Private ruling: GST and importation of medical aids and appliances
Date of advice: 23 September 2016
Published: November 2016

Ruling: Q1: Is your importation of the device a taxable importation? | A1: No. Your importation of the device is not a taxable importation. If the importation of the device had been a supply, the supply would have been GST-free under subsection 38-45(1) of the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (GST Act) as the device is a transcutaneous nerve stimulator machine for the purposes of item 141 of Schedule 3 to the GST Act. Therefore, the importation is a non-taxable importation under paragraph 13-10(b) of the GST Act.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You purchased the device from overseas and paid GST on the importation. The small device uses a highly refined and extensively researched microampere current to provide non-invasive, sustainable relief wherever and whenever pain strikes. Applied directly at the site of pain using probes and electrodes, the device offers non-invasive, fast relief of many types of pain, including acute, chronic and post-traumatic pain. The device offers relief for people suffering from acute, chronic or post-traumatic pain and from anxiety, insomnia and depression that usually accompany pain.

Relevant legislative provisions: A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 13-5, | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 13-10 and | A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 section 38-45.