USPS customs charges: when USPS bills the sender for unpaid duties

Who it applies to

Sender or buyer?

USPS's answer: “Whether the mailer or addressee is responsible for paying duties, taxes, and import fees (as defined in 360) depends on various factors” (IMM 424.1), starting with the destination's customs rules. In practice there are two cases:

• The destination requires Delivered Duty Paid (Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Guadeloupe, Luxembourg, Martinique, Portugal and Reunion, for dutiable goods): you must ship that way and make sure the charges are paid on time (IMM 112, new paragraph). With USPS's own Delivered Duty Paid, the amounts are added to what you pay for the label (USPS). If any of it is still sought later, “the mailer is responsible for paying, or under certain circumstances reimbursing the Postal Service for, such amounts in accordance with 424” (IMM 112).
• Everywhere else, the buyer normally pays: “If you don't prepay those costs, the recipient will have to pay the required amounts before they can get their package.” (USPS Delivered Duty Paid page) Canada's listing, for example: “For all casual and commercial goods valued at or under 1,600 Canadian dollars, Canada Post will collect assessed duties, excise taxes, and a handling fee from the addressee.” (Canada listing, Observations) The new part: if they don't pay and someone in that country (“the customs authority, postal operator (or its agent), customs broker, or customs representative”) seeks the money from you or USPS, USPS invoices you (IMM 424.1).

Which services

Section 424 names no mail service: it sits in chapter 4 of the manual, Treatment of Outbound Mail, and applies whenever a party in the destination country seeks unpaid duties, taxes or import fees from you or USPS. Delivered Duty Paid, the way to prepay, works only with Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Package International Service (IMM 362). “USPS DDP service is not available with First-Class Mail International service, International Priority Airmail service, any type of M-bag service, and other workshare products.” (IMM 362) Two of those matter to sellers:

• First-Class Mail International can't carry what you sell anyway: “No merchandise, whether dutiable or nondutiable, may be mailed using First-Class Mail International service.” (IMM 242.2)
• M-bags (sacks of books and other printed matter: “Only printed matter is admissible in M-bags.” (IMM 261.21)) can't be sent Delivered Duty Paid, so there is no way to prepay through USPS: if the destination charges duty, the addressee doesn't pay and it is sought from USPS, it comes back to you under 424.

Who counts as "the mailer"

Section 424 doesn't define the word. If you buy the international label and your name is the sender on the customs form, plan on being the mailer. For revenue deficiencies, which 424.4 points to, the Domestic Mail Manual defines a mailer as “the mail owner or an individual or entity that prepares or presents a mailing to the Postal Service”, and the definition “includes those who allow others to use a postage meter or PC postage product” that was authorized to them (DMM 607.3.1.2). By that definition the seller who owns the package is a mailer, and a platform that lets you print labels on its own USPS account may be one too; if USPS bills the platform, its terms decide whether it passes the charge on to you.

The EU change behind it

“From 1 July 2026, the EU will introduce a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value parcels imported from outside the EU” (European Commission news). “The new duty will apply per item, based on tariff classification and not quantity.” (European Commission news) The Commission's own example: “if you buy 3 T-shirts and a watch, a €6 customs duty will be applied” (European Commission). “The seller or importer will be responsible for declaring and paying the duty as part of the customs process.” (European Commission news)

