When are duties and taxes due on a guitar shipment?
When are duties and taxes due on a guitar shipment?
This cost of shipping a guitar is not cheap.
First off, if you are buying or selling a guitar it should be agreed upon in the sale agreement.
Some countries charge as much as 20% duties and taxes for goods sold internationally.
The rule of thumb is that it varies. If you are buying or selling a guitar there will be duties and taxes assessed unless you are in a Free Trade Zone. USMCA agreement has a provision to avoid duties and taxes if shipping items between US, Canada, and Mexico. You must file the appropriate paperwork and include it with your shipment. Always be sure to provide good contact information for the sender and receiver. The Carrier or Customs official may reach out with questions or need additional information. If you hire a shipping service to manage this for you, UPS of additional information will also contact them is needed or status of duties and taxes on the shipment. www.shipguitars.com offers customer service 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No other company works harder to service clients that www.shipguitars.com
Filing the international shipping forms can take time and research. Important documents like a Commercial Invoice, Packing List, EEI declaration form (this alone can take a couple of hours of research when doing this the first time), for items worth more than $2500 and permits for prohibited items are some of the forms needed. Power of Attorney needs to be granted and that is something that you don’t take lightly if you are unsure who you are working with and the rights you are granting them. Know your shipping partner! As a result, plan on a couple of hours of work to do this yourself. You need the Harmonized codes to complete the forms and should be very careful about providing specific details about the shipment on the form memo sections. Fa
Who pays duties, taxes or fees on international shipping?
Either the shipper or the receiver will be responsible for payment of duties, taxes and fees. In rare instances, these may be charged to a third party.
When the shipper pays duties, fees or taxes, it is called Delivery Duty Paid (DDP). This can improve the customer experience by providing additional clarity and transparency during the buying process. Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) means the receiver will need to pay.
If you do not have a UPS payment account, and are simply paying with a credit card, it will default to DDU, meaning the receiver will have to pay the duties, taxes and fees in order to receive their shipment. If you hire www.shipguitars.com to do your international forms and manage the shipment, we will help you navigate the estimated duties and taxes.
If the recipient is responsible for these charges, we recommend you inform them of this before the transaction, to avoid any surprises. However, if the receiver does not pay, UPS may recover the outstanding amounts from you.
Failure to properly document the shipment can result in delays, the item being returned at additional cost, or it being held or confiscated by the customs officials.
International customs authorities may also charge storage fees each day the duties and taxes are not paid on the shipment. Often the item will be sent back to the Shipper for a full retail fee of shipping. Hiring a professional team to create and complete the international paperwork and forms is by far the safest way to ensure smooth shipping.
Always be truthful when completing your forms. Proving false information leads to guitar being held or confiscated.
International shipping is no joke and fraught with risk for in experienced shippers, but www.shipguitars.com makes it safe, easy and affordable.
Call or email if you have any questions.
410.261.4558