The Import Fee is a standardised cost component that helps account for additional fees charged by carriers and customs authorities when shipments pass through customs.
These costs can include items such as clearance fees, processing fees, brokerage fees, disbursement fees, or handling charges. While the terminology varies by carrier, these fees are commonly associated with international shipments and duties and taxes.
The Import Fee provides a predictable way to account for these charges.
How the Import Fee is calculated
The Import Fee is calculated per order as:
$1 flat fee, plus 1.5% of the order’s duties and taxes
This calculation is based on the actual duties and taxes applied to the order.
How the Import Fee appears
The Import Fee is not shown as a separate line item at checkout. Instead, it is added to the duties & taxes within the shipping line.
It appears in merchant billing and order exports.
The end-customer checkout experience remains unchanged, aside from a potential adjustment to the shipping total if the fee is passed on.
Who pays the Import Fee
Merchants can choose who absorbs the Import Fee:
Merchant absorbs the fee (Default)
The Import Fee is charged to the merchant
The customer sees no change in the shipping price at checkout
Fee passed to the customer
The Import Fee is included in the shipping total
The customer sees a slightly higher shipping rate
The fee is not shown as a separate line item
Example
Shipping rate: $50
Duties and taxes: $100
Import Fee calculation:
$1 + 1.5% of $100 (D&T) = $2.50
If passed to the customer
Checkout shipping total: $152.50
$50 shipping costs
$102.50 duties & taxes
If absorbed by the merchant
Customer sees: $150
Merchant is billed: $152.50
Free shipping scenarios
If a merchant offers free shipping, the Import Fee must be absorbed by the merchant.
Customers will continue to see $0 shipping at checkout
The Import Fee is added to the merchant’s billing