• How long, and on what: “The €3 temporary customs duty is a flat fee, which will apply until 1 July 2028, after which normal customs duties will apply, depending on the type of good.” (European Commission Q&A) It covers “All goods in consignments up to €150 sold in distance sales (e.g. e-commerce to consumers), regardless of VAT scheme (IOSS, Special Arrangements, or standard VAT).” (European Commission Q&A) The Q&A's one carve-out has conditions: “Excluding goods benefiting from preferential trade agreements or Customs Union measures, as long as the VAT has not been collected using IOSS and they are declared in H1.” (European Commission Q&A)
• A second EU charge, expected from Nov 1, 2026: “From 1 November 2026, the EU will apply the €2 Union handling fee.” (European Commission, EU Customs Reform) The Commission's guidance (version of Oct 5, 2026): “The UHF is a EUR 2 fixed fee (not ad valorem) that applies per item as the temporary 3 EUR customs duty but irrespective of the items’ value.” (Commission guidance, 3.2) So it applies to sales above €150 too, and “contrary to the temporary 3 EUR customs duty, the UHF is not limited in time as it is not temporary.” (Commission guidance, 3.2) The amount comes from a Commission delegated act of Sep 21, 2026: “The amount of the Union handling fee laid down in Article 20(2) of Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 shall be EUR 2 per item.” (C(2026) 6694, Article 1) The act's own start date is not a calendar date: “this Regulation should enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and apply the 10th day after the entry into force” (C(2026) 6694, recital 4). That is why the guidance, written while the act was still under scrutiny, says “the Union handling fee is therefore expected to apply from 1 November 2026.” (Commission guidance, 1) We couldn't confirm the publication date on Oct 23, 2026: EUR-Lex refused our request. USPS's Delivered Duty Paid page and the country listings we read on Oct 23, 2026 don't mention the fee yet.
• Why a bill can come back to the US side: the Commission's guidance says EU “postal operators acting under the UPU may ask the postal operators at origin to designate an indirect representative in the EU to be the declarant” (Commission guidance, 6.5), and “in the event of indirect representation, the person on whose behalf the customs representative is acting shall also be a debtor.” (Commission guidance, 7.2) If such amounts go unpaid and are sought from you or USPS, section 424 has USPS invoice you for them (IMM 424.1).
• Product identifiers: “The new requirement applies to all goods sold in distance sales of imported goods with an intrinsic value not exceeding EUR 150 as from 1 November 2026.” (Commission guidance, 8.2) The first one is the merchant's, “assigned by the online seller, marketplace or platform” (Commission guidance, 8.4.1). The USPS pages we read don't say yet how a product identifier goes on a USPS customs form.
• Which packages: USPS lists “Business-to-Consumer packages with a total value up to €150” and “Consumer-to-Consumer gifts with a total value over €45 and up to €150”; “(The rules for packages over €150 remain the same.)” (USPS).
• USPS's summary: “The receiving EU country will assess a flat, nonrefundable €3 duty based on the contents of your package.” (USPS Delivered Duty Paid page)
• How it's counted: USPS's systems use your item descriptions to assign HS codes and “assess a flat, nonrefundable €3 duty for each unique HS Code used” (USPS). Two items with the same HS code pay one €3; two different codes pay €6. VAT and any national fees come on top.
• France adds a fee: “Items containing goods with a value below 150 euro (EUR) will be subject to a 2 EUR customs administration fee, in addition to value-added tax (VAT) and any other taxes and fees, as applicable.” (France listing, Observations) “The administration fee will be applied to each item within the meaning of customs law, as defined by the item's Harmonized System (HS) code.” (France listing, Observations) The listing exempts consumer-to-consumer shipments below €45 to France and Monaco, and items for Corsica and Mayotte. The fee can be paid before mailing through the online IOSS platform or during delivery; “when the payer identification number is not provided, La Poste will collect the customs administration fee from the addressee.” (France listing)
• Gifts: every listing in the table above that offers Delivered Duty Paid, except Canada's and the United Kingdom's, says “Service is NOT available for items declared as gifts with a value up to 45 EUR.” (France listing, for example).

What you get billed, and how to pay

• What's on it: duties, taxes and import fees that someone in the destination country seeks from you or USPS and that weren't paid in full (IMM 424.1). Import fees are broad: “Import fees may be applied by customs brokers, customs representatives, government agencies, postal operators, customs authorities, and other service providers”, and they “may include any and all fees and other charges imposed in connection with the customs processing and clearance of a mailpiece” (IMM 361.13, as revised).
• Who sends it: “the Postal Service (or its representative) will send an invoice to the mailer” (IMM 424.1), so it may come from someone acting for USPS rather than USPS itself.
• When and how to pay: by the due date on the invoice (IMM 424.4), on the invoice's terms. “The mailer must pay the Postal Service (or its representative) the entire amount due in accordance with the invoice terms, even if the mailer disputes the assessment.” (IMM 424.2) The rule sets no payment method and no number of days to pay; those are the invoice's terms.
• Even if the package never arrived: you still owe it, “regardless of whether the item is delivered, lost, damaged, or returned” (IMM 424.2).
• USPS doesn't check the math: “The Postal Service is not responsible for the accuracy of duties, taxes, import fees, or other charges calculated by entities in the destination country” (IMM 424.3).

Disputes, refunds and credits

• With USPS: “The mailer may dispute with the Postal Service only accounting errors related to Postal Service invoicing by seeking a refund.” (IMM 424.5)
• The foreign amount: any challenge to what the destination charged “must be addressed directly to such party without involvement from the Postal Service” (IMM 424.5). Pay USPS first; 424.2 doesn't wait for the dispute.
• If the destination refunds: USPS will, “if deemed practical in the Postal Service's reasonable judgment, make a corresponding adjustment or refund to the mailer”, “except to the extent the amount remains nonrefundable or is otherwise properly due under an applicable arrangement” (IMM 424.6).
• Prepaid with Delivered Duty Paid: “When applicable duties, taxes, and import fees are paid using USPS DDP under section 360, adjustments and refunds are subject to 365.” (IMM 424.6) Under 365, duties, taxes and fees aren't refunded unless the provider's terms say so (IMM 365.2). USPS's answer for a prepaid package that is undeliverable or refused: “Import duties, taxes, and fees are ineligible for a refund unless otherwise specified in the USPS DDP service provider’s terms of service” (USPS).

