Category: 🚛 Shipping & Delivery  |  Section: Customs  |  Contact reason: Customs

Summary — read this first

What this article covers: every customs case — who pays the duties and how much, parcels blocked at customs clearance, the specific US rules (5106 form, FedEx/UPS), pro-forma invoices and export documents, and cross-border returns. 35 use cases across 10 guides, grouped in 4 sections; each one states the exact conditions it applies to and the steps to follow.

Pick your use case:

1. Customs fees and duties

1. Customs general questions — Buyer states they shouldn't pay customs fees (when: If the buyer still challenges customs fees) — Check if the buyer should pay customs fees
2. Customs general questions — Buyer complains customs fees are very expensive (when: If the buyer still challenges customs fees) — Check the shipping from country and go in the carriers table > Customs / De Minimis
3. Customs general questions — Buyer has paid customs fees twice and asks for a refund (when: If the buyer still challenges customs fees) — Ask the buyer to share a proof of payment
4. Customs general questions — Buyer has to pay customs upon delivery because they did not pay them at checkout (when: Customs fees amount (not US related)) — Explain to the buyer that they did not pay customs fees at checkout and it’s a cross border transaction, therefore the fees should have been paid
5. Customs general questions — Buyer is asked to pay customs fees again (when: Customs fees amount (not US related)) — Following the recent change regarding US customs fees, US buyers who purchased an item in Europe before the 4th of April at 10.30 am, may have to…
6. Customs general questions — Northern Ireland customs fees issues (when: Customs fees amount (not US related)) — Continue in this article: Northern Ireland customs issues
7. Customs general questions — ❌ No info in the tracking (when: Item blocked at customs clearance) — Check since when the item is blocked at customs
8. Customs general questions — Footwear form, invoice, material document (when: ✅ Info on the tracking) — This means Vestiaire Collective has to share an information with the carrier 🎯 Process
9. Customs general questions — 5106 form (when: ✅ Info on the tracking) — Continue in this article: US customs regulation — 22. Yes, they received the email with the 5106 form
10. Customs general questions — If US buyer (when: ✅ Info on the tracking) — Same handling as “❌ If buyer disagrees” (sub-case of use case 5)
11. Customs general questions — If Seized items (when: Item blocked at customs clearance) — Then apply the guidelines of this article that match the case — see the numbered use case list at the top
12. Customs general questions — US buyer custom issues 🇺🇲 — Same handling as Buyer challenges custom fees
13. Customs general questions — Import/export restrictions — Continue in another article: 🚛 Shipping & Delivery › Shipping & delivery general questions › Buyer can't buy / Export & import restrictions
14. Customs general questions — Seller refuses to pay customs for the return of their item — Explain to the seller that if, as part of the return process, their item crosses an international border, additional duties and taxes may be incurred
15. Customs general questions — Return clearance delay because VC has to provide tariff number — Escalate this ticket to Customs and ask them to provide the tariff number required by the carrier
16. Customs general questions — The buyer requests VC to pay extra customs fees — Check first if the buyer was already charged for duties at checkout or not
17. Buyer customs fees extra refund — Set contact reason to Customs
18. Northern Ireland customs issues — Invite the member to advance/ pay the duties & taxes at checkout and get back to us after the purchase

2. US customs

19. US customs regulation — Buyer inquiries about Customs fees amount — CUSTOMS FEES
20. US customs regulation — If the tracking is not updated after 72h (when: Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form — ✅ Yes) — Escalate to Customs team
21. US customs regulation — The buyer did NOT receive the FedEx email about the 5106 form (when: Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form) — Inform the buyer the item will be returned the warehouse as an NPAI
22. US customs regulation — Yes, they received the email with the 5106 form (when: Carrier is FedEx) — Ask the buyer to fill out the form and to share it with the carrier
23. US customs regulation — No, but they received another email (when: Carrier is FedEx) — This might be due to a missing document from VC (watch certificate, sneakers form, country of origin, etc.) 🎯 Process
24. US customs regulation — No, they did not receive any email (when: Carrier is FedEx) — Invite the buyer to contact FedEx directly as they have to deal with the carrier in this specific matter
25. US customs regulation — Carrier is UPS (when: Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs) — Escalate to customs team for them to check the specific process with UPS
26. US customs regulation — Customs team approved (when: Buyer is asked to pay customs after delivery) — Ask the buyer to provide with the proof of payment Any refund created without a proof of payment will be rejected
27. US customs regulation — Customs team did not approve (when: Buyer is asked to pay customs after delivery) — Ask the buyer any additional element requested by Customs team

