. i went looking through a few different stores and surprising quite alot stock it. i dont know if they have this chain whereever you are but try the tobacconist 'Cignal', also try the more popular markets, cigarette stalls around there seem to stock them aswell.

[hebrew]

awesome thanks i will them up, im in melb too but have not had any luck finding any around this part where i live. might have to venture into the city

[Pala]

I'm finding it hard to determine if it's legal to get tobacco sent in the mail from overseas. And if so whether it's fine to send to under 250g w/o paying tax.

Also, with that cheapcigaretts site, does one have to pay tax on the imports?

Edited September 25, 2007 by Pala

[hebrew]

dunno mate wish i knew as well. let us know if you find out.

[dqd]

check this out

[Pala]

check this out

Cheers, but I think that info on that site is only applicable to stuff made in Oz.

[dqd]

Cheers, but I think that info on that site is only applicable to stuff made in Oz.

Very true , I tried buying tobacco from China via ebay a year or two ago and it looked good until I discovered the extras... if I remember the costs to import were more than 10 times the cost of the baccy if bought OTC here... try Customs and AQIS is all I can suggest.

If they can sting you they will in my experience

[Pala]

Also, with that cheapcigaretts site, does one have to pay tax on the imports?

In answer to my own question (and for the record): I emailed the site and they said that there are additional costs relating to custom's duty/import tax.

[Guest Øskorei]

If we're still talking shisha, Sydney folk can take a trip down to Titanic Cafe in Bankstown, a great Argileh joint (also awesome Arabic food) that not only has about 20 smoko flavours on the menu for customers to chill out with, but almost as much available for 'take away'. A tub of Al-Fakher tobacco/molasses costs <$20 and is reasonably fresh. Newbies to the hookah should ask for Mustapha, the owner, and he will sort out your needs if you want to set yourself up at home.

[apothecary]

I can also vouch for the general awesomeness of Titanic and their wares.

[Pala]

According to http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=5653#e1762:

Gifts sent through the mail or by air/sea cargo may be eligible for the following concession:

 

• Unsolicited gifts of a non-recurring nature sent to an individual in Australia by an individual outside Australia, being goods, or part thereof, to a maximum value of A$200 per consignment. Or in the case of tobacco products and alcohol - for a maximum of 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of cigars or tobacco products and one litre of alcohol.
  
• Gifts over the value of A$1000 require an import declaration and the value in excess of the first AUD$200 is liable for duty and GST and a Customs processing charge. For example if a gift is valued at A$1100 it requires an import declaration, the first A$200 is free and duty and GST is payable on the remaining A$900
  

 

The gift concession is allowed once a year on a parcel or consignment irrespective of whether the parcel is addressed to a family and may contain gifts for a number of family members.

The gift must be a genuine present and must not be solicited. The concession does not apply to items that you purchase personally by mail order, fax, phone or via the Internet. The concession only applies to non-recurring or non-repetitive gifts.

For gifts of tobacco or alcohol, slightly different rules apply. Only 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of other tobacco products and up to one litre of alcohol can come in as an unsolicited gift. Gifts which contain more than these quantities attract charges. For example, if a gift contains two litres of alcohol then the first litre is free and the remaining litre is liable for the applicable duty and GST.

(bold emphasis added)

[Guest Øskorei]

I can also vouch for the general awesomeness of Titanic and their wares.

Hey Apo, cool that you know about this cafe, it's one of Sydney's great secrets. I was out there tonight actually, for a feed & a smoke, and picked up a big bag of 'natural' wood-coals for the home smoking experience (the char rubbish is, well, rubbish). If perchance you are out that way sometime with mates, I'd love to say g'day. Generally speaking, it's a monthly Haj for me, around the middle of each month (ie after payday!)

One wonders how they can get away with indoor smoking, considering the 'phase 2' NSW laws..........

[apothecary]

Hi Osk, natural wood coals are excellent! What kind of wood were yours made of? Lemon wood is popular in Jordan. I always hypothesised hempseed husk would make excellent coal.

Titanic is a bit of a trek for me, especially since I don't have a license. Nonetheless with the Spring air being the way it is I'm sure it won't be long before I feel the urge to lighten my wallet, fatten my stomach and blacken the lungs a little

[Guest Øskorei]

I know what you mean about the hike out to BroTown, I'm just fortunate enough to have a fellow hookah-head mate who drives. Can't tell you what the charcoal is, as it came in an unmarked bag - they generally don't sell the stuff I scored to the public (but they do sell these crap locally -made 'Al-Arz" blocks that have a nasty taste - avoid where possible) but the owner lined me up with a big unmarked bag of what they use on the premises - Ide guess about three kilo's for 10 bucks.

Quite the bugger to get the charcoal heated properly to a glowing red though. I smashed a chunk up into small bits and tried a mini-BBQ-in-an-old-saucepan with twigs, leaves and a bit of metho, and still no joy. Will probably try cooking a couple up straight on the electric stovetop element next weekend. Anyone have suggestions (I am an apartment dweller, so raging fires are a bit out of the question)

[apothecary]

I just set a 'corner' of it on fire, then blow very very hard until the red spreads to a sufficiently large area. You don't want the whole thing glowing at once anyway.