All international shipments (either commercial or private) with a value over NZD $1,000.00 require formal clearance through NZ customs, as well as a customs code. If your order is over NZD $1,000.00 you should prepare for a formal clearance. You will be required to pay duties on the order, but you will not need to pay GST, as this was already paid when you purchased the goods on TheMarket.
Duties
Duties are chargeable on any shipments over $1000. Each commodity has a different duty applied. Please use the NZ Customs Duty Calculator to estimate your duties to ensure you can cover the additional expense. If you are unable to pay the duties, then your order will be returned to the merchant and you will be refunded. There may be an additional return shipping charge that will be deducted from the refund.
Depending where the goods are classified will determine the amount of tariff duty payable.
In a lot of cases, imported goods will attract no tariff duty at all as most goods in the Tariff are duty free (although GST will still remain payable). But a 5% and 10% tariff duty applies to some goods.
Formal Clearance Fees
Each formal clearance requires two formal clearance fees that are for the customers account. Please be aware that you will be required to pay both the Import Entry Transaction Fee (IETF) and the Biosecurity System Entry Levy (BSEL). At the time of writing this amount came to $59.48 (GST inclusive). If you are unable to pay the IETF or BSEL, then your order will be returned to the merchant and you will be refunded. There may be an additional return shipping charge that will be deducted from the refund.
Customs Code
In order to clear your shipment through customs, you will require a customs code. If you do not already have one, you can apply for one through IRD. Please see NZ Customs Service - Customs Number for more information and instructions on how to apply for one. This is a requirement and you will not be able to clear your shipment without one. If you are unable to obtain a customs code then your order will be returned to the merchant and you will be refunded. There may be an additional return shipping charge that will be deducted from the refund.
Double GST
In rare cases, the seller shipping the order to you may not have declared the GST correctly, and customs will not be aware that GST is already paid. In this situation, customs will contact you and request GST to be paid as well as the standard formal clearance. If this happens, to release your order as promptly as possible, we would request the GST be paid by yourself as the importer. Please then contact us with the invoice and payment receipt, we will then refund the GST initially paid for this order via the retailer. Please note that the customs clearance charges/duties and applicable GST for these charges will still be payable by yourself for the formal clearance. These would not be refunded.
If you experience any issues resulting from your clearance, please contact us.