Retailers unhappy with import fee increase RETAILERS have lashed out at the federal government for trying to push through a hike in the cost of importing goods for sale. The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) says changes to the import processing charge (IPC) will ultimately impact on jobs and state government GST revenues. Association executive director Russell Zimmerman says "hidden in the depths" of Labor's budget last week were plans to increase the charge for consignments arriving in Australia by air (up $81.90 to $122.10) and sea (up $102.60 to $152.60). "As retailers are aware, no cost recovery exists in relation to consignments valued at $1000 or less, even though today there are in excess of nine million consignments that fall within this high volume, low value process," Mr Zimmerman said in a statement on Monday. The ARA believes that continued delays in reducing the low-value import threshold are impacting jobs as well as state government revenue. Defending the move, Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said the IPC hasn't seen an increase for more than a decade and the new rates, due to commence in 2014, will only apply to imports of more than $10,000. "The increase to the charge amounts to about one per cent on a sea cargo import valued at about $10,000 and less than one per cent on an air cargo import of the same value," Mr Clare told AAP in a statement. The volume of air and sea cargo has increased by almost 800 per cent in the past eight years. Over the same period, IPC revenue has only grown by 29 per cent.