Commercial parcels crossing international borders can be subject to duties and various taxes depending on the destination country's import regulations. This article explains how to display D&T to your customers before they place their orders and provide live Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) solutions.
You must be on a Premier Subscription Plan to access this feature.
Video Guide
Duties and Taxes Displayed at Checkout
When you've connected your store and enabled checkout, Easyship's dynamic live rates will display the courier service, estimated delivery time, and estimated duty and taxes due on delivery.
Note: Information shown via live checkout is configurable in your Store Settings.
If you wish to understand the various taxes & duties rules for specific countries, search through our shipping destination guide.
Pre-Paid and Post-Paid Duties and Taxes at Checkout (Recommended)
By only showing your customers pre-paid Duties and Taxes at Checkout, you reduce available solutions that may save you and your customer on shipping costs. It is possible to display pre-paid and post-paid duties and taxes at checkout. Below, we highlight the steps required to set it up.
1. Navigate to Settings > Shipping Rules.
2. Select your condition. In this example, we will use All Shipments (Always Applies).
3. Set the Action to Set import tax and duty payor > Offer 3 Post-Paid and 1 Pre-Paid suggested (for checkout only).
Remember to save both Shipping Conditions and Actions. Once the rule is created, your checkout will show pre-paid and post-paid rates.
Pre-Paid Duties and Taxes at Checkout
To display only pre-paid services at checkout, follow the below steps:
1. Navigate to Settings > Shipping Rules.
2. Select your condition, in this example, we will use All Shipments (Always Applies).
3. Set the Action to Set import tax and duty payor > Pre-paid (included in the shipping cost).
Remember to save both Shipping Conditions and Actions. Once the rule is created, your checkout will show pre-paid duty rates included in the total shipping cost.
DDP Handling Fees
If you choose to ship your orders with pre-paid Duties and Taxes, the couriers will charge you an additional fee for paying the import fees on your behalf when the shipment arrives at the destination country.
In addition to the fixed DDP Handling Fee for taking care of those duties and taxes, you can also expect a 'disbursement fee,' calculated as a percentage of the number of duties & taxes they will advance on your behalf.
Despite the complex pricing, DDP shipments bring peace of mind that your shipment will not be returned or abandoned simply because the recipient refuses to pay the import fees.