Customs Clearance & Import Duties Explained

If you’re sourcing from China, customs is the step that decides whether a parcel sails through or sits in limbo. The good news: the process is predictable once you understand who charges what, and why. Here’s the practical version, without the jargon.

What customs clearance actually is

Customs clearance is the destination country’s check that a shipment is allowed in and that the right charges have been collected. The basic flow is the same almost everywhere: goods arrive, a declaration is filed describing what they are and what they’re worth, the authority assesses any duty and tax, those charges are paid, and the parcel is released for final delivery. Most of this happens behind the scenes — until something is missing, at which point the shipment is held.

This is also why parcels get delayed: a vague description, a missing value, or an unpaid charge stops the clock.

The charges you’ll see

Three things typically come up at the border, and they are set by the destination country, not by your supplier or your logistics partner:

Import duty — a percentage based on the product’s HS code (the international classification for traded goods) and its declared customs value. Rates vary widely by country and category, so there’s no single “duty rate” — check your own country’s tariff schedule for your HS code.
VAT / sales tax — most countries charge consumption tax on imports at the same rate applied domestically.
Customs brokerage / clearance fees — an administrative charge from the carrier or broker for filing the declaration and handling the paperwork.

Duty and tax are calculated on the declared value of the goods (sometimes including shipping and insurance, depending on the country’s rules). Under-declaring to lower the bill is a customs offense — don’t.

Who pays, and de minimis thresholds

The importer of record is legally responsible for duties and taxes. For direct-to-consumer orders, that’s usually your customer in the destination country; for stock you import yourself, it’s you. Either way, the charge follows the goods into the country.

Many countries set a de minimis threshold — a value below which duty (and sometimes tax) is waived. These thresholds vary a lot by country and change over time, so don’t assume a low-value parcel is automatically duty-free. Check the current rule for each market you sell into.

How DDP and IOSS reduce surprises

Unexpected fees on delivery are a leading cause of refused parcels and chargebacks. Two tools help:

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) rolls duties and clearance into the shipping price so your customer pays nothing extra at the door. It’s worth understanding the trade-offs in DDP vs DDU shipping before you choose.
For EU sales, IOSS lets you collect VAT at checkout and remit it, smoothing clearance on low-value consignments — see IOSS and EU VAT for ecommerce sellers.

The documents that matter

Clearance lives and dies on paperwork. A clear commercial invoice — accurate product description, correct HS codes, honest declared value, and the right parties — is what keeps a shipment moving. Wrong or missing codes are a common reason goods get reclassified, held, or charged more than expected.

Where MorePlus fits

MorePlus handles the export-side paperwork from Guangzhou — commercial invoices, accurate descriptions and HS codes, and an IOSS field for EU orders — so shipments leave China clean and clear quickly. Our shipping is priced competitively by destination, category and weight/dimensions, with the total shown before you pay; duties and taxes are set by the destination country and remain the importer’s responsibility, so they’re never bundled into a promise we can’t keep. For how this sits inside end-to-end fulfillment, see our logistics and shipping service and the complete guide to shipping from China.

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