Answer
Aug 29, 2019 - 10:36 AM
Here are some thoughts on our questions.
Question 1
The costs for import fees and tariffs will depend on a few things; 1) the country you are importing into, 2) the country you are importing from, 3) the classification of the product according to its HS Code, and 3) the value of the products.
Each country sets their own import fees/duties/tariffs for products. Generally, they use the HS Code to determine the classification or category of the item being imported. This is a standardized system used throughout the world by most countries to classify what kind of product you are importing.
Using this HS Code, you can look up what your country’s import duties are for that type of product based on your declared value of the product. Your Customs office may dispute the value that you have declared, or they may also dispute the classification. Some people choose a cheaper classification to reduce the fee for the imported item.
As mentioned, the import fees are affected by which country you are importing from. You mentioned that the products will come from China. Currently import fees have increased if you are importing fees from China into the US. However, if you are importing from China to Canada, you will not be affected by those increased tariffs.
Weight and size have no affect on import fees. It goes by value and quantity.
Question 2
If you are shipping by air, then FedEx, UPS, and DHL should handle everything for you. If there are import fees due, they will collect those from you before they release your shipment. If you’re shipping by sea (or even by air) you can work with a freight forwarder to handle everything from shipping to import processing. They should handle all the paperwork and processing for you. It’s best to make sure whichever company you choose that you understand exactly what they will do for you.
One last thing, depending on the weight and volume of your shipment, shipping by air might be cost prohibitive. In your case, 95 lbs. is not a big problem, but 18 cubic feet might increase the cost significantly for air shipment. Usually costs are calculated by weight and volume to give a “volumetric weight”. In other words, if two boxes both weigh 95 lbs., but the volume of one box is 1 cubic foot and the second box’s volume is 2 cubic feet, the second box will cost more to ship (in theory).
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