De Minimis Value

What is De Minimis Value?

De minimis is a threshold that exempts imports from duty and or tax/VAT and differs by country. When goods get shipped to another country, the importing (or destination) country may wish to levy duties and taxes on those goods by collecting them from the person or company importing the products - as duties and taxes generate revenue for the importing country.

The process for assessing and collecting duties and taxes requires time and resources for the importing country, so it doesn’t make economic sense to spend time on low-value shipments. That is why each country sets its own de minimis value threshold for when it will assess duties and taxes on an import. Generally, the duty de minimis threshold will be different from the tax de minimis threshold.

The value threshold is what we call the de minimis value. Anything below this value is considered to be, “so small or trivial that the law does not refer to it and will not consider it.” The de minimis value may also be used to encourage or discourage certain trade/purchasing habits. Take note that many items can be received duty-free if the goods meet the rules of origin under free trade agreements.

Key Components:

  1. Duty/Tax Exemption:

    • De Minimis Value is crucial because it determines whether a shipment will be exempt from duties or taxes. If the declared value of a package falls below the De Minimis threshold, it is often cleared without incurring these additional costs.

  2. Varied Thresholds:

    • De Minimis Values vary from country to country. Different nations set their own thresholds, and these can also differ based on the type of goods being shipped.

  3. E-commerce Impact:

    • With the rise of cross-border e-commerce, De Minimis Value has gained prominence. Many countries have adjusted their thresholds to accommodate the influx of low-value shipments associated with online retail.

  4. Simplifying Clearance:

    • The primary purpose of De Minimis is to streamline customs clearance processes, especially for smaller shipments. It recognizes that imposing duties on every low-value item would be impractical and resource-intensive.

Real-world Scenario:

Let's consider a scenario where a country has a De Minimis threshold of $200. If a package's declared value is $180, it may be exempt from duties or taxes, promoting the seamless flow of international trade for lower-value shipments.

In the United States, imports are duty and tax-free due to the generous 800 USD de minimis. Then, there are other countries where the de minimis is not as straightforward as it appears, such as Australia’s 1,000 AUD de minimis. Australia’s de minimis is technically 1,000 AUD; however, if you sell over 75,000 AUD a year into Australia, you are required to register/remit GST and not via the customs clearance process.

De minimis values by country:

The majority of import countries have a de minimis amount for duty and tax. Below is a reference sheet of each country’s values for duty and tax de minimis.

Note: A de minimis value of 0 means that items of any value are subject to duty/tax.

