Topic · 7 entries
Customs & import charges
Where duty, tax and the carrier handling fee come from, and who collects each one.
Every entry, answer first
Open an entry to see the basis it rests on, the moves it implies, and the way people usually misread it. Every entry names the stage it bites at.
Who actually collects the import charge: the agent, the carrier or the customs office?Customs sets the charge, the carrier usually collects it before release, and the agent is not normally part of that payment.
Public rule Duty and tax are assessed by the destination customs authority on the declared value and the classification of the goods, while the agent’s own published total lists them as a block separate from the item price and the international freight (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=63, captured 2026-10). The money is then collected before release, usually by the carrier holding the parcel at stage 8, which may add its own charge for doing it, so three different names can appear across the bill and only two of them come from the state. Which party collects what changes between markets and carriers: check the current rule with the authority for your destination, and read the carrier’s own fee page for its part.
What to do
- Ask the carrier which lines on its bill are government charges and which are its own fee.
- Keep the customs receipt separate from the freight invoice.
- Query a charge that looks wrong with the party named on the document.
The misread is assuming the agent collected the charge and can therefore reduce it.
Bites at: stage 8 — Clear customs
Is there a value below which I pay no import charge at all?Yes in many markets: the help centre prints a reference list of thresholds, while noting that the list is for reference only.
Public rule The help centre publishes a duty-free reference list that includes 800 USD for the United States, 130 USD for Japan, 150 USD for Korea, 300 USD for New Zealand and Singapore, 30 USD for Spain, 20 CAD for Canada, 15 GBP for the United Kingdom, 22 EUR for the European Union, 100 CHF for Switzerland and 1000 AUD for Australia, with the note that the figures are for reference only (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=69, captured 2026-10). A list of this kind ages, because each government revises its own figure, so use it to identify which market to look up and then check the current rule with that authority for the year of the shipment.
What to do
- Find your market in the reference list, then verify the figure with that authority.
- Note the date you read it, and re-check before you ship.
- Work out which side of the threshold your declared value sits on.
The misread is treating a reference list as the binding figure for a shipment made later.
Bites at: stage 7 — Pay international freight
Does the freight I paid count towards the value customs looks at?Depends on the market: some value the goods alone, others add transport, and the agent total lists freight apart from duty.
Public rule The agent states its own total as goods cost plus international freight plus duty (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=63, captured 2026-10), which is how the agent’s arithmetic works rather than how the destination assesses value. An item at 200 units with 60 units of freight gives two possible bases, 200 or 260, and the difference matters most when a threshold sits between them. The valuation rule that applies is the destination market’s own, so check the current rule in that authority’s guidance before you assume the goods figure is the base.
What to do
- Find the valuation basis for your destination market before you ship.
- Note how the freight figure is stated on the paperwork if it is included in the base.
- Recalculate the threshold test using both bases to see whether it changes the outcome.
The misread is assuming the declared goods value is always the whole basis.
Bites at: stage 8 — Clear customs
What do I do with a carrier bill I did not expect before delivery?Ask for the breakdown in writing: duty, tax, the declaration fee and the carrier’s own handling fee are separate things.
Flow dependency The charge is raised after the parcel reaches the destination country, which is after the freight was paid at stage 7 and before final delivery, so it cannot have been part of what you already paid. The agent’s own published fee page shows a declaration fee of RMB 8.00 per parcel that varies with the shipping method and is listed separately from duty (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=63, captured 2026-10), and the carrier may add its own fee for collecting the government part. One line labelled charges tells you nothing about which of those you are paying.
What to do
- Request an itemised breakdown in writing before you pay anything.
- Compare the government portion with the threshold you looked up for your market.
- Ask whether you can clear it yourself instead of using the carrier service.
The misread is paying the first figure you are shown to get the parcel moving.
Bites at: stage 8 — Clear customs
Can I declare a lower value to reduce the import charge?A false declaration is a customs matter rather than a customer-service shortcut, and the form carries your name.
Public rule The declaration is a legal statement about the goods, and understating the value to reduce a charge is treated as misdeclaration in most markets, with the consequences falling on the importer named on the paperwork. The same shipment can carry a goods value, a freight figure and an insured value in 3 separate boxes, so a lower declared figure can quietly reduce what a loss claim pays out. Rules and penalties differ by market, so check the current rule for your destination before you accept a suggestion to write a smaller number.
What to do
- Declare the figure you actually paid, and keep the payment record to match it.
- Ask for the suggestion in writing if the agent proposes a lower figure.
- Check what your declared value does to any loss claim before you agree to it.
The misread is treating the declared value as a box to fill in as cheaply as possible.
Bites at: stage 6 — Merge and pack
Why did my parcel stop at customs when another parcel went straight through?Examination is selective and per consignment, and the help centre notes that heavy or repetitive parcels attract more attention.
Public rule Customs authorities select consignments for examination on their own criteria, which are not published in a form you can check in advance, and a parcel may be held for a document, a question about the value, or a physical inspection. The help centre itself notes that parcels over 10 kg, and parcels holding many units of the same item, are more likely to be treated as commercial and suggests splitting them; it also states that only 0.3 percent of parcels are taxed, a figure it does not source, so treat that as the agent’s own claim rather than a rate (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=69, captured 2026-10). Because procedures and triggers are revised, check the current rule with the destination authority when a hold appears.
What to do
- Ask the carrier what document or answer the hold is waiting for.
- Answer through the party that raised it, and keep every reply.
- Split a heavy or repetitive order before shipping it, rather than after a hold.
The misread is reading a hold as a random delay that will clear by itself.
Bites at: stage 8 — Clear customs
Should I ask the warehouse to mark the parcel as a gift or a sample?What is written on the form does not change what is inside, and the classification rules belong to the destination market.
Public rule Relief for gifts and samples exists in some markets, but it comes with conditions about the sender, the recipient and the value, and it is not decided by a word the sender types: a 3 kg box relabelled four ways is still a 3 kg box with the same contents and the same invoice behind it. The help centre’s own note on parcels over 10 kg and on many units of one item makes the same point from the other direction, since a commercial-looking consignment is judged on what it holds rather than on the label (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=69, captured 2026-10). Those conditions are published by the destination authority, so check the current rule before you ask anyone to write anything on the form.
What to do
- Look up whether your destination market has a gift or sample relief and what it requires.
- Describe the contents accurately if you fill anything in yourself.
- Keep the itemised invoice, since it is the record the declaration is checked against.
The misread is believing the label on the form decides the charge.
Bites at: stage 6 — Merge and pack