Whether your customer faces customs charges at the border depends on the destination country. When it applies, this charge is the sales tax (VAT) for that country, though it is often called customs charges, customs fees, import charges, duty, duty fees, import tax or import fees.
Where border charges do and don't apply
- Orders shipped to the United States, the EU and the UK will not be charged at the border.
- For the rest of the world, it depends on the value of the shipment. Over a certain value, your customer will be charged the sales tax of that country. Because de minimis value rules change frequently, customers should always check the latest requirements with their destination country before shipping.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)
For a number of countries outside the EU, UK and USA, you can enable DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) so your customers are not billed at the border:
- DDP enabled: your customer pays nothing at the border. Instead, you pre-pay all import duties, GST and a courier handling fee upfront on your invoice.
- DDP disabled: your customer may be billed import charges by the carrier on delivery (duty-unpaid shipping).
DDP is available for seven countries: Canada, Australia, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Iceland and Mexico.
You can toggle DDP on or off per country in your Fulfilment settings. Check there to see which countries you have it switched on for, and enable it for any others where you'd prefer your customers to receive their orders with no customs bill.