Do my customers need to pay import duties or VAT, and how should I handle pricing?Updated a month ago

Yes, your customers may need to pay import duties or VAT depending on where they’re located and how much their order is worth. Since all Knitwise products are made and shipped directly from our manufacturing partners in China, customs fees can apply based on the destination country’s rules.

For U.S. customers, most orders under $800 USD are covered by what's called the De Minimis exemption, meaning no import duties are typically charged. You can read more about it here: U.S. Customs De Minimis Value Exemption. Just keep in mind that this policy could change in the future.

For customers in other countries, like those in the EU, UK, Canada, or Australia, VAT or customs duties may be charged depending on the local laws and order value. These fees are set by local authorities and can vary quite a bit.

At the moment, Knitwise doesn’t display VAT or VAT IDs on shipping labels or packing slips, and we don’t collect VAT or customs duties at checkout. Because of this, we recommend not enabling VAT or duty collection features on your store. Instead, it’s best to let your customers know that they may need to pay those fees directly to their local customs agency when the package arrives.

If you’re selling in regions where duties or VAT are common, we suggest manually factoring those costs into your retail price to keep things simple for your customers. You can also check in with a tax advisor or use a local pricing tool to help with that.