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SYDNEY, Australia – Amazon will give Australians access to products from its main website, revisiting a decision made earlier this year that angered its customers in the country.
The online retailer had announced that it would redirect Australians to a local website in order to comply with changes to Australian tax legislation. This law requires online retailers to charge a 10% goods and services tax on items sold and shipped from abroad.
But customers have complained that the move would raise prices and prohibit millions of products, some hard to find otherwise. And it seems that these concerns have been heard.
"Following customer feedback, Amazon customers will be able to ship eligible Amazon.com merchandise to Australian delivery addresses from November 22," said a spokeswoman. Amazon in a statement released Thursday.
After its initial decision to suspend its exports to Australia, the company focused on "building the complex infrastructure needed to allow the export of low-value goods to the country." 39, Australia and to remain compliant with the laws on the GST ", adds the press release with reference to the tax on products and services.
The company's initial decision to ban Australians from accessing the main Amazon site was criticized in June by Scott Morrison, the country's current prime minister and treasurer.
"You do not get a special offer because you're a big company or a multinational corporation," Morrison said to the question of whether companies would be exempt from the tax. "I think it's disappointing that Amazon is taking it to Australian consumers, but that's their commercial position."
The reversal comes just before retailers hold their Black Friday sales – the annual high-rebate spree and giving Australians access to the Amazon main site could be a boon to the company's efforts to attract customers local.
Analysts have predicts that the retail giant will capture nearly half of the US e-commerce market this year.
But even with access to the main site of the Amazon, Australians will face obstacles. Third-party sellers on the site still are not able to ship to Australia, which was "a huge frustration," a customer complained on Twitter.
Amazon "will continue to work constructively with the government", to ensure "fair conditions for all retailers and markets," said the spokeswoman for Amazon.
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