Commercial invoice discounts

If you offer a buy one get one free (BOGO) promotion for the same item, the commercial invoice should reflect the discount inside the item.

Below is an example of a BOGO order for a t-shirt.

Option 1 

A BOGO should have the total quantity and a distributed unit price.

Option 2 

You cannot exclude the 2nd t-shirt from the commercial invoice.

Option 3 

You cannot list the 2nd t-shirt at 0.00 even if it was free on the order.

If a broker or Customs sees an item listed at 0.00, they will enter an arbitrary dollar amount and charge duty and tax when applicable. If the item is not listed on the commercial invoice and Customs inspects the package, the broker will enter an arbitrary dollar amount and charge duty and tax when applicable. They may also assess fees or flag your account, which compounds future problems.

If you offer a free but different item, the commercial invoice should include the item listed at a reasonable sale price.

Below is an example of a free item added to an order of a bobblehead doll.

Option 1 

The bobblehead toy needs to be listed and must have a price.

Option 2 

You cannot exclude the bobblehead toy from the commercial invoice.

Option 3 

You cannot list the bobblehead at 0.00 even if it was free on the order.

Include a valuation figure that is completely accurate to your knowledge; the value cannot be zero. Also, include a comment to Customs on the commercial invoice to show that the consumer was not charged for the sample, e.g., No charge for promotional item. If Customs officials at the destination country have reason to believe the valuation is not correct, they may hold a package for further investigation. It’s important to recognize that all materials have an intrinsic value, too. For example, even if you’re sending a product sample, your valuation should at a minimum represent the cost of the materials it took to produce it.

Below is an example of a free sample item (1.5mL lotion) order.

Option 1 

The sample lotion needs to be listed and must have a price. Include a comment about not charging the customer for the free sample.

Option 2 

You cannot list the sample lotion at 0.00 even if it was free on the order.

Promo codes applied to an entire order should have the price distributed between the remaining items on the order. A commercial invoice cannot contain a negative amount or something that is not an actual item. If you do not distribute the discount between the items, the payer of the duties and taxes will pay more than what is necessary. Even worse, if not applying the promo code kicks the order over a de minimis threshold, the payer will go from no duties or taxes to paying duties and taxes. See the example below.

Option 1 

The discount needs to be distributed between the items. In this case, each item is listed at 25% less than the retail price.

Option 2 

The payer of duty and tax will overpay if you do not distribute the discount.

Option 3 

Items on a commercial invoice should only contain actual imported items greater than 0.00.

If the discount or promo code only applies to an individual item, then that item should list the net amount on the commercial invoice.

If you are unable to change the commercial invoice item prices, it would be best to calculate duties and taxes on the item gross amounts and exclude discounts in the landed cost calculation.

If you offer free shipping, you may be tempted and even feel justified in leaving the shipping amount blank or putting “0.00” as the shipping value on the commercial invoice. However, you will be rolling dice with the broker, as they may use the full retail shipping cost as the shipping value, which can be very costly.

The reality is that there is a true cost to shipping the product, but it’s baked into the cost of the products. It’s important to extract a reasonable cost for the shipping services from the cost of the products when filling out a commercial invoice. This is a more accurate representation of the true costs for the transaction and may even result in a lower landed cost in some situations.

Option 1 

If free shipping was offered, enter a reasonable amount in shipping. 7 USD was used in this case.

Option 2 

Do not list 0.00 in the shipping field on the commercial invoice. If this was a 1 lb. package shipped with DHL, the retail price from US to NL is 100.24 USD.

*Broker decides the shipping amount and add it to the order, e.g., 100.24 USD.

In countries where duty and tax can be applied to shipping, the broker may add an arbitrary shipping amount to the commercial invoice. If the shipper was UPS, FedEx, or DHL (and the broker decides to apply the published shipping rate to the commercial invoice), the additional import duties and taxes could be ridiculously high. This is because most companies have a high discount on international shipping with international express shipping providers.

Gifts from a retailer, shipped to a consumer 

The shipping label and commercial invoice on gift shipments must have no company name listed; Customs will not honor a gift as a free shipment of zero value when it is shipped from an online merchant store or when the shipping label shows merchant or company involvement.

Gifts sent from an individual to an individual 

Many countries and economies allow unsolicited gifts and personal items to enter the country duty-free, up to a certain value limit. Gifts exceeding that value limit are subject to import duties and taxes. To qualify for gift exemption, your international shipment must meet the following requirements:

• It must be sent person-to-person with no company involvement or indication of involvement on the shipping documentation, e.g., No company name listed on the airway bill.
• The shipping documentation must be marked "Unsolicited Gift" in addition to the commodity name and the detailed description, e.g., Unsolicited gift: white microfiber composite leather Wilson volleyball.
• The total value of the shipment must not exceed the values prescribed by Customs.