3. Customs documents for sellers (pro-forma invoice, export licence)

28. Seller pro-forma invoice request — ✔️ If tracking is OK — Inform the seller that the parcel went through customs and is on its way to be delivered
29. Seller pro-forma invoice request — ❌ If parcel is blocked — And send it to the seller
30. Seller customs clearance HK invoice — ✔️ Shipping label available — Educate the member to download his shipping label, use macro: Prepaid shipping label eligible country
31. Seller customs clearance HK invoice — ❌ Shipping label not available — Edit the ProForma invoice
32. Edit a ProForma invoice — Set contact reason to Customs
33. Japan seller export license request — It is the logistic company that can provide this document to the seller

4. Parcels blocked by customs and cross-border returns

34. LOI request - Customer is black-listed — Set contact reason to Customs
35. Seller has to pay custom fees for cross-border return — Set contact reason to Customs

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1. Customs fees and duties

Customs general questions

Context: Buyers or sellers questions regarding customs

First steps (all cases)

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs All cross border transactions should be subjected to customs fees except:

🇦🇺 Australia < 1000 AUD: Buyers don’t pay customs at checkout but only VAT. However, this shown as customs in the checkout

🇭🇰 HK: Buyers don’t pay customs unless item is sent from Swiss or Canada (because it crosses borders for the send-in to be sent at the WH)

🇬🇧 UK: No customs < 135 GBP but buyers pay import VAT (approx. 20%) For any other specific enquiry or exceptions, please check the Carriers' table > Customs

1. Then, it depends on the customer’s inquiry

Common path — conditions and steps shared by several use cases

1 — Customs fees amount (not US related)

🎯 Process: depends on the question If the issue is related to US customs, please refer to this process:

1.1 — Buyer challenges custom fees

🎯 Process

1. Explain to the buyer that the customs fees amount is calculated according to the product category, the manufacture and the country. You can use the macro: Customs payment cost
2. Solve the ticket

1.1.1 — If the buyer still challenges customs fees

🎯 Process: Please check what is the buyer’s complaint

2 — Item blocked at customs clearance

The item can be blocked at customs clearance for various reasons

🎯 Process: check the tracking to see if any specific document or action is needed

2.1 — ✅ Info on the tracking

🎯 Process: is the buyer able to provide the missing document?

1. Buyer states they shouldn't pay customs fees

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related) → Buyer challenges custom fees → If the buyer still challenges customs fees.

🎯 Process: please check if the buyer should pay customs fees Go to the Carriers table > Customs / De Minimis

1. Double check if there is any exception according to the buyer’s countries
2. Explain to the buyer that unfortunately, if he wants to get the item he must pay customs fees as this is compulsory
3. Solve the ticket Please, do NOT escalate to customs as they will not be able to do anything else

2. Buyer complains customs fees are very expensive

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related) → Buyer challenges custom fees → If the buyer still challenges customs fees.

🎯 Process

1. Please check the shipping from country and go in the carriers table > Customs / De Minimis
2. If it’s one of these 3 countries: Switzerland, Canaries islands or Canada, the customs duties might be really high as the buyer both has to pay for send in and send out duties If it’s not, please remind the buyer the calculations are based on origin and destination countries and product category
3. Explain to the buyer that unfortunately, if he wants to get the item he must pay customs fees as this is compulsory.
4. Solve the ticket Please, do NOT escalate to customs as they will not be able to do anything else

3. Buyer has paid customs fees twice and asks for a refund

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related) → Buyer challenges custom fees → If the buyer still challenges customs fees.

