Duties and tariffs

When your games cross a border, the importing country may charge duty, a tax calculated as a percentage of the declared value of the goods. The rate depends on how the goods are classified under the Harmonized System (HS), a global numbering scheme for products. Board games generally fall under HS heading 9504, with most tabletop games classified under 9504.90. Playing cards have their own subheading (9504.40). Your forwarder or customs broker declares the code, but you should know it, because the code determines the rate.

Historically, games under heading 9504 have entered the United States and the European Union at low or zero base duty rates. The complication is tariffs, which are additional duties imposed for trade policy reasons and which have changed repeatedly for goods made in China. US tariff policy on Chinese-made games has shifted multiple times in recent years, so never rely on last year's numbers. Ask your forwarder or a customs broker for the current landed rate on your exact HS code and country of origin before you finalize your budget.

Duty is charged on the customs value of the shipment, usually the price you paid the manufacturer plus, in some jurisdictions, freight and insurance. This is one reason accurate commercial invoices matter. Undervaluing a shipment to dodge duty is customs fraud, and customs authorities know roughly what board games cost to make.

Budget for duties as a separate line item, not as part of freight. A reasonable practice is to get a written estimate of duties and taxes from your forwarder for each destination country, then add a cushion of a few percentage points for policy changes between quote and arrival. If you are shipping to multiple regions, remember each region charges its own duties and its own import taxes, such as VAT in Europe and the UK.