PortEntry
The Journal
Where each of these calculators stops being right
Every tool on this site makes assumptions. Here is what each one assumes, the case where it goes wrong, and one we got wrong ourselves.
One shipment, six calculators, in the order they actually chain
Each tool here answers one question and hands its answer to the next. Worked end to end on a single 20,000 consignment.
Three shipments instead of one, and the same goods cost 900 more
Clearance fees are charged per entry, not per unit. Splitting a consignment for cash flow or for a threshold multiplies every fixed cost in the chain.
One tariff code, 1,490.28
The duty calculator asks for a rate. Getting that rate is the whole job, and the gap between two defensible classifications is larger than most people's freight bill.
Two exchange rates apply to your import, and you only control one
The rate your bank gives you decides what the goods cost. A different, published rate decides what duty is assessed on. Budgeting with one for both is off by 32.18 here.
345 cartons fit a 20ft container, and you will not load 345
Dividing container volume by carton volume gives a number no packer has ever achieved. It is still the right number to start from — as a ceiling.
The supplier quoting 6.7% less that costs you 2.3% more
Two quotes for the same 1,200 units. The cheaper unit price lands more expensive, and only the per-unit landed cost shows it.
Your carton weighs 12 kg and you are billed for 16
Carriers bill the greater of actual and volumetric weight. On a 60×40×40 cm carton that is 33.33% more than the scales say — and the divisor moves it again.
Why 6.5% duty and 20% VAT is not 26.5%
Adding the two rates understates the bill by 323.54 on a 22,580.00 shipment, because import VAT is charged on the duty you just paid.
Duty is charged on your freight, and the Incoterm decides whether it is
The same goods, the same freight, the same duty rate — and 167.70 of difference in duty, decided by three letters on the invoice.