🎯 Process: please ask the buyer to share a proof of payment

Sub-cases

4. Buyer has to pay customs upon delivery because they did not pay them at checkout

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related).

🎯 Process

1. Explain to the buyer that they did not pay customs fees at checkout and it’s a cross border transaction, therefore the fees should have been paid. Ask them to check with the carrier. You can use the macro: Buyer must pay customs fees If the buyer refuses to pay custom fees, the sale will be cancelled and the item will be relisted under the buyer’s account.
2. Solve the ticket

→ Same handling as If the buyer still challenges customs fees.

5. Buyer is asked to pay customs fees again

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related).

Following the recent change regarding US customs fees, US buyers who purchased an item in Europe before the 4th of April at 10.30 am, may have to pay extra custom fees

🎯 Process

1. Please inform the buyer they must pay customs again, but they'll get a refund for this charge after they send us the invoice. Use the macro: Customs item blocked
2. Solve the ticket

Sub-cases

6. Northern Ireland customs fees issues

Applies when: Customs fees amount (not US related).

→ Continue in this article: Northern Ireland customs issues.

7. ❌ No info in the tracking

Applies when: Item blocked at customs clearance.

🎯 Process: check since when the item is blocked at customs Go to C360 > Item info > Shipping status > Tracking

Sub-cases

8. Footwear form, invoice, material document

Applies when: Item blocked at customs clearance → ✅ Info on the tracking.

This means Vestiaire Collective has to share an information with the carrier

🎯 Process

1. Please inform the client that Vestiaire Collective has to share a document with the carrier
2. Escalate to Customs team
3. Set ticket status to On-hold
4. Once ticket reopens please confirm to the client that the document has been shared with the carrier
5. Solve the ticket

9. 5106 form

Applies when: Item blocked at customs clearance → ✅ Info on the tracking.

→ Continue in this article: US customs regulation — 22. Yes, they received the email with the 5106 form.

10. If US buyer

Applies when: Item blocked at customs clearance → ✅ Info on the tracking.

→ Same handling as “❌ If buyer disagrees” (sub-case of use case 5).

11. If Seized items

Applies when: Item blocked at customs clearance.

→ Then apply the guidelines of this article that match the case — see the numbered use case list at the top.

12. US buyer custom issues 🇺🇲

→ Same handling as Buyer challenges custom fees.

13. Import/export restrictions

→ Continue in another article: 🚛 Shipping & Delivery › Shipping & delivery general questions › Buyer can't buy / Export & import restrictions.

14. Seller refuses to pay customs for the return of their item

🎯 Process

1. Explain to the seller that if, as part of the return process, their item crosses an international border, additional duties and taxes may be incurred. These fees must be paid by them. You can invite them to check this FAQ seller article
2. Please, inform the seller that the carrier will contact him and will only deliver the item upon their payment If the seller refuses to pay after 7 days, item will be automatically relisted under their account
3. Solve the ticket

15. Return clearance delay because VC has to provide tariff number

🎯 Process

1. Please escalate this ticket to Customs and ask them to provide the tariff number required by the carrier
2. Set ticket status to “On-hold”
3. Once customs answered, please provide the buyer with the answer
4. Solve the ticket

16. The buyer requests VC to pay extra customs fees

Please check first if the buyer was already charged for duties at checkout or not Go to C360 > Order > Invoice > Duties

• If buyer has to pay duties because they weren’t charged at checkout, please follow this process:
• If the buyer already paid duties but still has to pay extra customs fees / duties, please follow the process below:

🎯 Process

1. Please ask the buyer to provide us with the invoice from the carrier
2. Verify that the carrier and the tracking from the buyer’s invoice correspond to the one we have in C360 Go to C360 > Item info > Shipping status and check both carrier and tracking number We can only refund extra custom fees if the carrier/tracking corresponds to our shipment.We do not refund if the tracking/ carrier does not match ours.
3. Please verify if the country from the invoice corresponds to the buyer’s delivery country in C360 Go to C360 > Order > Delivery address > Country
4. Ask the buyer to share the receipt or proof of their payment for this invoice (if not already shared)
5. Once you received, the proof of payment:
6. If the tracking AND the country match, please proceed with the extra refund and inform the buyer Go to C360 > Order > Refund(s) > Create extra refund and choose ‘ duties fees ’
7. If the tracking OR the country don’t correspond, please inform the buyer that we won’t refund the buyer If you don’t receive the proof of payment, we won’t process with the extra refund

