Can I prepay the duties and taxes for my customer?
If you're shipping to a foreign country and you're worried about the customer getting hit with a separate bill for
duties, taxes, and brokerage fees, then in some cases you can prepay them and have the charges billed to your Shipvine account.
There are some limitations, however.
You can't prepay duties and taxes for any mail-based shipping method. For example, if you're shipping a package via USPS First Class Package International Service or USPS Priority Mail International, you can't prepay the duties and taxes. The only option is to let the customer get billed through his country's postal system.
If you're shipping via DHL Global Mail Parcel Direct Priority, you can prepay duties and taxes for parcels shipping to Canada or the United Kingdom. Enabling this option requires special approval, so contact Shipvine Support for help in getting it set up.
If you're shipping to FedEx or UPS, you can prepay the duties and taxes for some countries by clearing the "Bill duties and taxes to the recipient" checkbox on the candidate request. It's about halfway down the page under Shipment Options > Duties & Taxes.
To bill duties and taxes to yourself instead of to the recipient, clear the checkbox on the Candidate Request.
However, there is a special exception for Canada. Shipvine will not allow you to prepay duties and taxes for parcels destined to Canada shipping on our UPS or FedEx accounts. You'll have to use your own accounts and make sure you are properly registered with the Canada Revenue Agency. (Essentially, Canada really wants to make sure you're not lying about your customs values, and they can audit you to make sure that happens.)
There are some limitations, however.
You can't prepay duties and taxes for any mail-based shipping method. For example, if you're shipping a package via USPS First Class Package International Service or USPS Priority Mail International, you can't prepay the duties and taxes. The only option is to let the customer get billed through his country's postal system.
If you're shipping via DHL Global Mail Parcel Direct Priority, you can prepay duties and taxes for parcels shipping to Canada or the United Kingdom. Enabling this option requires special approval, so contact Shipvine Support for help in getting it set up.
If you're shipping to FedEx or UPS, you can prepay the duties and taxes for some countries by clearing the "Bill duties and taxes to the recipient" checkbox on the candidate request. It's about halfway down the page under Shipment Options > Duties & Taxes.
To bill duties and taxes to yourself instead of to the recipient, clear the checkbox on the Candidate Request.
However, there is a special exception for Canada. Shipvine will not allow you to prepay duties and taxes for parcels destined to Canada shipping on our UPS or FedEx accounts. You'll have to use your own accounts and make sure you are properly registered with the Canada Revenue Agency. (Essentially, Canada really wants to make sure you're not lying about your customs values, and they can audit you to make sure that happens.)