Shoppers will get a 12-month reprieve from having to pay the GST on goods worth less than $1000 ordered from overseas as the Productivity Commission studies the best method for collecting the tax.
The Senate on Monday agreed to amend the Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Gods) Bill to delay its start date until July 1, 2018.
Until then, imports worth less than $1000 will not attract the 10 per cent GST, which will anger local retailers but please giants such as eBay, Alibaba and Etsy.
The amended bill still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives but both Labor and Liberal sources said that was highly likely in coming days.
"eBay welcomes the review by the Productivity Commission and looks forward to working with government and the industry on methods of implementation that drive revenue, help level the playing field for Australian businesses and maintain choice for shoppers," a company spokesman said.
The absence of GST on "low-value" goods imported into Australia been a long-running bugbear of local retailers.
Harvey Norman boss Gerry Harvey has been a vocal critic, claiming bricks-and-mortar stores are at a disadvantage.
Their woes are set to deepen as Amazon prepares to enter the Australian market.
But the government has also come under pressure from companies that will be affected by the new GST rules.
eBay, Alibaba, Etsy and Amazon have threatened to geoblock Australian customers.
"Regrettably, the government's legislation may force eBay to prevent Australians from buying from foreign sellers," eBay Australia and New Zealand vice-president Jooman Park wrote in the submission to a parliamentary inquiry into the proposed law.
"No tax would be paid to Australia and none would be owed. It would raise no revenue, deny Australians access to choice and lessen price competition."
The bill passed the Senate with 32 votes in favour and 16 against. A Greens amendment to exempt tampons from GST failed.
A Labor amendment delays commencement until 1 July 2018.
It also requires the PC to investigate different models for collecting the GST and how they affect small businesses in particular.
A report is due by the end of October.
Under the changes, online marketplaces and parcel forwarding services will be treated as the supplier and therefore liable for collecting GST.
"Electronic distribution platforms ebay, Alibaba and Etsy expressed disquiet that they will be liable for GST on goods which they have never owned, held, tracked or traded," the Senate Economics Legislation Committee said in a report following its inquiry.
"They liken it to a landlord or a shopping centre being liable for GST on goods sold by tenants. They believe that the system will be complex and costly to administer, and the costs will be passed on to consumers."
The new rules, which were due to generate an extra $300 million in revenue over four years, apply only to delivery of goods to consumers. Supplies to businesses are unaffected.
The change was announced in the 2016 budget, along with another "integrity" measure to collect GST on cross-border supplies of digital products and services.
This was dubbed the Netflix tax and has already cleared federal parliament. It will take effect from July 1 of this year.
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