Import tax to USA
- Thread starter Fred
- Start date
Mark.Jackson
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2019
- Messages
- 39
I bought it a month ago. There is no import tariff. I bought it from BLS.
I believe Trump's new tariffs apply to lithium batteries (as well as solar cells/panels). The new taxes add 10% on top of whatever taxes already exist. They were set to be phased in between September and December of this year I believe. I'm not sure if these tariffs apply to all types of lithium batteries/cells and all types of buyers/sellers/resellers, or if there are exceptions or loopholes.
Many sellers seem to build the cost of the tariffs into the price so the price you see includes taxes/customs duties, but other sellers seem not to include this.
edit: here is a source, with slightly more info
I came to the right place, I am planning on purchasing an inverter and a "power wall" battery pack from china and I was wondering how the tariffs work. do I need to pay them when I pick up the item at the seaport? any information would be appreciated. thanks
KauaiMolokai
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2019
- Messages
- 283
Hi Green, If you pick up at the seaport you will likely find a LOT of extra charges tacked on - warehouse, moving from warehouse, moving to rack in warehouse, customs inspection, etc - to the tune of more than the extra cost for Fedex/DHL door to door air. I learned this the hard way. Tariff I have only had to pay once in 25 shipments, and that was tacked onto a Fedex/DHL order and automatically paid by my Amex. My best guess is that very few Fedex packages are checked to see if the items are taxable or tariff-able. The sellers have zero control or ability to pay or change any of these charges. Once it leaves their warehouse in China, its on you. And the seaport guys are the worst. You want your stuff, you pay. You don't want your stuff, go home and we'll sell it at some auction in 8 months. Ugly. At least this was my experience in LA/Long Beach. Others may have different experiences ;-)
Steve_S
Offgrid Cabineer, N.E. Ontario, Canada
CAUTION !
Components ie: cells, bms etc are taxed and handled one way.
Complete Devices such as prebuilt batteries fall into another category.
Air Freight usually includes taxes & duties for cells and such. hence bigger bucks.
Sea Freight can become ugly quickly if you have never dealt with it, and there are fees, charges etc on top.
DUE DILIGENCE in your research BEFORE buying anything. Some people have had very harsh & rude awakenings when it came to Sea Freight, some even just abandon the product right there because it cost more to get it that the actual cost of buying the product in the first place. Ever wonder how some of the dock workers get great stuff really cheap ? Had a cousin working on the docks, ohhh the stories, even cars and other big ticket things abandoned..
Components ie: cells, bms etc are taxed and handled one way.
Complete Devices such as prebuilt batteries fall into another category.
Air Freight usually includes taxes & duties for cells and such. hence bigger bucks.
Sea Freight can become ugly quickly if you have never dealt with it, and there are fees, charges etc on top.
DUE DILIGENCE in your research BEFORE buying anything. Some people have had very harsh & rude awakenings when it came to Sea Freight, some even just abandon the product right there because it cost more to get it that the actual cost of buying the product in the first place. Ever wonder how some of the dock workers get great stuff really cheap ? Had a cousin working on the docks, ohhh the stories, even cars and other big ticket things abandoned..
Pierre
Somewhere down South
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2019
- Messages
- 1,123
When you airfreight ask the seller if the total price is DDP ( delivered duty paid ) or DDU ( delivered duty unpaid ) .
With the former it gets delivered to your door without any further charges. With the latter the courier company will contact you and request a payment before they deliver. Charges will be for sales tax , import duties etc whichever may apply.
With the former it gets delivered to your door without any further charges. With the latter the courier company will contact you and request a payment before they deliver. Charges will be for sales tax , import duties etc whichever may apply.
KauaiMolokai
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2019
- Messages
- 283
Hi Pierre, Have you had a number of successful transaction via Alibaba and/or Aliexpress where you have done each of these (DDP and DDU) from China?
