Glossary Discription

Customs duty is a tax or tariff imposed by a government on goods when they are transported across international borders, typically collected by customs authorities at the point of entry or exit. This levy is assessed on imported goods (import duty) and, less commonly, on exported goods (export duty), serving as a critical component of international trade regulation and national revenue generation. Customs duties are calculated based on various factors including the declared value of goods, their classification under standardized coding systems (such as the Harmonized System), quantity, weight, or a combination of these elements. The duty represents a mandatory payment that importers or exporters must remit before goods are released from customs control, directly impacting the landed cost of products and overall supply chain economics.

Related Terms

• Tariff
• Import Duty
• HS Code (Harmonized System Code)
• Landed Cost
• Customs Broke
• Incoterms
• Duty Drawback