# Hops held in customs



## Lionman (19/10/18)

Hi guys.

I ordered 4lb of hops from Yakima on the 26/9/18.

After realising they hadn't' arrived in ages I tracked the shipping and discovered they have been with customs since the 3/10/18.

I haven't received any communication from customs.

What do I do? I can't find any way to contact them to enquire about what they are holding the package for.

Is it because they want me to pay GST? Or are they lab testing them to make sure they aren't marijuana?

If they have opened the packets and they have gone stale I will be most upset....


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## Burt de Ernie (19/10/18)

They probably think its dope!


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## pnorkle (19/10/18)

Hi @Lionman - which Customs are they at - did they come straight to Perth? I've found in the past that they can be quite slow - if you need to pay GST, it normally takes a week or so for them to figure their shit out, and then close to a week for the letter to get to you telling you that you gotta pay da man. I only know this because I order a lot of cigars from OS, and yes, they can vary in time taken to arrive.


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## wide eyed and legless (19/10/18)

If its clearly written on the consignment note what it is there shouldn't be a problem, but then again it is WA they can be a bit weird about vegetative stuff coming in.


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## Lionman (19/10/18)

pnorkle said:


> Hi @Lionman - which Customs are they at - did they come straight to Perth? I've found in the past that they can be quite slow - if you need to pay GST, it normally takes a week or so for them to figure their shit out, and then close to a week for the letter to get to you telling you that you gotta pay da man. I only know this because I order a lot of cigars from OS, and yes, they can vary in time taken to arrive.



They are in Melbourne.

Pretty sure they only chase for GST on packages worth over $1K. Under $1K they rely on the seller being registered for GST so I think its only bigger well known international retailers that have been made to register and pay.

I could be wrong though.

Cigars would be different as you probably have to pay excise on those, different tax.

Some numpty probably thought it was weed.


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## Lionman (19/10/18)

I have order from them before without issue but I guess that doesn't really mean much, its a lottery when ever you import anything.

I can live with them holding up a package, I understand they do an important job. If they have damaged my hops I will be livid though.


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## Danscraftbeer (19/10/18)

Re- Its something about border quarantine bla bla, I cant send Rhizomes to WA or Tassy either I think. I could buy from them though, I think. Sorry for being vague. Its all been covered in past threads on this forum. Sorry I cant link the details. Not sure how the search works best. 
You should find a number somewhere to inquire though.


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## gap (20/10/18)

Are they pellets or flowers?


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## pcmfisher (20/10/18)

gap said:


> Are they pellets or flowers?



If they were flowers they would be in the incinerator by now...


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## gap (20/10/18)

pcmfisher said:


> If they were flowers they would be in the incinerator by now...


Who's to know they are not in the incinerator/


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## Lorenzo99 (20/10/18)

Its gst the gov changed the rules all products regardless of value are now subject to gst staryed July payable by the purchaser. Supposed to make it fairer for aussie retailers


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## wide eyed and legless (20/10/18)

I buy quite a lot of seed from overseas and if it is not clearly marked what seed it is it will be destroyed, but they usually do get in touch to ask if you (the purchaser) can verify exactly what it is. 
I had some tomato seed destroyed, I wasn't concerned it was just some free seed the supplier threw in with the order, customs knew it was tomato seed but needed to know the type.


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## Lionman (20/10/18)

They are just pellets from Yakima Valley.

They are going to a lot of trouble for $12 GST.


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## The hop cartel (5/11/18)

It will have nothing to do with GST mate. My last two shipments got held for inspection, one being nearly 10 days due to containing a few pounds of hop hash.


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## DU99 (5/11/18)

quarantine..


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## Dan Pratt (5/11/18)

i had teh same thing happen a few years ago. ordered enf of Aug, arrived mid december, each of the packets had been opened and tested. 

Now I just buy local and teh savings is not enough to warrant the wait time.


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## beachy (7/11/18)

What was the final outcome . 
Did your hops eventually arrive in good condition.


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## Lionman (5/12/18)

beachy said:


> What was the final outcome .
> Did your hops eventually arrive in good condition.



Just checked the tracking again and it looks like it eventually cleared customs on the 3rd of December.

That's over 2 months it took them to work out they weren't contraband.

I'm assuming they opened all the packets, tested them for THC, and now they will all be oxidised and stale from being exposed to air and not refrigerated for 2 months. 

Is there any avenue for compensation when customs damage your goods?


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## altone (5/12/18)

Yes you can lodge a claim but whether you get it is another matter.

Info used to be at customs.gov.au but no longer there you'd need to search australia.gov.au
here's an old report with a bit of info:
https://www.ombudsman.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/26265/investigation_2008_04.pdf


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## wide eyed and legless (5/12/18)

Best you can do is write a strong letter of complaint, there will be no compensation, they are a law unto themselves, I did bring some fishing burley in a couple of times, the name of it was Copra Sativa and it did contain cannabis seed, went straight through. Could be they don't understand Latin, should get Yakima to put humulus lupulus on the consignment note.


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## altone (5/12/18)

I have made a claim and got compensation from customs but that was nearly 10 years ago.

As I can no longer find the info perhaps they use the US model now where compensation is only paid if damage is caused by negligence of their staff
Not if the damage is caused by their normal inspection methods.


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## Lionman (11/12/18)

So this arrived today. Only 11 weeks from when it was ordered.

None of the bags where opened, still with the original seals intact, but 2 were no longer under vacuum but that could have been a packing issue.

At least they arrived, eventually...


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## wide eyed and legless (11/12/18)

It's a wonder Bio security didn't send you notification that the goods were being held, that's their normal MO unless that got lost in the post.


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## The hop cartel (12/12/18)

They will normally Pierce the bottom of the bag enough to get a bit dust and cover the hole with a piece of clear tape.


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## Lionman (12/12/18)

The hop cartel said:


> They will normally Pierce the bottom of the bag enough to get a bit dust and cover the hole with a piece of clear tape.



Thanks for the tip, I will double check for this.

I will re vac seal them this arvo i think.


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