I always ask for DDP (or DAP if not possible). Same with the batteries and solar panels I just ordered. It's worth doing this than dealing with the hassle taking care of it. You have to consider that when you're not a pro at importing goods - headaches.
Pierre
Somewhere down South
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2019
- Messages
- 1,123
Yes K , I purchased BMS’s from Daly DDP without any problems and recently bought on Alibaba 10 x cells and 2 x battery casings also DDP - waiting for shipment to arrive ( Corona has delayed a lot of shipments ) I prefer to use sellers on Alibaba who offer ‘buyer protection’ . Sometimes sellers will sell directly to you and you pay via PayPal , offering you some buyer protection.
KauaiMolokai
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2019
- Messages
- 283
Hi Pierre, Thanks. Yeah it took me quite a lot of shipment before I had much idea what was going on, and maybe I still don't really know. I suspect though that when you order anything from China and pay shipping, whether you ask for DDP, DAP, DDU or anything else, they just send it by air or by sea. Once it gets to your country most of the time its not really checked by anyone so it comes to you. On some rare occasions when a package is checked, and this usually happens when your stuff is in an ocean shipping container and the container is offloaded into a bonded warehouse, then you get hit with a lot of charges. Which you either pay or you don't get your stuff. If you tried you would have zero recourse or cooperation from the seller or shipper. Although just maybe some freight companies (not sellers) are more sophisticated and they factor these charges in based upon the value/contents the seller declares. But I'd trust Chinese quality a lot more than I'd trust the shipping system. Once the shipper has their hands on your stuff, they are in control 100%. Its always good to bear in mind that shipping is not designed for the consumer. Its designed for the big guys who ship containers full to their own company warehouses. If a few retail buyers who try to DIY get hosed, that's just too tough sh%t ;-)
That was why I asked if you had done "a number" - I meant like more than 50. After 25 or so I kinda got the idea..maybe ;-)
That was why I asked if you had done "a number" - I meant like more than 50. After 25 or so I kinda got the idea..maybe ;-)
Pierre
Somewhere down South
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2019
- Messages
- 1,123
No sorry K , only those few from China and quite a few orders from the US. My orders have been relatively small and I have been very fortunate - all goods cleared customs without any issues. So far I have only used airfreight couriers and found them very reliable and efficient - never ’lost’ a shipment.
KauaiMolokai
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2019
- Messages
- 283
Yeah, me too - Fedex/DHL/China Poste has worked great for me too. Thanks for replying. Good luck.
Absolutely not. I run a company, we do international business all the time including to and from China. Incoterms govern international delivery of goods and delimit responsibilities and costs between parties involved. If you agree in writing that your goods are sent DPP (and this is shown in e.g. Alibaba under shipping terms/trade terms), they fall under that statute and these things are law.
Under DDP (and DAP), the seller is responsible for paying all arrival expenditures at destination. With DDP, this also includes paying local taxes and duties (VAT, etc) as well as the handling of customs clearance at destination. This requires the seller to register as an overseas importer in the destination country (or use a forwarder to handle this), meaning that when someone inspects the package, and duties are due, the bill will come to the seller and not you. These things are pretty much international trade law and you can be sure things will go very bad for the seller if they don't adhere to the terms.
Pierre
Somewhere down South
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2019
- Messages
- 1,123
In ZA you have to register as an importer with Customs as soon as the value of your orders exceed a certain amount.
Never had any issues with Customs and you never will if you play by the rule book. Never let the seller understate the value of the shipment and always put all the items with the proper Customs Tariff Codes on the waybill or bill of lading.
Once Big Brother ( Uncle Sam in the US ) catches you out he will inspect every one of your shipments and watch your other tax activities as well - not worth it to try and save a bit of duty charges .
followup question for the team, the battery manufacturer wants to send it DPP "Sea Express" which he claims FED_EX or UPS will deliver it to me once it gets to the port. Does the team see any issue with this? i see your warnings about ports and it brought back many memories of when i worked on civilian ports when i was in the service. i want to avoid as much hassle as possible. thank you all for the help
