Does transshipment trade require customs duties? Come and find out!
Resolved
I have been quite interested in transshipment trade recently and want to learn more about it. I would like to ask, during the operation of transshipment trade, do customs duties need to be paid? I know that general trade requires customs duties, but transshipment trade involves goods transiting through a third country, and the situation seems a bit complicated. Can anyone knowledgeable explain in detail under what circumstances transshipment trade requires customs duties and when it does not?
Trade Expert Insights Answers
Whether customs duties are paid in transshipment trade needs to be discussed on a case-by-case basis. If the goods are only temporarily stored in the transit country, in specific areas such as bonded areas or bonded warehouses, and do not enter the circulation within the domestic market of the transit country, customs duties are generally not required. This is because the goods are in a bonded state, equivalent to being "outside the customs," and do not trigger the customs duty collection conditions of the transit country.
However, if the goods leave these specific areas and enter the domestic market of the transit country, they will be subject to customs duties in accordance with the relevant customs duty policies of the transit country, just like ordinary imported goods.
Furthermore, from the perspective of the destination country, if the goods ultimately enter the destination country, the destination country will usually levy customs duties on imported goods according to its own customs duty policies, which is not directly related to the transshipment trade itself but is the normal import customs tax administration of the destination country. Therefore, whether customs duties are paid in transshipment trade depends crucially on the status of the goods in the transit country and whether they enter the domestic market of the transit country.
In transshipment trade, if the goods remain in special areas under customs supervision, such as specific areas in free trade ports, then no customs duties of the transit country need to be paid. If they enter the transit country for sale, then duties must be paid.
Some transshipment trade goods are only repackaged or undergo simple processing before being transshipped. As long as they remain within the bonded supervision area, no customs duties are levied. Once they flow out, taxes must be paid.
From the perspective of the destination country, regardless of whether the goods are from transshipment trade, once they enter the market of the destination country, they will be subject to its import customs duty policies.
If the transit country has special regulations for certain commodities, specific taxes and fees may still be required even if the goods are in a bonded area, but this situation is relatively rare.
If the transshipment trade contract has special provisions, such as assuming the customs duties of the transit country, then the contract will prevail.
The length of time the goods stay in the transit country does not affect the judgment of customs duty payment; the key is whether they enter the domestic market.
If the transit country and the country of origin of the goods have signed special trade agreements, the transshipment trade customs duty policy may have preferential treatment.
The judgment of customs duties in transshipment trade also requires attention to the specific interpretations and enforcement standards of customs in various countries, which may vary.