All traders selling products via the Internet auction site www.eBay.com.au will be required to include GST in the price of their listings from Monday 13 June 2005.
"eBay Australia is implementing the changes in response to concerns raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and eBay members", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"The ACCC contacted eBay in 2004 with concerns that many traders were listing items for sale on the eBay website with auction or fixed Buy It Now prices which were exclusive of GST.
"This was often only made known by the seller through information provided some pages from the initial bid or Buy It Now price for the listed item. Some eBay buyers reported that they had been charged an additional 10 per cent on top of their winning bid or Buy It Now price without having been properly alerted beforehand of the additional charge.
"Some traders using eBay to sell products were also concerned that their competitors' prices appeared to be lower because they did not include GST.
"eBay Australia has liaised with the ACCC to modify its GST policy which now makes it a requirement for all sellers on the eBay site to include any applicable GST in their auction or Buy It Now price. Before modifying its policy, eBay Australia did not require sellers to list items on a GST-inclusive basis, although it did recommend that they do so.
"The modified policy only applies to eBay sellers who are required to be registered for GST.
"Once the ACCC contacted eBay in order to raise its concerns about GST exclusive pricing on the eBay Australia website, eBay offered to change its GST policy in order to provide certainty for all users of the website. The ACCC believes this outcome will reduce confusion for all eBay customers and ensure that eBay sellers are competing on equal terms".
For more information, please refer to eBay's GST policy (http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/policies/seller-gst.html) or contact eBay Customer Support via the Help section on www.eBay.com.au (Contact Us).