Buyer customs fees extra refund

Context: Refund customs fees paid twice by buyer

Use case 17 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Check if the buyer paid the customs fees already in C360
3. Please, ask the buyer to provide the proof of payment. N ot only on the carrier invoice but a proof of payment (mail confirmation, screenshot from their bank account, etc)
4. Go to C360 > Order > Refund > Create Extra Refund and choose Duties fees - extra
5. Fill in the form: You can directly carre over the same amount paid "for “ Import duties and taxes ” to refund the buyer If the amount is > 1,500 €, please transfer to L3 team
6. Confirm to the buyer the refund has been processed and he will receive it into their account within 5 working days
7. Solve the ticket If customs duties has been paid in different currencies from the order, please ask your team lead to make the currency conversion using this website: https://currencyconverter.io/. Then you can process with the refund in the buyer’s currency.

Northern Ireland customs issues

Context: you receive a contact from a member in Northern Ireland complaining they shouldn’t be paying taxes & duties for purchases coming from EU sellers. If the member is located in Northern Ireland, the “ country ” displayed in C360 should be '“United Kingdom”. Please check in google maps if the member’s address is located in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is naturally part of UK but also has a special status and is…

Use case 18 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process

1. Invite the member to advance/ pay the duties & taxes at checkout and get back to us after the purchase.
2. Refund the member as soon as you receive his claim by checking the amount of customs in their invoice
3. Solve the ticket

2. US customs

US customs regulation

Context: You receive a contact from a buyer regarding US customs regulations or new US tariffs ➡ Please refer to the Carrier's table > Customs for more details

First steps (all cases)

🎯 Process

1. Set the contact reason to “ Customs ”
2. Please check why the buyer is contacting us If the buyer complains that they now pay customs fees (for items below $800) since the 21st of August but the official implementation date of new tariffs is 29th of August (all items are now subjected to customs fees from $1): Please give the answer below to the buyer and don’t escalate to customs: “Given seller delay to ship the item and current US leadtime, we are assuming that the item will be cleared at customs after the 29th of August and will be subjected to duties as per new regulations. As a consequence, we are charging customs fees accordingly at check out since the 21st of August. If the seller ships the item earlier than expected and the item is cleared before the 29th of August, we will be happy to refund the customs fees amount you paid.” If the item value is > $2,500 the U.S buyer will have to provide the carrier with the 5106 form (and their SSN / EIN). If they don’t share it, the item will not be delivered, returned to the warehouse and relisted on buyer’s account.

Common path — conditions and steps shared by several use cases

1 — Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form

For Fedex shipment from HK/TCG/CRX, the process is the following: FedEx has sent an email to the buyer to fill in a form called 5106 form to provide sensitive identification information to the carrier directly to unlock the custom process. Please note, the buyer also receives a Docusign email separately. Here is an example of the email the buyer should receive from Fedex: The following informations are required:

• Registration number
• Identification number Examples include (EIN, SSN, VAT, GST, and RFC)

🎯 Process

1. Explain the process above to the buyer. Please reassure the buyer that they just need to provide it once, as it is only required once by each carrier. You can send the following macro: Buyer complains parcel is blocked at customs over $2500
2. Solve the ticket Please educate the customer that SSN number is sensitive information and they are the only one who can reach out to the carrier. They have to provide this information within 5 business days
3. If the buyer comes back to CS, please check with the buyer whether they sent the form to the carrier within 5 days or not

2 — Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs

🎯 Process: Please check which is the carrier Go to C360 > Item info > Shipping status > Carrier

2.1 — Carrier is FedEx

This is the Fedex tracking the buyer will see when item is blocked at US customs: The tracking sometimes doesn’t mention any reason for the clearance delay - import. In this use case, please invite them to check if they have received any email from Fedex. This might be due to a missing document from VC (watch certificate, sneakers form, country of origin, etc.)