eBay, Etsy and your own store

• You buy a USPS international label (in a marketplace's label tool, a PC Postage service or Click-N-Ship) and you're the sender on the customs form: this page applies to you as written.
• The marketplace collects duties or VAT at checkout: IMM 362 lets marketplaces and label services use “alternative solutions, other than USPS DDP service, for collecting and remitting duties, taxes, and fees” (IMM 362), and “USPS employees should accept and process these mailpieces in the same manner as those using USPS DDP service.” (IMM 362) Ship those orders the way the marketplace tells you to. Some countries put VAT on marketplaces by law: “Value-added tax (VAT) must be collected and paid by online marketplace operators who broker remote sales for all goods, regardless of value, imported into France.” (France listing, Observations) For the UK, goods of £135 or less: “the UK will not accept for importation an item that has not had the value-added tax (VAT) collected at the time of sale, before importation.” (UK listing)
• You hand the package to a marketplace's own international program at a US address: you don't buy the international label, so whether any USPS invoice can reach you depends on that program's terms, not on IMM 424. We don't quote eBay's or Etsy's help pages here; check your marketplace's international shipping terms for who pays import charges on a refused package.
• Your own store: if your checkout collects duties, ship those orders with a prepaid (DDP) label. Shopify's help center, for example, as we read it on Oct 19, 2026: “If you charge duties at checkout, but use a standard shipping label, then your customer is still charged duties and import taxes at delivery.” (Shopify Help Center) “Charges for duties and import taxes are estimates based on the available information at the time that the customer places an order.” (Shopify Help Center) If your checkout doesn't collect duties, your shipping policy should say the buyer pays them.

Edge cases

• Lost, damaged or returned: still owed (IMM 424.2). Insurance or a claim with USPS is a separate matter.
• Packages mailed before Oct 19, 2026: the rule took effect the day it was published and doesn't say whether 424 covers charges sought after that day on items mailed before it.
• Gifts: Delivered Duty Paid isn't offered for gifts declared up to €45 in the European listings that offer it (all but the United Kingdom's), and EU duty applies to gifts over €45 up to €150 (USPS). Declaring a sale as a gift would be false information, which IMM 112 says can get the package returned or confiscated and you charged extra.
• Low-value items: “USPS DDP may not be available to ship certain low-value items, unless you are a business shipping to a customer.” (USPS Delivered Duty Paid page) Where a country makes remote sellers collect VAT or GST on low-value sales and you ship with USPS Delivered Duty Paid, “the sender must certify that the mailpiece is being sent pursuant to a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transaction” (IMM 364.23).
• United Kingdom: Delivered Duty Paid is “available only for dutiable items valued between 135–900 GBP sent via Priority Mail Express International or Priority Mail International.” (UK listing) At £135 or less the UK expects VAT at the sale instead, collected by the marketplace, and if you sell through your own store, “for goods sent from overseas and sold directly to UK consumers, the overseas seller will be required to register and account for the VAT to HM Revenue and Customs.” (UK listing)
• Germany's enclaves: Delivered Duty Paid is required to Germany but not available for items “destined to Helgoland and Büsingen (customs enclaves).” (Germany listing)
• Wrong or missing HS code: at minimum, “the sender must provide the 6-digit WCO HS code for each item in the package unless otherwise specified in the individual country listing” (IMM 123.711). Under Delivered Duty Paid, extra charges from your error can fall outside the guarantee (IMM 364.32); without it, they can come back as a 424 invoice.
• Shipping from a US territory to the states: a different USPS rule (Federal Register 2026-15420, in effect since Jul 30, 2026) covers American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands: “Mailers sending dutiable goods valued up to $2,500 from the U.S. possessions and territories listed in Exhibit 2.6.3 are required to ensure payment of all applicable duties, taxes, and fees” before mailing (DMM 608.2.6.3).

