Malaysia
Thailand
Indonesia
Hi there! We know that international shipping does provide an opportunity for new markets and exciting growth possibilities. Thus, we are here to provide guidance on international shipments, especially on rules and regulations of exporting and importing. We tried our best to make it simple for you and hope that a proper shipping document will never be a complicated thing anymore.
Use this checklist to kick start your international delivery journey worry-free!
- Algeria
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bonaire
- Bosnia And Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei Darussalam
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Canary Islands, The
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cote D’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Curacao
- Cyprus
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- East Timor
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guernsey
- Guinea Republic
- Guinea Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran, Islamic Republic Of
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Korea, Democratic People’S Republic Of
- South Korea
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lao People’S Democratic Republic
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Micronesia, Federated States Of
- Moldova, Republic Of
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles
- Nevis
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Reunion
- Russian Federation
- Rwanda
- Saipan
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome And Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- Somaliland (North Somalia)
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- St. Barthelemy
- St. Eustatius
- St. Kitts
- St. Lucia
- St. Maarten
- St. Vincent
- Sudan
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Tahiti
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad And Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Turks And Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- United States Minor Outlying Islands
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands, British
- Virgin Islands, U.S.
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Streamline Your International Delivery With This Checklist
Confirming Your Items Are Not Restricted To Sent To Your Destination Country
Accurate Parcel’s Weight Measured
Printed Airway Bill + Commercial Invoice
Attached Airway Bill + Commercial Invoice Correctly On Parcel
Parcel Content Aligned Correctly With Item Being Packed
Calculate and Estimate Tax & Duties
? What is Airway bill & Commercial Invoice?
- Courier Air Waybill – It is the primary delivery document for all international shipments.
- Commercial Invoice – This document included the price, value, and quantity of goods being sold. It is the document used to determine taxes and duties and is required for a package to clear customers. You’ll need to provide a detailed itemized description of the parcel content for the commercial invoice. For example, if your parcel contains clothes, you should list them down as “NIKE Cotton Baseball Cap”, “ZARA Fibre Long Cardigan”, “ADIDAS Sport Shoes Yeezy 350 V2” and so on.
? How to Attach Airway bill + Commercial Invoice?
https://easyparcel.com/blog/sg/tutorial-attach-air-waybill-awb/
? How many copies of the air waybill and commercial invoice I’ll have to attach/print out for each shipment?
ANS : After booking, you just have to click the “printer” icon, download, and print out the materials provided. Then attached all the paper(air waybill+commercial invoice) on the specific shipment and Viola! That’s it.
What happens if courier finds out parcels with misdeclared weight?
Delayed shipment
Delays occur when the courier put your parcels on hold in their hub until the extra cost that set out as the cost for the standard delivery of your order has been paid.
Excess surcharge by courier
The courier issues an additional charge to the sender to cover the extra cost incurred on the extra checking procedure, thus you’ll no longer paying for the original lower member rate.
How To Prevent Surcharges Due To Misdeclared Weight?
It’s very simple to keep yourself from being hit with surcharges. Before you book your parcel for delivery, do the following steps:-
[ Grab FREE weighing scale ] [ Try EasyParcel’s volumetric weight calculator ]
Get your parcel’s weight accurate will be very helpful for our courier partners to deliver your parcels to your recipients on time. Note it down, don’t get your parcel into trouble!
MSDS document is Material Safety Data Sheets, always required for international deliveries for special items (you can refer to each courier to indicate the special item list). A safety data sheet, material safety data sheet, or product safety data sheet are documents that list information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. It’s a widely used system for cataloging information on chemicals, chemical compounds, and chemical mixtures.
It is HARMONIZED SYSTEM code.
The Harmonized System (HS) code is a categorization system created, developed, and maintained by the World Customs Organisation (WCO). Every commodity is tagged to an HS code, and the code assigned to it is internationally recognized in almost every country and is commonly used in customs to clear shipments.
