Reps customs in United States
Since 29 August 2025 every parcel to the US pays duty, however cheap: the $800 duty-free limit (de minimis) is suspended for all countries, and for China and Hong Kong it ended on 2 May 2025. Parcels must be entered with customs, by the post or by a courier, and the duty is collected on the way. Fake branded goods in a parcel can be seized and destroyed: the personal exemption for one fake item covers only goods you carry when you arrive, not parcels.
Duty and tax
- For parcels from China and Hong Kong, duty-free treatment under $800 ended on 2 May 2025.Source: CBP
- For all countries it ended on 29 August 2025 (Executive Order 14324).Source: White House, EO 14324
- It stayed suspended after the 20 February 2026 Supreme Court ruling on tariffs (Executive Order 14388), and CBP wrote it into its rules on 24 June 2026.Source: Federal Register 2026-12670
- Courier and other non-mail parcels must be entered in CBP's system (ACE) by a party allowed to file entries.Source: Federal Register 2026-12670
- Mail: the foreign post collects the duty and passes it on; a new electronic entry for mail up to $2,500 replaces this process.Source: Federal Register 2026-12669
- The law itself ends de minimis on 1 July 2027.Source: Federal Register 2026-12670
- More changes for parcels up to $2,500 are proposed (comments until 7 December 2026); not final.Source: Federal Register 2026-20650 (proposed)
Fake branded goods
- The personal exemption (one article of each type with a counterfeit mark, every 30 days) applies to goods that come with a person arriving in the US, not to parcels.Source: 19 CFR 148.55
- Goods with a counterfeit mark are seized and, unless the brand owner agrees in writing, forfeited; CBP tells the brand owner about the import.Source: 19 CFR 133.21
- Forfeited counterfeit goods are destroyed.Source: 19 CFR 133.52
If customs stop your parcel
- You can ask CBP for the goods back or for a lower penalty with a petition, filed online through ePetition.Source: CBP, penalties and ePetition
Other countries
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Questions
Do I pay customs on reps shipped to the US?
Since 29 August 2025 every parcel to the US pays duty, however cheap: the $800 duty-free limit (de minimis) is suspended for all countries, and for China and Hong Kong it ended on 2 May 2025.
What happens if customs in the US stop a parcel with fakes?
The personal exemption (one article of each type with a counterfeit mark, every 30 days) applies to goods that come with a person arriving in the US, not to parcels. Goods with a counterfeit mark are seized and, unless the brand owner agrees in writing, forfeited; CBP tells the brand owner about the import. Forfeited counterfeit goods are destroyed.
How do I challenge a seizure in the US?
You can ask CBP for the goods back or for a lower penalty with a petition, filed online through ePetition.
This is general information from official government and EU pages, checked on 20 October 2026; it is not legal advice. Rules changed often in 2025 and 2026, so open the linked source before you rely on it. GRAILS sells nothing and is not an agent.