Hi @casperhillstrom ,
For sure, and I understand why you would prefer more transparency on how these duties are estimated and calculated. I do not have more information on this process but will submit your feedback to our development team.
Topic summary
Import duties at checkout are calculated from product data: Harmonized System (HS) code, Country of Origin (COO), and destination (country/province). If no HS code, Shopify estimates using product type/title/description. Many countries have de minimis thresholds; e.g., US→Canada under CAD $40 yields no duties/taxes. Switzerland may use weight-based duty.
Merchants report inconsistencies: some items incur duties while others don’t, and Shopify’s amounts sometimes differ from courier invoices. A key complaint is lack of transparency—no breakdown showing how duty is computed per order.
Requested actions: documentation of per-order duty calculation, integration with carrier APIs (e.g., UPS) to cross-check and display calculations, and reporting on average duty %.
Third-party input: TARIC (EU Integrated Tariff) can show rates; couriers may override HS codes and data, causing discrepancies. One vendor claims only Shopify Plus calculates duties; non-Plus merchants often absorb duties and focus on VAT collection at checkout. VAT = value-added tax.
Example EU↔UK: duty-free for qualifying origin, but couriers require a Certificate of Origin; without it, they apply ERGA OMNES (default) rates, leading to differing duty/VAT. Images illustrate this divergence; Fintaric (Finnish customs) is suggested for checking ERGA OMNES.
Outcome: Shopify will forward feedback; no resolution yet. Open issues: detailed calculation transparency, reconciling with couriers, HS code lookup (e.g., 610910).
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