Duties Change While Your Cargo Is at Sea: Questions for Your Broker and Contract

Scenario: a container of edges is on the water and you hear that duties will change. Direct answer: do not assume which rate applies. Ask your customs broker, in writing, which date and which rule decide the rate for your entry, and check what your supplier contract says about who bears a change. This article contains no duty rates or rules; it is a question list and not legal advice.

Questions and answers

Which date matters?

Ask the broker which date decides the rate for your goods: for example, a date linked to export, to arrival or to entry. Do not guess. Ask for the answer for this shipment and this notice.

Are there exceptions for goods already shipped?

Some changes include provisions for goods already in transit, and some do not. Ask the broker to read the notice for any such provision and to explain it.

Who bears a change under our contract?

Look at the terms of sale. The agreed delivery terms and any clause on duties and taxes decide who pays. Ask your adviser if the wording is unclear.

Can we change the timing?

Ask the broker and the forwarder whether any option exists to change the entry timing, and what it costs and risks. Do not take action based on a guess.

How do we estimate the impact?

Ask for a landed-cost estimate under each possible outcome, and record the assumptions.

What should we tell our customers?

If a price change may follow, tell them early and honestly, and explain what is known and unknown.

Checklist for this week

Duties can change while the goods are in transit, and the contract decides who absorbs it.

1. Collect the notice, the shipment documents and the contract.
2. Send the broker the questions above and ask for a written answer.
3. Ask your supplier what they understand the position to be.
4. Prepare a landed-cost range.
5. Set a date to review once the answers arrive.

Limit

Rules differ by country, measure and date, and they change. Rely on your broker and adviser for the answer, not on this article.

Boundary: This is not legal or customs advice and states no duty rate or in-transit rule; rules differ by measure and date and change often. Ask your broker.