TAX | DE MINIMIS | ADMISSIBILITY | PROHIBITED/RESTRICTED | CUSTOMS VALUATION | SURCHARGES

De Minimis Thresholds, Tax Rates, Customs Valuation Methods & Calculation, Customs & Carrier Surcharges, Admissibility, and Prohibited Restricted Commodities.

Please note that import tax rates, de minimis thresholds, admissibility requirements, customs valuation methods, prohibited & restricted commodity regulations, customs, and carrier surcharges are dynamic and may change without advance notice. Current regulations and rates for each topic must be queried and confirmed prior to shipment using the indicated official sources.

FlavorCloud recommends that our merchants use these tools as a reference and then verify at the national/provincial level and/or with your commodity- and country-specific expert before shipping.

† FOB — “Free on Board” – Incoterm and basis method for Customs Valuation 
√ CIF — “Cost of Goods + Insurance + Freight” – Incoterm and basis method for Customs Valuatio
§ NZD — New Zealand Dollar

CUSTOMS SURCHARGES***

***Customs and Carrier Surcharges are carrier, destination, and time specific. Items in orange apply to all consignments, and other items applied ad hoc, if applicable. Surcharges are dynamic and subject to frequent change by carriers without prior notice.

CARRIER SURCHARGES***

***Customs and Carrier Surcharges are carrier, destination, and time specific. Items in orange apply to all consignments, and other items applied ad hoc, if applicable. Surcharges are dynamic and subject to frequent change by carriers without prior notice.

New Zealand Notes

Regulatory Framework

In New Zealand, two main governmental agencies are responsible for international trade regulations: the New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Inland Revenue. A comprehensive overview of relevant regulations and laws are available at New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Inland Revenue.

Import Duty/Tax De Minimis

In New Zealand, New Zealand Customs Service and New Zealand Inland Revenue have set the de minimis threshold for imports at $1,000 NZD FOB for both import duty and import tax (GST). This threshold is FOB (see FOB note below), meaning that it only includes the customs value of your goods, and excludes any shipping charges. The customs value is generally the sales price—the actual price paid by the buyer, or would otherwise normally be paid, to import the goods. Please see FlavorCloud’s Guide to Declared Value & Customs Valuation for further education on customs valuation. If the value of the goods on your shipment to New Zealand is under $1,000 NZD FOB (and is not ineligible for de minimis treatment), there is normally no duty or import tax (GST) payable at the time of import.

Key Takeaways

• For most goods valued at $1,000 NZD or less, there are no duties, taxes, or charges to pay at time of import.
• You must pay duties and taxes on some goods (like tobacco, tobacco products, or alcoholic beverages) regardless of their value. This category of goods is subject to an excise tariff and is not eligible for the $1,000 NZD de minimis duty/tax exemption.
• If the goods on your import shipment into New Zealand are valued at greater than $1,000 NZD, the goods will be subject to duty, GST, and any other applicable fees at the normal published rate, and these fees must be paid at time of import.

FOB Customs Valuation Calculation Method Note

Unlike CIF, the customs valuation process does not include freight or insurance costs in transporting goods from the place of export to the destination when calculating customs value. However, any inland freight or insurance costs incurred by the purchaser/importer before the goods leave the place of export must be included in the customs value.

Excise Duty/Tax and De Minimis

Commodities subject to excise duty and/or excise tax do not qualify for de minimis duty-/tax- free importation, regardless of their value. Please review the Excise Duty section below.

General New Zealand Customs Valuation

https://www.customs.govt.nz/business/import/valuation-for-import/
New Zealand Customs and Excise Act of 2018
New Zealand Personal Duty and GST Allowances and New Zealand Customs Duty and GST

Please refer to FlavorCloud’s Guide to Declared Value & Customs Valuation for further insight into the Customs Valuation process and how to correctly reflect the customs value on your shipments. Normally, Customs Value is the sales price—the actual price paid by the buyer, or would otherwise normally be paid, to import the goods

Duty

https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/duty-and-gst/duty-and-allowances/
FOB x Duty Rate (See FOB note above)

Tax (GST)

https://www.customs.govt.nz/personal/duty-and-gst/duty-and-allowances/
CIF + Duty Amount x Tax Rate (See CIF note below)