COUNTRY

ISO

DUTY DE MINIMIS

TAX DE MINIMIS

Afghanistan

AF

0 USD

0 USD

Åland Islands

AX

0 USD

0 USD

Albania

AL

100 USD

100 USD

Algeria

DZ

50,000 DZD

50,000 DZD

American Samoa

AS

0 USD

0 USD

Andorra

AD

220 EUR

0 EUR

Angola

AO

100 USD

100 USD

Anguilla

AI

0 XCD

0 XCD

Antigua & Barbuda

AG

0 USD

0 USD

Argentina

AR

0 USD

0 USD

Armenia

AM

300 USD

300 USD

Aruba

AW

0 USD

0 USD

Australia

AU

1,000 AUD

1,000 AUD

Austria

AT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Azerbaijan

AZ

0 USD

0 USD

Bahamas

BS

0 USD

0 USD

Bahrain

BH

300 BHD

300 BHD

Bangladesh

BD

1,000 BDT

0 BDT

Barbados

BB

0 BBD

0 BBD

Belarus

BY

22 EUR

22 EUR

Belgium

BE

150 EUR

0 EUR

Belize

BZ

0 BZD

0 BZD

Benin

BJ

50 USD

50 USD

Bermuda

BM

0 BMD

0 BMD

Bhutan

BT

0 INR

0 INR

Bolivia

BO

0 USD

0 USD

Bonaire, St.Eustatius & Saba

BQ

100 USD

100 USD

Bosnia & Herzegovina

BA

300 KM

300 KM

Botswana

BW

0 BWP

0 BWP

Brazil

BR

0 BRL

0 BRL

Brunei Darussalam

BN

0 BND

0 BND

Bulgaria

BG

150 EUR

0 EUR

Burkina Faso

BF

0 USD

0 USD

Burundi

BI

0 USD

0 USD

Cambodia

KH

50 USD

50 USD

Cameroon

CM

400 USD

400 USD

Canada

CA

20 CAD

20 CAD

Cape Verde

CV

200 USD

200 USD

Cayman Islands

KY

0 USD

0 USD

Central African Republic

CF

20 USD

0 USD

Chad

TD

20 USD

20 USD

Chile

CL

41 USD

41 USD

China, People's Republic of

CN

0 CNY

0 CNY

Colombia

CO

200 USD

0 USD

Comoros

KM

0 USD

0 USD

Congo

CG

12 USD

12 USD

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

CD

0 USD

0 USD

Cook Islands

CK

0 NZD

0 NZD

Costa Rica

CR

50 USD

50 USD

Croatia

HR

150 EUR

0 EUR

Cuba

CU

0 USD

0 USD

Curaçao

CW

50 ANG

50 ANG

Cyprus

CY

150 EUR

0 EUR

Czech Republic

CZ

150 EUR

0 EUR

Denmark

DK

150 EUR

0 EUR

Djibouti

DJ

0 DJF

0 DJF

Dominica

DM

0 USD

0 USD

Dominican Republic

DO

200 USD

200 USD

Ecuador

EC

10 USD

0 USD

Egypt

EG

0 EGP

0 EGP

El Salvador

SV

0 USD

0 USD

Equatorial Guinea

GQ

200 USD

0 USD

Eritrea

ER

100 USD

0 USD

Estonia

EE

150 EUR

0 EUR

Ethiopia

ET

25 EUR

25 EUR

Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

FK

0 USD

0 USD

Faroe Islands (Denmark)

FO

300 DKK

300 DKK

Fiji

FJ

200 FJD

200 FJD

Finland

FI

150 EUR

0 EUR

France

FR

150 EUR

0 EUR

French Guiana

GF

150 EUR

0 EUR

French Polynesia (Tahiti)

PF

0 USD

0 USD

French Southern Territories

TF

0 USD

0 USD

Gabon

GA

10 USD

10 USD

Gambia

GM

100 USD

100 USD

Georgia

GE

300 GEL

0 GEL

Germany

DE

150 EUR

0 EUR

Ghana

GH

5 USD

0 USD

Gibraltar

GI

0 USD

0 USD

Greece

GR

150 EUR

0 EUR

Greenland (Denmark)

