PITNEY BOWES DESIGNED CROSS-BORDER DELIVERY
Simplify international shipping and selling
Welcome
Shipping across the border
Have questions?
How much will it cost me to ship?
To calculate your total shipping rate, please reference the Pitney Bowes Expedited 2022 rate card and find the weight associated with your shipment. Look at the Cross-Border Delivery Service DDP rate card and find the weight associated with your shipment. Add these two costs together to find your total shipping cost. Please note: Duties/taxes/fuel will be an additional cost. However, product and value will determine how much more.
Am I responsible for duties and taxes?
Yes. This is a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) service meaning duties and taxes are paid in advance rather than needing to collect from your international customer. When you are ready to move forward, we can run a compliance review for your product(s) and give you the estimated duties and taxes.
How long will it take to get from me to my international customer?
3-7 business days
How will I integrate? Can I use my current system?
Pitney Bowes works with a handful of partners that can help with international shipping. A list of partners can be found here. Shippers can also build a direct integration into Pitney Bowes technology, with more information available here.
How will returns work? Do I pay taxes?
Retailers will print a shipping label that will route their returns to our Canada facility. We will consolidate your returns at our Canada facility and ship them back to the US. There are no duties and taxes on returned items.
Where are your hubs located?
- Bloomington, CA
- Elk Grove Village, IL
- Erlanger, KY
- Monroe, NJ
What is the highest value product you can ship?
We cannot ship items valued at more than $2,500.
Who manages paperwork and customs clearance?
Pitney Bowes will manage all paperwork and customs clearance.
When will I be billed?
Standard payment terms are NET7. If you need longer terms, you’ll be required to fill out a credit application to be reviewed by our finance team. More information can be found here: https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/financial-services.html
How soon can I begin shipping?
Once you tell us you’d like to move forward, we’ll have you shipping in less than 30 days.
How does track and trace work?
Each time your shipment is scanned, the tracking information updates to reflect that event.
What is a master carton?
A master carton will allow you to consolidate multiple orders into one box before shipping to us. Sending items together will greatly reduce the cost per shipment.
What are the first mile options?
Options include Pitney Bowes Expedited, Pitney Bowes master carton, your preferred carrier, or customer drop-off to one of our hubs. If you are shipping more than 200+ packages per day, we can arrange for a Pitney Bowes pickup at no additional cost.
I’m ready for the next steps.
That’s great – We will send over our agreement for signature. This typically takes us 24-48 hours to turn around. Once signed, we’ll introduce your implementation manager to assist with your onboarding.
Customs Bonds - Do I need a U.S. Customs bond to return items to U.S.?
If your returns will have a combined value of US $800.00 on any single day, you will need a U.S. Customs bond in place in order to return your items. Pitney Bowes can help you obtain a Customs bond through our U.S. Customs Broker if you do not already have one.
If your returns will not exceed a combined value of US $800.00 per day, you will not need to have a Customs bond in place.
Power of Attorney for Customs Clearance - Do I need to sign a Power of Attorney with a U.S. Customs broker in order to return items to the U.S.?
Yes, if you plan to return goods with a combined value of over US $800.00 on any one day. You will need to sign a Customs Power of Attorney with our U.S. Customs broker. The Power of Attorney must be signed by an officer of the company with the ability to bind the company. Pitney Bowes can assist you in setting a up a Power of Attorney with our broker. It is mandatory to use the Pitney Bowes appointed broker in order to utilize our return services.
No, if your returns will always be less than US $800.00 per day.
Duty & Taxes
VALUATION
In general, the Value for Customs Purposes is “Transaction Value”, the price paid or will be paid by the buyer to the seller. Random or fictitious values are not acceptable. If there is no transaction (in the case of free merchandise), the value is what would have been paid had the goods actually been offered for sale.
Value, along with country of origin and the HS code form the basis of duty and tax collection and is essential for the Customs clearance process.
DUTY / HS CODES
The Harmonized System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products, developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO).
These codes are used to calculate the duties and taxes by the local customs authority when a shipment crosses a customs border.
You can find further information here.
TAXES
Cross-border shipments are subject to duties and taxes. If these costs were not included in the price you paid for the goods online, your local customs authority can charge you inbound duties, taxes, and administrative fees.
DUTY AND TAX EXEMPTION FOR LOW VALUE GOODS (DEMINIMUS)
Did you know? Not every shipment is taxed on import. Many countries have a de minimis threshold, under which shipments are cleared without incurring customs duties or taxes. De Minimis Value as the threshold is known, varies from country to country. Items imported into the United States are subject to duty when the value is over USD 800. In Australia, duty and taxes kick in after the first USD 1,000. In Canada, it’s USD 20; in some other countries, it’s USD 5. In Europe the average is about USD 190, however, it may vary considerably from country to country.
De-minimis value by country link can be found here https://global-express.org/assets/files/Customs%20Committee/de-minimis/GEA%20overview%20on%20de%20minimis_9%20March%202018.pdf
DUTY DRAWBACK
If goods imported from the US are subsequently returned, you may be eligible for a refund in duty. GST and HST are not refundable.
Pitney Bowes does not currently offer a duty drawback service, but a Customs Broker may be able to assist you.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
For import and export purposes, the country of origin of a product is where it was manufactured or created. It is not necessarily the country from which the item shipped. As example, a laptop may be made in China (country of origin) but ship from the US to Mexico. If you do not know the country of origin of your product, look on the item, the box it arrived in and associated documentation, or search the supplier website. Country of origin is mandatory for Customs clearance.
Disclaimer: The above information is provided by Pitney Bowes as a general guidance, and not intended as legal, compliance and/or regulatory advice to you. For specific information related or applicable to your products or services, you should seek advice from your attorney for legal interpretation on the topics listed above.