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Understanding International Customs and Regulations

We take the confusion out of customs

As one of the world’s largest customs brokers, we can help simplify the customs process for you around the world. Our localized customs expertise can mean less red tape and reduced delays. And when you ship, our online shipping tool will help you complete the required international customs forms as you go.

Understanding customs

Customs is a common term in international shipping which refers to the duties, fees or taxes levied on goods transported from one country to another. These costs vary depending on the item and country and are over and above the carrier's cost to ship goods. Every country has its own rules and guidelines for this, but no matter where you're shipping, our online shipping tools can help you anticipate what to expect.

Who pays customs duties, fees or taxes?

When your goods arrive at the border, the applicable customs duties, fees or taxes will be assessed and must be paid before they can be delivered. Based upon the quantity or value of what you are shipping, and where you are shipping to, there may be no costs at all. Our landed costs estimator can help you figure out what your costs are likely to be, or what quantities of goods may allow you to minimize your customs burden.

The responsibility for payment of customs costs is frequently prearranged as part of the sender's and receiver's terms of sale. When shipping online with UPS, you will find numerous options to suit your specific arrangements. And, as one of the world's largest customs brokers, we can help expedite both the payment of applicable fees and customs clearance.

Calculate your landed cost

Our shipping tool will help you complete required forms as you go

You can manually fill out paper copies of customs forms by hand and attach them to your shipments. But when you use ups.com web shipping, we’ll generate those forms for you automatically by collecting the relevant data as you proceed through the shipping process.

Get duties and tax estimates in advance.

When you ship internationally with us, the import codes and compliance data for all your products are gathered and saved to your global parts catalog. We can use this information to provide you an instant estimate of duties and taxes when you ship that product again.

Listed below are the most commonly-used international forms you may need as you import and export.

Go to our web shipping tool

Expand to see a list of the most commonly-used international forms.

Commercial Invoice - Required for all non-document shipments, this is the primary form used for import control, valuation and duty determination. You'll identify the products being shipped, including a description and value of the goods, as well as shipper information. It may be used by customs agents to assess applicable duties and taxes.

Additional shipping forms are available at the link below.

Access international shipping forms

Tips to clear customs quicker

Knowing your harmonized tariff code can help you avoid headaches

Inaccurate descriptions of the goods being shipped may result in customs delays or unexpected charges. Make sure your description is thorough and accurate—and use correct harmonized tariff codes.
- Learn more about harmonized tariff codes