CIF Customs Valuation Calculation Method Note

CIF = Cost of Goods + Insurance + Freight
+ Cost of Goods is the Transaction Value [actual price paid or otherwise would be payable by the buyer to the seller for the goods]
+ Insurance costs
+ Shipping charges

• Example: goods are being sold to the importer at $200 + $5 being paid for insurance + $20 for shipping by the buyer, then CIF value is $225 (converted to local currency by Customs).
  • If duty rate is 10%, then duty amount for this import would be $22.50
  • If tax rate is 25%, then tax amount would be $61.88 [CIF + Duty = $247.50 x 25% tax]

Import Tax (GST)

Overview of the different import GST rates in New Zealand: Standard (15%), Zero-Rated Supplies, Exempt Supplies, or Special Supplies: https://www.ird.govt.nz/gst/charging-gst. Please note that there is a relatively narrow scope for the products/services that qualify for Zero-Rated/Exempt and Special Supply GST in New Zealand. Accordingly, the majority of the products FlavorCloud merchants sell to New Zealand will incur the standard 15% GST rate.

Zero-Rated Supplies

Exempt Supplies

Special Supplies

Important GST Stipulations for Non-Resident Businesses Based on Annual Sales

Since December 1, 2019, new regulations may require non-resident businesses who sell goods, low-value goods, services, real estate, and other digital products to New Zealand consumers to register for, collect, and pay 15% sales GST to Inland Revenue. Effectively, if your total sales to New Zealand consumers exceed or are likely to exceed $60,000 NZD in a 12-month period, you must account for 15% GST. Inland Revenue has an interactive tool to help determine if you need to register for, collect and return GST on sales in New Zealand.

This is unique as it requires the non-resident business to collect and pay 15% GST, even if the original shipments were imported under the $1,000 NZD de minimis thresholds and therefore were not assessed for import duty, tax or fees at the time of import. Goods valued at over the $1,000 NZD de minimis threshold will have duty/tax/fees applied at standard rates at time of import.

Bottom Line GST Stipulations for FlavorCloud Customers

If you meet the outlined criteria, you must register for, collect, and pay the 15% sales GST, even if the original imports were under the $1,000 NZD de minimis threshold at time of import. If you need to register for GST, further details, including GST registration options, definitions, resources, and links, are available here:

• New Zealand Inland Revenue tool to help determine if GST registration, collection, and remit are required
• How New Zealand GST Works
• Overview of Low-Value Imported Goods
• When to Charge GST on Low-Value Imported Goods
• GST for Overseas Businesses
• Registering for GST as an overseas business
• GST Registration Application for Non-Resident Business
• Post-GST Registration Requirements
• Calculating, Filing, and Paying GST

Excise Duty

Excise Duty is a supplementary tariff applied to specific products in addition to any duty and tax already applied to the import. In New Zealand, excise duty generally is imposed upon alcohol (wine and beer), fuel, and tobacco products. Please consult current regulations to confirm if your goods are subject to excise duty prior to shipping.

• https://www.customs.govt.nz/business/excise/what-is-excise/
• New Zealand Excise Duty Table — See Part B for Imported Goods, which denotes specific rates of Excise Duty

Customs and Carrier Surcharges

***Customs and Carrier Surcharges are carrier, destination, and time specific. Items in orange apply to all consignments, and other items applied ad hoc, if applicable. Surcharges are dynamic and subject to frequent change by carriers without prior notice.

Admissibility (Prohibited & Restricted Goods and Non-Tariff Barriers) Background

Many products are subject to specific import requirements such as import licenses, permits, certifications, inspections, product/business, and other labeling requirements. These requirements are generally referred to as admissibility or OGA/OGD/PGA requirements (“Other Governmental Agency” / “Other Governmental Departments” / “Partner Governmental Agency”). In New Zealand, these are referred to as Prohibited & Restricted Goods as well as Non-Tariff Barriers and are administered by several federal agencies.

While some Prohibited Goods may be imported after specific conditions and/or requirements are met (import licenses/permits, testing, etc.), other goods may not be imported under any circumstances.

These admissibility requirements are subject to frequent change without advance notice and entirely depend on the commodity (HTS code), country of origin, country of import, and time of import. It is advised to regularly verify and validate admissibility requirements to ensure there are no import delays and to ensure the proper administrative steps are adhered to prior to shipment. Certain products are prohibited from being imported unless the relevant requirements/obligations are met. Significant fines, fees, delays, and storage charges can be assessed when these regulations are not followed. FlavorCloud always recommends that our merchants verify import requirements at the national and provincial levels and/or with your commodity- and country-specific expert before shipping.

