Home » Latest News » Buying second-hand earthmoving machinery from Asia a risky business
Latest News

Buying second-hand earthmoving machinery from Asia a risky business

Thinking of buying a second-hand earthmoving machine from Asia? Then make sure you factor in all the additional costs, because you could be hit up for $4,000 just for cleaning the machine when it arrives.

Customs broker, Peter McRae from Platinum Freight Management says increasingly earthmoving companies are buying second-hand excavators, diggers, dozers and other machines from Asia where top branded second-hand machines are selling at discounted prices compared to Australian based machines.

However, Mr McRae says earthmoving business owners are being caught out by massive customs and quarantine costs – which might still make it worthwhile, but importers should check the risks first. Mr McRae cites the example of importing an excavator from China.

“Generally, the price they are selling for is low enough to easily absorb the shipping costs and a good customs brokerage can generally organise to reduce the import duties from 5% to zero because the machines are not manufactured here in Australia. But the potential cost traps include cleaning and storage.

The Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) will inspect the machine on arrival and in most instances direct it for a steam clean; as you can imagine the machine has intricate parts and those parts need to be cleaned thoroughly and the costs can easily top $4,000.”

Mr McRae says the additional costs are incurred by the Quarantine Accredited Premise (QAP) who are accredited by DAFF to undertake the work. Another cost is the fee for moving the vehicle by truck from customs to the QAP.

Mr McRae says a broker can pre-clear the cargo before it arrives into Australia but once it arrives, the machine will be inspected and either be released, sent to the QAP or in the worse case scenario be re-exported.

Brokers are connected to Customs and DAFF electronically and receive virtually instantaneous responses in regards to the status of cargo.

Add Comment

Click here to post a comment