As customs and government bodies now have a common point of reference to instill regulations based on HS classes, they are able to create a standard to approach each HS category the same way. This in turn creates a more organized importing/exporting structure and a good guideline for countries wanting to implement new regulations.
? Do I need to know what are the HS code for my parcels?
No. Whenever you book your international shipments with EasyParcel, our system will automatically fill up for you while you choose your shipment’s category. However, if you have your own HS code, feel free to replace the HS code prepared by the system.
For eg, the HS code for a book is 4820 20 000.
Find out more: https://www.tradenet.gov.sg/tradenet/portlets/search/searchHSCA/searchInitHSCA.do
The MSDS document (Material Safety Data Sheets) is always required for international deliveries when you’re sending:
- Hand sanitizers
- Cosmetics
- Beauty products
- Liquid products
- Electronic items
All the item is based on the country culture / government / religion
- Australia – Food is not allowed to send.
- China – shipments whichever related to religion, gamble, broken item (return shipment) is not allowed.
- Malaysia – shipments whichever related to non- halal food is strictly restricted to send.
- Taiwan – Food is not allowed to send.
Food: Any substance can be consumed.
1. Bind your credit card to EasyParcel account
Before kick starts an international courier booking, all you need to do is bind a credit card with your EasyParcel account for verification purposes. Wondering how to do that? Click here for the quick tutorial.
Bear in mind that your selected courier will check on the dimensions and weights of each shipment before dispatch. If the parcel is larger or heavier than declared, our courier partner will apply a surcharge from the debit/credit card as registered under your EasyParcel account directly.
When you deliver something to another country, import taxes & duties may be imposed to your shipment by custom. Here at EasyParcel, we offer 2 payment methods 一 Prepaid By Sender (DDP – Delivered Duty Paid); and Postpaid By Receiver (DDU – Delivered Duty Unpaid).
Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)
Sender pays for the import duties and taxes. An estimated import taxes and duties amount will be included when you pay for this shipment. Paying the charges upfront will ensure a smoother delivery process as your shipment will not be held by customs and delivered directly to your receivers.
Note: Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is currently applicable for Janio International only. Stay tuned for more option.
Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU)
Receiver will be informed by courier/customs to pay for the import taxes and duties when the shipment arrives at destination custom. Additional charges such as storage charges, handling charges, etc may be imposed by custom as well. After the payment is made, the shipment will only be released by custom and delivered to the receiver.
You as a sender will have the responsibility to inform the receiver that he/she is required to pay the duty & taxes or any charges incurred by the destination customs in advance. We’ve also rolled out a Tax & Duties Calculator to do the estimate calculation for you.
At this stage, your selected courier will contact the receiver directly to collect any applicable duties and taxes. Hence, you as a sender have the responsibility to inform the receiver that he is required to pay the duty & taxes or any charges incurred by the destination customs.
1. What are Tax & Duties? Why we may be asked to pay additional taxes and duties before our shipment is delivered?
Duties and taxes on shipments are legal requirements that must be settled before your shipment can be delivered. The government wants to protect the domestic company from foreign competitors, control the volume for certain products, and raise their revenue through taxes.
2. When does the receiver pay for duties and taxes?
Your selected courier will contact the receiver directly to collect any applicable duties and taxes. These amounts need to be paid upon delivery, before delivery or even after delivery.
3. What happens if the courier can’t reach the receiver or the receiver refused to pay for duties and taxes?
– The amount will be deducted from the sender’s EasyParcel account / registered credit card and proceed with delivery
– Return with charges (sender still need to pay for the duties and taxes)
– Disposal with charges (subject to the destination country and duties and taxes remain unchanged)
4. How can I avoid charging taxes so I can remain competitive?
Not paying taxes is tax evasion, which we don’t encourage. It’s not worth risking your business getting fined. It’s best to know any import tax and custom duty amount that is applicable to your shipment and being upfront with customers on pricing.
5. Can I declare my item as a gift to avoid custom duty?
No. Shipments are cleared through customs based on where they’s coming from, the item category, and value – not its purpose.
