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E-commerce vocabulary · Cross-Border Sales

De minimis threshold

Meaning in e-commerce, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In e-commerce, de minimis threshold means: The value below which imported goods are free of customs duty or taxes, or go through simpler customs procedures; each country sets its own limit.

In Turkish: gümrük muafiyet sınırı, vergiden muaf değer eşiği

How it is used

Important for cross-border stores that send many low-value parcels. The threshold can be different for duty and for tax, and several countries have lowered or removed it in recent years, so sellers check the current rules for each market.

Example sentences

  1. Most of our parcels used to fall under the de minimis threshold, but the limit has changed.

  2. Above the de minimis threshold, the customer may have to pay duties on delivery.

Common collocations

  • de minimis threshold
  • de minimis value
  • below the threshold
  • duty-free limit
  • customs dutyA tax charged by a country on goods brought in from abroad, calculated from the product type, its value and sometimes where it was made.
  • landed costThe full cost of getting a product to its destination: the product price plus shipping, insurance, customs duty, taxes and other fees.
  • DDPShort for delivered duty paid: a shipping term under which the seller pays all delivery costs, including import duties and taxes, so the buyer pays nothing on arrival.
  • cross-border e-commerceSelling products online to customers in other countries, which brings extra work such as customs, international shipping, currencies and local languages.

More terms: Cross-Border Sales

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