GL

80 DKK

80 DKK

Grenada

GD

20 XCD

0 XCD

Guadeloupe

GP

150 EUR

0 EUR

Guam

GU

0 USD

0 USD

Guatemala

GT

0 USD

0 USD

Guernsey

GG

0 EUR

0 EUR

Guinea

GN

15 USD

15 USD

Guinea-Bissau

GW

100 USD

0 USD

Guyana

GY

0 USD

0 USD

Haiti

HT

0 USD

0 USD

Honduras

HN

0 USD

0 USD

Hong Kong

HK

0 USD

0 USD

Hungary

HU

150 EUR

0 EUR

Iceland

IS

0 ISK

0 ISK

India

IN

0 INR

0 INR

Indonesia

ID

3 USD

0 USD

Iran

IR

50 USD

50 USD

Iraq

IQ

0 USD

0 USD

Ireland

IE

150 EUR

0 EUR

Isle of Man

IM

135 GBP

15 GBP

Israel

IL

500 USD

75 USD

Italy

IT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Ivory Coast

CI

20 USD

20 USD

Jamaica

JM

50 USD

0 USD

Japan

JP

10,000 JPY

10,000 JPY

Jersey

JE

0 GBP

0 GBP

Jordan

JO

100 JOD

0 JOD

Kazakhstan

KZ

200 EUR

200 EUR

Kenya

KE

0 USD

0 USD

Kiribati

KI

0 USD

0 USD

Korea, Democratic People's Republic of

KP

0 USD

0 USD

Korea, The Republic of

KR

150 USD

150 USD

Kuwait

KW

100 KWD

0 KWD

Kyrgyzstan

KG

120 USD

120 USD

Laos

LA

0 LAK

0 LAK

Latvia

LV

150 EUR

0 EUR

Lebanon

LB

0 USD

0 USD

Lesotho

LS

0 USD

0 USD

Liberia

LR

0 USD

0 USD

Libya

LY

0 USD

0 USD

Liechtenstein

LI

0 CHF

0 CHF

Lithuania

LT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Luxembourg

LU

150 EUR

0 EUR

Macau

MO

0 MOP

0 MOP

Macedonia

MK

22 EUR

22 EUR

Madagascar

MG

20 USD

20 USD

Malawi

MW

0 MWK

0 MWK

Malaysia

MY

500 MYR

500 MYR

Maldives

MV

6,000 MVR

0 MVR

Mali

ML

20 USD

20 USD

Malta

MT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Marshall Islands

MH

0 USD

0 USD

Martinique

MQ

150 EUR

0 EUR

Mauritania

MR

25 USD

25 USD

Mauritius

MU

500 MUR

500 MUR

Mayotte

YT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Mexico

MX

1,000 USD

50 USD

Micronesia, Federated States of

FM

0 USD

0 USD

Moldova

MD

300 EUR

300 EUR

Monaco

MC

150 EUR

22 EUR

Mongolia

MN

0 MNT

0 MNT

Montenegro

ME

75 EUR

0 EUR

Montserrat

MS

0 USD

0 USD

Morocco

MA

30 USD

30 USD

Mozambique

MZ

30 USD

30 USD

Myanmar

MM

0 USD

0 USD

Namibia

NA

0 USD

0 USD

Nauru, Republic Of

NR

0 USD

0 USD

Nepal

NP

0 NPR

0 NPR

Netherlands

NL

150 EUR

0 EUR

New Caledonia

NC

0 USD

0 USD

New Zealand

NZ

1,000 NZD

1,000 NZD

Nicaragua

NI

0 NIO

0 NIO

Niger

NE

20 USD

0 USD

Nigeria

NG

0 USD

0 USD

Niue Island

NU

0 USD

0 USD

Norfolk Island

NF

50 USD

0 USD

Northern Mariana Islands

MP

0 USD

0 USD

Norway

NO

350 NOK

350 NOK

Oman

OM

0 USD

0 USD

Pakistan

PK

0 USD

0 USD

Palau

PW

0 USD

0 USD

Palestine

PS

0 EGP

0 EGP

Panama

PA

100 PAB

100 PAB

Papua New Guinea

PG

250 PGK

250 PGK

Paraguay

PY

20 USD

20 USD

Peru

PE

200 USD

200 USD

Philippines

PH

10,000 PHP

10,000 PHP

Pitcairn

PN

0 USD

0 USD

Poland

PL

150 EUR

0 EUR

Portugal

PT

150 EUR

0 EUR

Puerto Rico

PR

800 USD

0 USD

Qatar

QA

0 QAR

0 QAR

Reunion

RE

150 EUR

22 EUR

Romania

RO

150 EUR

0 EUR

Russia

RU

200 EUR

200 EUR

Rwanda

RW

0 USD

0 USD

Saint Helena

SH

0 USD

0 USD

Saint Pierre & Miquelon

PM

0 USD

0 USD

Samoa

WS

0 SDG

0 SDG

San Marino

SM

22 EUR

0 EUR

Sao Tome & Principe

ST

0 USD

0 USD

Saudi Arabia

SA

1,000 SAR

0 USD

Senegal

SN

30 USD

0 USD

Serbia

RS

0 RSD

0 RSD

Seychelles

SC

0 SCR

0 SCR

Sierra Leone

SL

0 USD

0 USD

Singapore

SG

400 SGD

400 SGD

Sint Maarten

SX

100 USD

