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Shipstation is not compliant with International customs laws

  • Aug 9, 2022 12:05 AM UTC
  • 2 replies
  • 2 views

The total amount you collect from a customer is taxable in most countries (EU/UK/Canada/Mexico/Australia/etc).  (Product Total, shipping paid by customer, insurance paid by customer, minus discounts given to customer).

 

The ONLY thing Shipstation includes on the USPS and UPS customs declaration information is the product total.

 

I brought this issue to the attention of support & the response was "Ultimately, these customs documents are generated by the carrier, outside of ShipStation, and returned to us along with the label. We are currently limited in how much we can modify them."

 

This is not correct.  You have to provide these amounts to the USPS and UPS Apis in order for them to show up on the document.

 

There's a spot for shipping charges on the USPS labels and UPS customs form. Shipstation has this information in the order whether it's a manually created order or an imported order. They're just leaving it blank.

 

While the customer is going to get a lower customs bill, shippers knowingly providing a false shipment value is customs fraud. I wouldn't advise using shipstation for international shipments where you are charging the customer for shipping or insurance.  If you're offering free shipping to customers, then it's not an issue. 

 

      2 replies

      Moderator-Davis

      Hey there @RobC, 

       

      Thank you for your patience while we reached out to UPS to confirm that we are compliant. 

       

      They let us know the following: "It is requested that the description and the merchandise value is declared in the commercial invoice, however, the shipping cost is not used for customs calculation, the shipping fees will be charged to the UPS account at the time the label is created and the shipment processed. The information we [UPS] use to calculate the import charges is based on the merchandise description and commercial value."

       

      I hope this helps clear any worries you may have had! 🙂 

      From Moderator Davis, May the force be with you!
      • Jen_GMG
      • Jul 15, 2024 8:10 PM UTC

      Not to mention, the options for contents are extremely limiting. and are still not compliant with international customs laws.

      For example, books (i.e., Printed Material, Harmonization Code 49) are not a taxable item in most countries. However, my only options are Merchandise, Gift, Sample, Documents, or Returned Goods.

      If I select anything other than Merchandise, the contents are scrutinized for accuracy, and I have been asked to provide letters of explanation on behalf of the recipients.

      If I select Merchandise, the customers have to pay through the nose to get their packages -- DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY PAID VAT THROUGH US. And no amount of explanations or requests for leniency do a bit of good. 

      By deliberately ignoring this issue, ShipStation is costing us a ton of money, and clients.

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