If your business is in importing physical products, maximising your margin and minimising transit time are key factors in success. One element which took me a while to work out is how to navigate customs clearance promptly and efficiently. To give some context, at the time we were airfreighting thousands of dollars worth of product a week from the United States and Asia across several shipments. Also a few pallets from China via air or sea freight on a semi-regular basis.

Below is a bit of background information, but ultimately the best case is to signup for a NZ Customs Deferred Account for most small businesses in New Zealand.

What do I need to pay?

On an order imported over the value of NZ$400 you will incur a 15% GST rate, a (generally) flat-rate import entry fee (IETF) as well as any duties applicable. Depending on who processes the clearance there may be other fees such as handling fees, MAF inspection and other handling costs. Generally these fees are around $60 before GST and duties. Hence there is an incentive to either group all your imports into fewer shipments or keep the commercial value under the customs threshold. Any GST paid on importation is a credit into your GST account so can be claimed back as part of your GST return.

The easiest way to find duties is on http://www.whatsmyduty.org.nz/

Generally on electronics there are no applicable duties.

If you are importing for commercial purposes you will need to setup a NZ Customs ‘Cash’ account [NB: this appears to have changed and you can simply pay online via Credit Card]. This will give you an account number to lodge all your imports against.

Do I need a customs broker?

Most large freight companies (FedEx, DHL etc) have their own brokers which offer competitively priced and fast customs clearance. For more specialised importation of goods (EXW or FOB) I’d highly recommend using a broker. Norm from ICFB is incredibly good. I would use a broker when importing via seafreight or by a non-DHL shipper.

However regardless of this, I would recommend for the majority of your freight passing through large freight companies to bypass using a broker completely and rather just setup a NZ Customs Deferred Account (see below). It took me a while to find out that this was an option, as well as a very easy option for even the smallest business!

NZ Customs Deferred Account

This is the best way to get setup. NZ Customs will allow you to open a deferred customs account, it is easy to get setup (see Application for Deferred Payment Registration form (NZCS 614)). Credit limit depends on variety of factors, the only account setup fees are a $100 credit check fee [NB: this appears to be have removed] and once a account number has been assigned this can be quoted to your broker/agent.