0 USD

Slovakia

SK

150 EUR

0 EUR

Slovenia

SI

150 EUR

0 EUR

Solomon Islands

SB

0 USD

0 USD

Somalia

SO

0 USD

0 USD

South Africa

ZA

0 ZAR

0 ZAR

South Sudan

SS

0 USD

0 USD

Spain

ES

150 EUR

0 EUR

Sri Lanka

LK

0 LKR

0 LKR

St. Barthelemy

BL

0 EUR

0 EUR

St. Kitts and Nevis

KN

0 USD

0 USD

St. Lucia

LC

0 USD

0 USD

St. Martin

MF

150 EUR

0 EUR

St. Vincent

VC

0 XCD

0 XCD

Sudan

SD

0 USD

0 USD

Suriname

SR

0 XCD

0 XCD

Svalbard

SJ

0 USD

0 USD

Swaziland

SZ

0 USD

0 USD

Sweden

SE

150 EUR

0 EUR

Switzerland

CH

0 CHF

0 CHF

Syria

SY

50 SYP

0 SYP

Taiwan

TW

2,000 TWD

2,000 TWD

Tajikistan

TJ

0 USD

0 USD

Tanzania

TZ

0 TZS

0 TZS

Thailand

TH

1,500 THB

1,500 THB

Timor-Leste

TL

0 USD

0 USD

Togo

TG

400 USD

400 USD

Tokelau

TK

0 USD

0 USD

Tonga

TO

0 USD

0 USD

Trinidad and Tobago

TT

0 TTD

0 TTD

Tunisia

TN

0 TND

0 TND

Turkey

TR

0 EUR

0 EUR

Turkmenistan

TM

0 USD

0 USD

Turks and Caicos Islands

TC

0 USD

0 USD

Tuvalu

TV

0 USD

0 USD

Uganda

UG

0 USD

0 USD

Ukraine

UA

150 EUR

0 EUR

United Arab Emirates

AE

300 AED

0 AED

United Kingdom

GB

135 GBP

0 GBP

United States Minor Outlying Islands

UM

0 USD

0 USD

United States

US

800 USD

Varies

Uruguay

UY

1 USD

1 USD

Uzbekistan

UZ

1,000 USD

1,000 USD

Vanuatu

VU

0 USD

0 USD

Vatican City

VA

0 EUR

0 EUR

Venezuela

VE

100 USD

100 USD

Vietnam

VN

1,000,000 VND

0 VND

Virgin Islands (British)

VG

0 USD

0 USD

Virgin Islands (U.S.)

VI

0 USD

0 USD

Wallis and Futuna

WF

200 XPF

0 XPF

Western Sahara

EH

0 USD

0 USD

Yemen

YE

0 YER

0 YER

Zambia

ZM

50 USD

50 USD

Zimbabwe

ZW

10 USD

10 USD

How does de minimis affect my business?

As merchants grow their international business, they need to understand the barriers an international shopper faces when purchasing from a foreign website. Many of these barriers involve rules and regulations that do not apply domestically.

De minimis value is an excellent example of one of these foreign regulations. De minimis value significantly impacts eCommerce. This is because B2C orders are typically a much lower value than B2B, and a larger percentage of your shipments will clear duty and tax-free to specific countries. Shipments below the de minimis value will clear faster and provide an opportunity to sell into certain markets more competitively.

As the de minimis value varies greatly by country, it’s worth understanding the markets you ship to or want to target. De minimis example – Canvas shoes with rubber sole, 175 USD: 

Destination

HS codes and duty & tax rates

Foreign value

Duty de minimis

VAT/tax de minimis

Resulting impact

United Kingdom

64.0411.00 / 16.9% Duty / 20% VAT

134.24 GBP

<135 GBP

> 0 GBP

Duty free

France

64.0411.00 / 16.9% Duty / 20% VAT

154.51 EUR

>150 EUR

>0 EUR

Duty and Tax due

Australia

64.0411.00 / 5% duty / 10% GST

246.69 AUD

<1,000 AUD

<1,000 AUD

Duty and Tax free

Conclusion:

De minimis values are important factors to consider when shipping internationally. By understanding the thresholds set by different countries, you can optimize your shipping strategy, and be clear with your customers to avoid unexpected complaints regarding duties and taxes.

Note: Import duties, taxes, VAT, and any other fees levied by Customs are not part of the shipping costs charged by UrShipper.



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