Import Tax and Custom Duty
How much will you pay?
Foreign customers may or may not be charged import taxes like VAT/GST, sales tax, fees, and customs duties besides the value of products. Each is calculated based on the local tax and customs rules set by the local governments and authorities.
Those additional fees go to the local government, so not to us.
We DO NOT collect those fees at the time you place your order here. You are responsible for taxes and customs when you receive the items you buy if you need to do so.
That being said, the final price you will pay (landed cost) varies depending on where you are and also how much you buy.
Here are the brief guidelines of how much they may or may not charge additional fees in each country we ship an item.
Terms & definition
CIF
CIF Stands for "Cost, Insurance, Freight." When it says like: Customs duty is imposed on CIF, which means custom is calculated based on the total amount of the item's value, insurance fee, and shipment cost.
FOB
FOB stands for "Free-On-Board." Unlike CIF, some countries calculate tax and/or custom only based on the item's value.
de minimis
It's the threshold amount at which you may be charged additional fees. Each country has set a different de minimis amount or none at all.
Landed Cost
The total amount you will pay after all. You will only be charged the amount displayed on the website when you purchase an item. But import tax, fees, and customs may or may not be added to the price at the immigration in your location. Remember those additional costs DO NOT COME TO US, but go to your local authorities.
Argentine
Duties and taxes are levied on imports into Argentina if the total CIF value of the import exceeds Argentina's de minimis. Argentina does not have a de minimis for courier shipments, so duties and taxes are levied on all courier imports. For postal shipments, the de minimis for duties and taxes is 50 USD, and/or 12 shipments per year from a seller. Imports above this value are subject to duties and taxes. If the sender exceeds the de minimis threshold of 12 shipments, the 50 USD de minimis disappears. For example, if you buy a total of 80 USD, you will be charged taxes and duties on the remaining 30 USD minus the 50 USD de minimis. For mail shipments, the duty rate is 50%, so the duty is 15 USD, which is half of the 30 USD. Also, 21% VAT is charged on the same 30 USD. A small fee is added on top of this. For courier shipments, there is no de minimis, so duties and taxes are always char Most of our items are sent by mail, but some will be released later for courier shipments. Import duties and tax calculations in Argentina are calculated based on CIF, so keep that in mind when you are considering a purchase. If you contact us by e-mail, we will be able to tell you how many shipments to Argentina we have done before your order.
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Mail shipment
CIF $80
($80 - $50 de minimis) x 0.5 = $15 of customs duty
($80 - $50 de minimis) x 0.21 = $6.3 of VAT
The landed cost will be: $80 + $15 + $6.3 + fees = more than $101.3
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Courier shipment
CIF $80
($80 - $0 de minimis) x 0.35 = $28 of customs duty
($80 - $0 de minimis) x 0.21 = $16.8 of VAT
The landed cost will be: $80 + $28 + $16.8 + fees = more than $124.8
Australia
Taxes and duties on imports into Australia are only levied if the total FOB value of the goods imported exceeds 1,000 AUD de minimis. Imports below 1,000 AUD are exempt from taxes and duties. Please note that other fees may apply when importing goods into Australia. These fees vary depending on the type and value of the imported goods. Additionally, additional fees may apply for customs broker services, freight forwarding, and other import-related services.
Typical examples are IPC and FID.
IPC is a fee levied on the importer for processing the import declaration.
For ocean shipments, the fee is levied every 102.60 AUD, and for air and postal shipments, the fee is levied every 50 AUD.
FID is a fee levied for submitting a complete import declaration to the Australian Border Force (ABF). The FID fee is usually included in the IPC mentioned above.
New Zealand
The de minimis for import taxes and duties in New Zealand is 1,000 NZD.
As long as the CIF does not exceed this threshold, imports are considered exempt from taxes and duties.
Philippine
The de minimis for import taxes and duties in the Philippines is 10,000 Php.
As long as the CIF does not exceed this threshold, imports are considered exempt from taxes and duties.
The U.S.A
The United States has set a high de minimis for imported goods, and import duties are not imposed if the value is less than $800. The United States uses an FOB basis for calculating customs duties, rather than a CIF basis, which means that only the total value of all items in a shipment determines whether it exceeds the $800 de minimis amount. In addition, instead of collecting import tax, sales tax is collected, but sellers do not have to collect it unless the amount exceeds a certain amount and/or the number of transactions. Each state has a different threshold for tax. HOMURA Merchandise monitors all transactions in the United States and collects sales tax only when the threshold is exceeded.
Ask your local authority!
It is NOT necessary that the information here is always accurate. The local laws and rules can change at anytime so we may not follow all of them at the time changes are made in each regions.
If you are unsure about the price you might be charged, ask your local customs office to make sure before placing an order.
We will NOT ACCEPT returning offers related to customs and local taxes.