When shipping a gift internationally, it is important to know the gift exemptions for the country that you are sending to so that the shipment can arrive without having customs stop the package or without having duties and fees owning on the shipment that the receiver would need to pay for. There are some items that are strictly prohibited to send via UPS regardless of where the package is going such as alcoholic beverages, currency, medicine, and tobacco products.
Each country also has their own item restrictions and the value of the gift per person must also meet the gift exemption amount for it to be shipped duty free for the receiver. For example, in the United Kingdom, each gift per person must be under £36 or approximately $58 Canadian or the receiver will need to pay duties and VAT to receive the shipment. To avoid the customs duties for gifts being shipped internationally, a commercial invoice must be provided with a breakdown of the items, including the value, that each person will be receiving with their names listed. As an example, it must be listed that Jane Jonson is receiving 2 pairs of cotton pants, each pair is $10 and the total value of her gift is $20 and the Jack Jonson is receiving 1 ceramic mug worth $5. Both gifts should be able to be received by the consignee without any duties in this case. There is no limitation on how many recipients you can send gifts to per package as long as each gift meets the country’s gift exemption amount. Note that the package may still be inspected by customs and if they find the value of the items are worth more than listed (ex: a brand name purse listed for $50 but the actual cost of the item is $500), there may still be duties and taxes on the gift.
It is important to be as specific as possible when listing the items that are being sent. You cannot simply write that they are “Gifts” as this description is not specific enough for customs. Customs needs to know what the item is, what it is made of, the country of origin, and the value of the items. For any food products, including home made items, there may be a delay by the FDA to inspect the items to ensure that items meet their requirements. The invoice should also state “Food – for personal consumption/unsolicited gift”. Giving detailed information for customs will help the package arrive to it’s destination faster and stress free.
You can bring your shipment to The UPS Store #453 and we can assist you with getting your shipment to it’s destination. We have a variety of shipping services available from overnight to ground services. Packing services are available to make sure your item arrives safely. We also offer shipping services internationally through DHL.