Manage Duties Payor Preference | How To
When shipping internationally, duties and taxes may be assessed by the country of import based on the destination and item type. The "duties payor" refers to who is responsible to pay the duties fees assessed by the importing country.
Each carrier has its own duties payor that applies by default. ShippingEasy allows you to set your preference for duties payor on each carrier account through the Default Duties Payor on the ONE BALANCE AND CARRIERS page.
Default duties payor preferences are set on each carrier account. You can set a default duties payor preference on FedEx, UPS, or DHL Express.
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Locate the FedEx, DHL Express, or UPS account you wish to update. Then, click the Manage Account link associated to the account.
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Click the Default Duties Payor drop-down and select Sender, Recipient, or Third Party. Then, click the Update button.
Changes Apply to Future Orders
Changes to the default duties payor will apply to future orders. Default duties payor preferences are compatible with shipping presets and manual carrier selections. In some cases, a default duties payor may be applied to existing orders or used with other shipping methods.
Whether or not you set a default Duties Payor for your carrier account(s), you can edit the Duties Payor for individual shipments on the READY TO SHIP page.
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Send a shipment to the READY TO SHIP page. Learn how to create a shipment.
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Select the carrier with which you will ship the package. Learn how to pick a carrier and service.
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Click the Default Duties Payor drop-down and select Sender, Recipient, or Third Party. Then, click the Update button.
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If you have selected a Third Party, be sure to fill in the Account Number and Account Postal Code.
When updating the duties payor preferences in ShippingEasy:
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The updated default duties payor setting will apply to new orders received after changing your preference.
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The following shipping methods are compatible with using a default duties payor:
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Shipping Presets: Shipping Presets are saved configuration of package and service types. They can be assigned to orders via Shipping Rules or manually, from the ORDERS or READY TO SHIP pages.
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Manual Carrier Service Selections: when shipping on the READY TO SHIP page, you can make your carrier selections manually. Choose the specific carrier, service, and package for each shipment or batch. Learn how to manually select carrier services.
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Previous Selection: Your default duties payor preference will apply to orders that get a rate quote applied via the previous selection. Learn more about previous selections.
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Updating preferences: When you update your default duties payor preference, the change will not apply to unshipped orders that are shipped from the orders page. We recommend that when you update your default duties preference, you ship all of your unshipped orders.
For FedEx international shipments, you have the ability to have Customs Duties paid by either the sender, recipient or third-party, as long as the account is US-based. Internationally-based FedEx accounts cannot be charged as they do not have a valid 5-digit zip code.
Who can pay for FedEx international duties and taxes?
When using ShippingEasy to ship your FedEx international orders, you can designate one of the following to pay for duties and taxes:
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Recipient: the receiver of the shipment pays the customs duties and taxes. Optional fields for a FedEx account number and the account number’s postal code will appear. If provided, that account will be billed instead of the recipient paying in cash.
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Sender: as the sender, you are responsible for paying customs duties/taxes.
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Third-Party: someone else will pay for the duties and taxes. When Third Party is chosen, the FedEx account number and postal code of the Third Party must be specified; these fields are not optional.
Keep in mind, FedEx policies state that should the Recipient or Third Party fail to pay duties, you as the Sender are responsible for payment.
When creating a DHL shipment you have the ability to have Customs Duties paid by either the Recipient, Sender or Third Party.
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Recipient: This is the default selection. When the Recipient is charged for customs duties, the archive label (the label you keep, instead of putting on the package) indicates DAP (for "Delivered At Place") in the Terms of Trade:
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Sender: You are responsible for paying customs duties/taxes. The Terms of Trade will indicate DDP (for "Delivered Duties Paid"):
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Third Party: When Third Party is chosen, DHL Express charges a $15.00 per shipment fee that is not reflected in the rate quote. For Third Party pay for the customs duties, the Terms of Trade will indicate DDP (for "Delivered Duties Paid"):
When you create your shipment on the READY TO SHIP page and select DHL as the carrier, the default payor will populate. However, you can change who is billed for Custom Duties if needed.
When Recipient is chosen, there is an optional field on the READY TO SHIP screen to provide a DHL Express account number:

When creating an international UPS shipment you have the ability to have Customs Duties paid by either the Sender, Recipient, or Third Party.
UPS from ShippingEasy One Balance
UPS from ShippingEasy One Balance currently does not support third-party billing. All custom duties will be billed to the recipient.
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Recipient: This is the default selection. When Recipient is chosen the receiver of the shipment pays the customs duties/taxes. Optional fields for a UPS account number and the account number’s postal code will appear and if provided, that account will be billed instead of the recipient paying in cash.
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Sender: As the sender, you are responsible for paying customs duties/taxes.
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Third-Party: When Third-Party is chosen, the UPS account number and postal code of the Third Party must be specified. They are not optional for third party payment.
Batch Processing UPS International Shipments
When modifying a batch of UPS international shipments, only two options are available for payment of customs duties/taxes: Sender and Recipient.
When you create your shipment on the READY TO SHIP page and select UPS as the carrier, the default payor will populate. You do have the option to change who is billed for Custom Duties if necessary. You can select to bill to the receiver, sender or the Third Party.
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