Admissibility (Prohibited & Restricted Goods and Non-Tariff Barriers) Resources

Certain commodities are prohibited or restricted depending on the country of import, country of origin, and the specific point at which the goods will be imported into China. Assessment of import requirements specific to your products can be done in New Zealand by consulting Business Import Prohibited and Restricted Imports, Personal Import Prohibited and Restricted Items, and Non-Tariff Barriers Resources. These repositories offer functionality to search for impacted commodities by category, description, keywords, and a list of items to check for potential import requirements.

An indication of impacted commodities is shown below. A current overview and direct links to the government department/agency responsible for ensuring that prohibited and controlled goods are not illegally imported into New Zealand are available using these official resources.

Agricultural and Food Products

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
Many designated commodities require Biosafety and/or Food Safety approval and permits to be imported. Import Health Standards includes an interactive search tool to query required standards for your products and comprehensive import requirements for all agricultural, food products and supplements.

• Food of any kind, including fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, honey, ingredients used in cooking, and all dairy products
• traditional/herbal medicines
• Plants or parts of plants (alive or dead)
• Animals (alive or dead) or their products
• Equipment used with animals
• Equipment such as camping gear, golf clubs, and used bicycles
• Biological specimens.

Food/Health/Dietary/Medical Supplements

• Food/Health/Dietary/Medical Supplements are regulated under the Dietary Supplements Regulations 1985, under the Food Act 2014. New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (“Medsafe”) is responsible for administering Food/Health/Dietary/Medical Supplement regulations. An overview of these regulations can be found using Medsafe’s Regulation of Dietary Supplements resource.
• Please also consult MPI’s “Steps to Importing Supplemented Foods” and “Importing Supplemented Foods” guidelines.
• Import Health Standards includes an interactive search tool to query required standards for your products along with comprehensive import requirements for all agricultural, food products, ad supplements.

Cosmetics

EPA and Cosmetic Products Group Standard 2020
New Zealand defines cosmetics as “a product used to cleanse, protect or beautify the hair or skin. Cosmetics must not have a therapeutic purpose or contain a scheduled ingredient.”

Imported cosmetics need to comply with EPA’s Cosmetic Products Group Standard 2020. Additional information and requirements can be found, which is published by the Environmental Protection Authority. Further information about import of cosmetics can be found at EPA’s Cosmetics repository,

Medical and Therapeutic Products

Medsafe outlines various categories and types of medical and therapeutic products and provides a Regulatory Coverage Flowchart which can be used to determine how your products are categorized along with the relevant regulatory requirements for each product category. Please consult this resource to determine the regulatory and import requirements for your medical and therapeutic products.

False or Misleading Goods

Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1986
Import controls and prohibitions against false or misleading representation of a product’s quality and country of origin

Hazardous Substances

EPA and Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act
Ensure that your products do not contain any restricted or banned hazardous substances

Conservation Controls & Endangered Species

Trade in Endangered Species Act of 1989 and the Department of Conservation
New Zealand is a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (‘CITES”) signatory. Plants/animals, and products made from them, may only be imported into New Zealand if approved and permitted.

Objectionable Material

Section 95 Customs and Excise Act 2018 and Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.
A product is defined as objectionable if it “describes, depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with matters such as sex, horror, crime, cruelty or violence in such a manner that the availability of the publication is likely to be injurious to the public good.” This generally applies to films, videos, computer games, DVDs, CD-ROMs, books, posters, music recordings, magazines, photographs, paintings, t-shirts, and computer files.

Product Safety — Consumer Standards and Unsafe Goods

Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading Act 1986
Among many others, specific controls and standards have been placed upon imported goods, such as:

Controlled Drugs (Narcotics) and Products for Smoking/Taking Controlled Drugs (Vaporizers), Offensive Weapons (certain knives, firearms, swords), and Explosives are all prohibited from being imported into New Zealand.

These Prohibited and Restricted Goods Resources are subject to change, published at the national level, are non-exhaustive, and subject to a detailed legal notice. FlavorCloud always recommends that our merchants use these tools as a reference and then verify at the national/state level and/or with your commodity- and country-specific expert before shipping.