🎯 Process: Please ask the buyer if they received the email from Fedex asking to fill out with the 5106 form Invite the buyer to check in their spams too

3 — Buyer is asked to pay customs after delivery

In this use case, VC was not able to properly identify the country of origin (COO)* of the item and the customs fees were not charged at buyer’s checkout *Country of origin (COO) = Made in country This use case could happen to orders made before 29/05/2025. After this date, VC will pay directly the customs duties to the carrier and the buyer will not receive any invoice

🎯 Process

1. Please explain to the buyer that this is due to the country of origin of the item. Please inform the buyer that due to new US customs policy they should have paid these duties in the checkout when purchasing the item. If we confirm that they have to pay the duties, Vestiaire Collective will exceptionally refund them.
2. Ask the buyer to provide the invoice from the carrier Before to escalate to Customs, please make sure the following informations are correct:
3. Buyer is in the US
4. Buyer provided the invoice from the carrier
5. The tracking number and the carrier on the invoice match with the item in C360 > Histo
6. Escalate to Customs team in oder to have their approval before requesting the buyer to pay the customs duties. Please make sure to attach the invoice from the carrier
7. Set ticket status to ‘On-hold’

19. Buyer inquiries about Customs fees amount

CUSTOMS FEES:

• US buyers will now pay customs fees for ALL ITEMS bought from a foreigner seller (from $0)
• The customs fees will depend on several criteria such as the product category (t-shirts, bags, shoes, etc) and the Country Of Origin (“Made in”)
• The customs fees amount to be paid includes all the authentication & shipping fees Please note, VC checkout does display accurate customs fees based on current data and calculations

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Check the purchase date Go to C360 > Histo, look for the “ Sold - pending reception” action and check the date / hour

Sub-cases

20. If the tracking is not updated after 72h

Applies when: Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form → Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form — ✅ Yes.

🎯 Process

1. Please escalate to Customs team
2. Set ticket status to On-hold
3. Inform the buyer about the outcome from the customs team
4. Solve the ticket

21. The buyer did NOT receive the FedEx email about the 5106 form

Applies when: Buyer received an email from FedEx to fill in the 5106 form.

🎯 Process

1. Please inform the buyer the item will be returned the warehouse as an NPAI. He will received a CRM communication to modify his address and if he does so item will be shipped back to him.
2. If no action by the buyer after 30 days, the item will be automatically relisted.
3. Solve the ticket

22. Yes, they received the email with the 5106 form

Applies when: Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs → Carrier is FedEx.

🎯 Process

1. Please ask the buyer to fill out the form and to share it with the carrier

23. No, but they received another email

Applies when: Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs → Carrier is FedEx.

This might be due to a missing document from VC (watch certificate, sneakers form, country of origin, etc.)

🎯 Process

1. Inform the buyer that Fedex required an additional document to Vestiaire Collective. Please ask them to be patient as we will reach out to our carrier manager and the item’s customs clearance should be done within 5 days.
2. Please escalate to customs for them to confirm if the required document has been sent to the carrier
3. Set ticket status to “On-hold”

Sub-cases

24. No, they did not receive any email

Applies when: Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs → Carrier is FedEx.

🎯 Process

1. Please invite the buyer to contact FedEx directly as they have to deal with the carrier in this specific matter You can send the following macro: Buyer complains about not having received the CPB form 5106 by email
2. Solve the ticket

Sub-cases

25. Carrier is UPS

Applies when: Buyer reports the tracking is blocked at customs.

🎯 Process

1. Please escalate to customs team for them to check the specific process with UPS
2. Set ticket status to “ On-hold ”
3. Once the customs team answered, provide the buyer with an answer
4. Solve the ticket

26. Customs team approved

Applies when: Buyer is asked to pay customs after delivery.

🎯 Process: Please ask the buyer to provide with the proof of payment Any refund created without a proof of payment will be rejected

Sub-cases

27. Customs team did not approve

Applies when: Buyer is asked to pay customs after delivery.

