How to take advantage of the same programs that Amazon, e-bay, Alibaba, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Shopify utilize to bring goods duty-free into the USA

Do you want to play with the big boys? Do you want to level your playing feel? I got you a solution.  There is a magical section that allows individual exemptions for payment of duties.

Section 321, 19 USC 1321 is the statute that describes de minimis. De minimis provides admission of articles free of duty and any tax imposed on or because of importation. However, the aggregate fair retail value in the country of shipment of articles imported by one person on one day and exempted from the payment of duty shall not exceed $800. The de minimis threshold was previously $200 but increased with the passage of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement ACT (TFTEA)

This section provides a duty exemption for goods manifested at less than $800 fair retail value in the country of shipment if imported by one person on one day (so-called Section 321 shipments). The utilization of this duty-saving strategy has skyrocketed with the growth of direct-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, further accelerating as more consumers shop from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A word of caution Not all products qualify under Section 321. If your goods are subjected to:

  • Partner Government Agencies Requirements
  • MFN tariffs
  • Section 301 tariffs such as those currently in place against imports from China.

To avoid any delays or surprises you must take into account the following:

  • Section 321 shipments offer an opportunity to lower tariffs and other costs, in assessing this opportunity, companies should carefully consider the accuracy of the information provided for such shipments to avoid cargo holds and possibly seizures due to PGA or intellectual property compliance issues.
  • Companies should also be aware that CBP continues to consider the transmission of additional data elements by different entities at different times throughout the supply chain for Section 321 goods in advance of their arrival.
  • U.S. Customs and Border Protection system is adapting to this surge of importations.

To summarize:

  • Section 321 is a great program to exempt duties
  • Section 321 is utilized by Amazon, e-bay, Alibaba, UPS, FedEx, DHL, Shopify among others.
  • Section 321 is the way to expand your online business

To avoid unpleasant surprises or general information about customs information, contact us.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/ibpwpyf7gxp2/public_html/wp-content/themes/avantage/views/prev_next.php on line 10
previous
4 Things You Need To Know When Dealing With A Licensed Customs Broker

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/ibpwpyf7gxp2/public_html/wp-content/themes/avantage/views/prev_next.php on line 36
next
4 Ways To Improve The Quality Of Your Decisions
Skip to content