6. What happens if I under-declare the value of my item?
Customs officers can easily check your business website and other sources to verify if the value listed matches the actual value of the item. Listing a lower value in order to avoid taxes is tax evasion and against the law.
3. Secure your item with quality packaging
Little details when packing your goods can cause damage or delay your shipment. Here’s what you can do to help ensure every box you send arrives on time and in perfect condition. More tips in packing your international shipments.
Used boxes lose strength. Ensure your box is rigid and dry, with no punctures or damage.
Too much padding reduces stacking strength. Avoid boxes that are too big for their contents and require excessive padding.
Use proper sealing tape in an H pattern on the top and bottom – don’t use string or rope. If your box is heavy, consider strapping it.
Remove old air waybill (AWB). Affix a new AWB on top, so the barcode is flat (not folded over the edge). Place a copy of the air waybill inside the box to avoid AWB drop in the transit.
Avoid Custom Rejection by Categorize & Describe Your Parcel Content Correctly
Example:
5. Get the accurate weight of your shipment
To make sure your delivery goes smooth, there is one rule above all: quote and book the delivery with accurate weight. But wait – wondering when you should book with actual weight / volumetric weight?
What happens if the courier finds out your parcels with misdeclared weight?
- Delayed shipment – Delays occur when the courier put your parcels on hold in their hub until the extra cost that set out as the cost for the standard delivery of your order has been paid.
- Excess surcharge by courier – The courier issues an additional charge to the sender to cover the extra cost incurred on the extra checking procedure, thus you’ll no longer paying for the original lower member rate.
Actual Weight vs Volumetric Weight – Which Should be Used For Booking?
6. Surcharge / hidden fees to be aware of when sending international shipment
Parcel handling-related charges
This has to do with the items you want to ship, their container, the weight, and the dimensions. If your parcel doesn’t fit the criteria of your selected courier partner, you can be hit with additional charges. Mostly as a percentage of the shipping fees or the value of the items (sometimes even both).
If your parcel exceeds a courier’s standard dimension or weight, surcharges can apply. Hence, when you find yourself hitting courier weight and size restrictions, perhaps you should consider another courier service. The material and the shape of the containers can lead to additional fees. If your container is made of wood or metal, or if it’s cylindrical, you can expect extra fees to be charged.
Shipping-related charges
These are related to the details of the shipment, such as the pickup location, the delivery destination, and the delivery duration.
- The main additional charge that you will face is the fuel surcharge. Calculated as a percentage of the shipping costs, this varies weekly or monthly depending on the country. Be mindful of their fluctuation as it can have a significant impact on your bills.
- If you read the fine print, you may be surprised that depending on the pick-up location, you can face a surcharge. This is usually called a “remote area surcharge” or “extended area surcharge”, meaning these locations are far from the usual collection path of our dear couriers. If pick-up is in a residential building, an additional surcharge may also apply for certain couriers (subject to the courier services).
- Optional value-added services can be chosen as well to take care of your shipments, such as additional insurance (in case of lost or damaged shipment), delivery out of regular working hours (such as Sundays, public holidays or within a short time frame.) However, as these will be chosen by you, it’s unlikely you’d find this surprising.
- Finally, mistakes happen, and unfortunately you can be charged for this. Some of these fees include “address correction fee”, “delivery reattempt” or even “return fees”.
What Does EasyParcel Offer?
EasyParcel, as the name itself. We present ourselves as an easy and simple online courier service booking platform.
EasyParcel Singapore assists to handle thousands of documents and shipments every single day. Besides, we’ve partnered up with numerous global companies and process these high volumes of shipments while ensuring that they transit smoothly through international borders. Speed is a core focus within our operations as it enables us to not only satisfy our customers but also pave the way to handle larger volumes of shipments with better turnarounds.
Whether you are a newbie or pro international shipper, EasyParcel offers a comprehensive service, covering all the nitty-gritty details so you don’t have to worry.