🎯 Process

1. Please ask the buyer any additional element requested by Customs team
2. Set the ticket status to Pending If the client doesn’t answer, the ticket will be auto-solved
3. Once ticket reopens, escalate to customs with the new elements
4. Set ticket status to On-hold

→ Same handling as 26. Customs team approved.

3. Customs documents for sellers (pro-forma invoice, export licence)

Seller pro-forma invoice request

Context: Seller contacts CS because the carrier asked for a pro-forma invoice to clear the item customs​.

First steps (all cases)

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Check via the tracking number in C360 if the item is blocked at the customs​.

28. ✔️ If tracking is OK

🎯 Process: Inform the seller that the parcel went through customs and is on its way to be delivered.

29. ❌ If parcel is blocked

🎯 Process: and send it to the seller

Seller customs clearance HK invoice

Context: Seller contacts us because he wants the proforma invoice (document to clear customs) in order to ship an item to the warehouse in Hong Kong

First steps (all cases)

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Check in the FO if the shipping label and the proforma invoice are available​

30. ✔️ Shipping label available

🎯 Process: Educate the member to download his shipping label, use macro: Prepaid shipping label eligible country

31. ❌ Shipping label not available

🎯 Process

1. Edit the ProForma invoice
2. Send “ Commercial Invoice-custom clearance in Hong Kong ” macro and attach the ProForma invoice

Edit a ProForma invoice

Context: Agent needs to edit a Proforma invoice for a buyer so that he can "clear customs"

Use case 32 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Use the template below and follow the steps accordingly 1. If needed change the consignor (Shipper) name & address 2. If needed change the name of the consignee (receiver) name & address 3. Update the invoice date to the date of the editing of the invoice
3. Add the item reference 5. Fill in the item description Nature of the item (bag, shoes, jewelry etc…) + main manufacturing materials
4. Fill in the SELLING PRICE in the seller’s currency (The currency must be filled in too. Provide the currency symbol or abbreviation i.e USD, HKD, EUR etc) https://www.eurochange.co.uk/travel-money/world-currency-abbreviations-symbols-and-codes-travel-money
5. Save the document “Invoice for Customs” as PDF
6. Send to the buyer via the linked ticket

Japan seller export license request

Context: Japanese sellers sometimes will contact CS for export license to do tax claim after they send the items

Use case 33 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process: it is the logistic company that can provide this document to the seller. Please inform the sellers to contact DHL directly and provide the tracking number of the package. You can provide the DHL contact below:

1. DHL contact: 03-5479-2330

4. Parcels blocked by customs and cross-border returns

LOI request - Customer is black-listed

Context: The carrier contacts us because the buyer/seller is black-listed by a country’s administration

Use case 34 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Please transfer the ticket immediately to the L3 team
3. Submit the ticket as Open

Seller has to pay custom fees for cross-border return

Context: Seller contacts CS because they have to pay custom fees for cross-border return Use case: The item was delivered to the buyer, who then returned it to the warehouse. After a second check, the return was accepted. The seller requested the return, covering the shipping fee. The item is now stuck at Customs, and the C2C or B2C seller must pay customs fees to have it delivered.

Use case 35 — single process, no branching: follow the steps below.

Process to follow

🎯 Process

1. Set contact reason to Customs
2. Inform the seller that our T&Cs states, "If any return crosses an international border, additional duties and taxes may be incurred."They may have received carrier notifications to pay customs fees. Their item will be delivered upon payment.
3. If the seller doesn’t want to pay the customs fees, it depends the reasons for the return:
4. Item non-compliant: Inform the seller their item will be returned at the “shipped from” warehouse and will be relisted under seller’s account after 72h
5. Item counterfeit: Inform the seller their item will be returned at the “shipped from” warehouse and will be destroyed after 6 month for C2C seller and 1 year for B2C seller Item counterfeit return from HK: Please inform the seller their item will not be returned to the warehouse and be abandoned at customs as per our T&Cs Article 12.3.3
6. Solve the ticket