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What’s a Section 321 low value shipment?

This article will help you understand what sort of duties to expect if your shipment is considered to be “Low Value” (often referred to as a Section 321 shipment) when shipping to the United States .

Section 321 shipments enable U.S.-bound qualified shipments valued at $800 USD or less to benefit from the duty-free entry of goods from Canada. The de minimis amount (value of your shipment) is based on the fair retail value in the country of shipment.

The requirements for de minimis shipments customs filings according to CBP (U.S. Customs & Border Protection) are:

• The de minimis $800 allowance is granted to one person on one day;
• The one person per day is not by destination address, but by name or company name;
• The importer must provide evidence of the value by declaration on a bill of lading or commercial invoice;
• Consolidated shipments addresses to one (ultimate) consignee shall be treated as one importation. This means that if the value of all the shipments is over $800, dutiable entry will be required and COD fees will apply.

Effective January 11/2025: CBP has emphasized that they will enforce the $800 daily maximum per consignee, per address for duty free de minimis imports across all modes and entry types. Regardless of how packages are shipped, CBP will be able to regulate the $800 per day per person limit. CBP will monitor the importer’s daily imports, and will notify couriers (ie: UPS) when a shipment destined to the U.S. is being sent to a consignee that has reached their daily $800 limit. These flagged shipments will require “informal” entry, including brokerage and applicable duty payment. As such, your receiver will need to pay any applicable duty and brokerage fees. Similarly, shippers sending packages “Free Domicile” (Duties & Taxes prepaid) into the United States will be responsible for any COD fees if their receiver has exceeded their daily $800 limiation.

NERD ALERT! The value of shipments being imported into the United States will be rated in USD. Declare the value of your packages shipping to the United States in USD to ensure your shipment doesn’t exceed the de minimis value due to fluctuating exchange rates.