Items in this catalog with code numbers that begin with "E", "P", "S", "F", "G", "H", "R", "Q", "V" and sometimes "T" or "K" are of foreign origin and are shipped from warehouses outside the United States. Therefore, they are subject to a U.S. Customs duty charge upon entering the United States. Parcels containing bona fide gifts from customers stationed overseas totalling less than $100 per day are exempt from customs charges. Customs officials do not consider items listing the same name for the customer and recipient on the mailing label as bona tide gifts. To avoid as much confusion as possible with regard to items ordered as bona fide gifts, we recommend that you do not use the customer's name as the recipient name and select one of the messages listed on the "Personal Message Center" of the product's page. Where required, Exchange Catalog Sales will ensure that customs declarations are completed and attached to all parcels at the shipping warehouse.

Customs rates are determined by the U.S. Treasury Department. Duty charges, when assessed, are collected by postal authorities at the point of delivery and cannot be prepaid. According to Public Law 99-272, customs may charge a $5 processing fee in addition to the duty charges.

When collecting customs duty/processing fees, postal authorities may, in error, try to charge a "collection fee" of $3.75 (shown as postage due) for collecting the duty. Post offices should not collect this fee on dutiable parcels mailed from overseas APO/FPO addresses (para. 712.2 of the International Mail Manual). Please Note: The customs duty charge, the customs processing fee, and the post office collection fee are 3 independent charges.

Customs regulations prevent Exchange Catalog Sales from mailing items as personal property being returned under Public Law 126. To be eligible for this privilege provided by the law, the owner must have possession of the merchandise prior to shipping it to the United States. Therefore, customers should not forward copies of their PCS orders with their catalog order forms.

Sample Customs Duty Rates

Sample Customs Duty Rates are intended as a general guide and are in no way binding upon U.S. Customs officials. Final determination of the duty rates is made by reference to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, which contains 10,500 commodity descriptions.