Low value import shipments into the united States

WHAT IS DE MINIMUS?
De minimus is defined by the ICC Customs Guideline #11
as "a valuation ceiling for good, including documents and
trade samples, below which no duty or tax is charged and
clearance procedures, including data requirements, are
minimal". It exists where it is not economically viable to
collect duty and tax, i.e. the administrative cost of
collection outweighs the collection itself.

WHAT WILL CHANGE?
LOW VALUE IMPORT SHIPMENTS
INTO THE UNITED STATES
The United States Congress has signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015
which includes a new customs law that increases the de minimis level from USD200.00 to
USD800.00. This will take effect on 11 March 2016.
From 11 March 2016, the de minimus level for shipments
imported into the US will rise from USD200.00 to
USD800.00 (representing a 300% increase). It allows
international shipments less than USD800.00 to be
cleared at the border without attracting duty and taxes.
This may be of benefit to customers shipping low value
goods to the US under a Business to Consumer (B2C)
model. For example, a fashion designer in Melbourne
may ship orders of designer label apparel to the US with
an average order value of USD500.00. Under the
changes, these shipments will now become ‘duty free’
and will be processed via a simplified, uniform clearance
process.
Any company wanting to ship low value goods into the US
should find this regulatory development of benefit to their
business.
CONTACT US
THE KEY BENEFITS:
All customs entries below the USD800.00
level (except for special class goods) will
be duty free;
A simplified clearance process, resulting
in a more efficient border clearance; and
Uniformity of practices across ports of
entry to facilitate timely resolution of trade
compliance