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International Trade vocabulary · Customs and Tariffs

Customs duty

Meaning in international trade, with examples

nounCore term

In international trade, customs duty means: The tax paid to customs on imported goods, calculated from their customs value, their HS code and sometimes their origin.

In Turkish: gümrük vergisi

How it is used

Often just 'duty' or 'duties'. You pay, calculate or reduce duty, or are exempt from it. Import VAT and excise are separate taxes, though they are often collected at the same time. Phrases: 'duty-free', 'duty paid', 'duty rate'.

Example sentences

  1. Customs duty on this product is 4 percent, plus 20 percent VAT.

  2. Thanks to the EUR.1, the buyer paid no customs duty.

Common collocations

  • pay customs duty
  • customs duty rate
  • exempt from customs duty
  • customs duty and VAT
  • tariffA tax charged by a government on imported goods, usually as a percentage of their value; also the official list of these rates.
  • customs valueThe value of imported goods that customs uses as the basis for calculating duties, normally the price paid with certain costs added or removed.
  • HS codeA number that classifies a product in the Harmonized System used by customs worldwide; the first six digits are the same in every country.
  • duty drawbackA refund of customs duties paid on imported goods or materials when they are later exported, either unchanged or as part of a finished product.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Customs and Tariffs

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