Not the same thing: the US de minimis change

Searches for "USPS de minimis" usually mean goods coming into the US. That exemption, for imports of $800 or less, has been off since Aug 29, 2025: USPS's July rule says it “was suspended on a global basis effective August 29, 2025” (USPS rule 2026-15420), and CBP's rule says “the President already suspended the use of the de minimis administrative exemption for most imports, including postal shipments” (CBP rule). CBP's own interim final rule, published Jun 24, 2026, then wrote into its regulations “an indefinite suspension of the de minimis administrative exemption for imports valued at $800 or less arriving through the international postal network”. That part took effect on publication, and the rest of the rule, a new postal informal entry process, on Jul 24, 2026: “This interim final rule is effective on July 24, 2026, except for amendatory instruction 4 (19 CFR 145.31), which is effective on June 24, 2026.” (CBP rule, DATES) “Merchandise imported by mail that is valued at $2,500 or less, and is eligible for informal entry, may be entered under the new informal entry process.” (CBP e-commerce FAQs) CBP: “the suspension applies to merchandise valued at $800 or less arriving via all modes, including the international postal network, unless specifically excepted pursuant to a separate authority” (CBP). “This rulemaking does not affect the availability of the exemptions for bona fide gifts” (CBP rule, Background). CBP's analysis also notes that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as enacted, “eliminates the de minimis exemption effective July 1, 2027” (CBP rule).

• Inventory you buy from abroad and returns your foreign buyers mail back are imports. When CBP assesses duty on a package mailed to you, you pay at delivery: “Post Office facilities must collect a Postal Service fee from the addressee for each item on which customs duty or Internal Revenue tax is collected.” (IMM 712.11) “The Postal Service collects the fee on each package bearing CBP Form 3419ALT.” (IMM 712.12) That USPS fee is $9.35 per dutiable item (Notice 123), on top of the “amount of duty to be collected plus a customs processing fee” shown on the CBP form (IMM 712.12).
• If the duty on a package to you looks wrong: “Addressee may take delivery, pay the duty and postal fees, and protest (within 90 days from the date duty is paid) directly to the issuing customs port.” (IMM 713.231) “Addressee may conditionally refuse the mail pending review of the entry by the U.S. Customs Service.” (IMM 713.231) Refusing it outright is final: “the mail will be disposed of immediately as undeliverable” (IMM 713.232).
• Returns of things you sold abroad: HTSUS subheading 9801.00.10 covers “Products of the United States when returned after having been exported, or any other products when returned within 3 years after having been exported, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition” (HTSUS 9801.00.10, as CBP quotes it), and “the importer has the burden to prove their claim for duty-free treatment under Subheading 9801.00.10.” (CBP) A mail package claiming that duty-free treatment falls under the Chapter 98 exclusion below: once the exclusion applies (now Jan 20, 2027), it needs Entry Type 13 or a formal entry instead of CBP's new mail informal entry. For both mail processes, CBP says “entry can only be made by an owner or purchaser of the merchandise being mailed to the United States, or a licensed customs broker properly designated by the owner, purchaser, or consignee” (CBP).
• No prepaying it through USPS: “USPS does not currently offer the ability to prepay duties and taxes for inbound international mail and packages.” (USPS Delivered Duty Paid page)
• Some goods will need a different entry from Jan 20, 2027: CBP's e-commerce FAQ, last updated Sep 2, 2026, still says that “effective October 22, 2026, the following merchandise is excluded from eligibility for the new mail informal entry process”: goods claiming duty-free treatment under Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) or under a free trade agreement, goods subject to duties under HTSUS Chapter 98 or 99, and goods subject to Partner Government Agency requirements. Those “must be entered under another appropriate entry process, such as an Entry Type 13 or formal entry” (CBP FAQ). But on Oct 22, 2026 CBP moved that date in the Federal Register: “The compliance date for 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi) is January 20, 2027.” (CBP final rule, DATES) Until then, “the delayed compliance date does not change the process that importers and other parties currently use for informal mail entries” (CBP rule), and “importers or other parties may voluntarily come into compliance at an earlier date if they have the processes already in place.” (CBP rule) “The Entry Type 13 test began on September 22, 2026.” (CBP final rule, note 3) After the compliance date, “filers may choose to file formal entry (in accordance with 19 CFR 145.12(a)(2)(v) and (vi)) or participate in the Entry Type 13 test for eligible shipments” (CBP rule), and since Oct 22, 2026 CBP will also “temporarily accept transmission of an entry type 13 that is not accompanied by complete electronic PGA data” in that test (CBP notice). CBP has also proposed “to establish a new electronic informal entry type for merchandise entering through the mail environment” (proposed rule of Oct 8, 2026); comments are due by Dec 7, 2026, and it isn't in effect.
• Rates move: CBP's rule recounts how. The de minimis suspension began with Executive Order 14324 of July 30, 2025. On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, “holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., does not authorize the President to impose additional tariffs”. The same day, Executive Order 14389 ended the additional IEEPA duties imposed by certain executive orders, and Executive Order 14388 continued the de minimis suspension. “That decision did not address the suspension of the de minimis administrative exemption pursuant to IEEPA.” (CBP rule, Background) Duties under Sections 232, 201 and 301 come under other laws, and the rule names them as duties that even low-value goods can owe (CBP rule). Check the rate on the day you import, not a number from an old article.