SHIPPING & HANDLING
Gift Wrapping Service
Hand-made items make great gift for special occasion because each item is unique. We offer gift-wrapping service for your order with a flat fee of USD5.00. Please add the service at the time of purchase.
VAT / Import Duty / TARIFF
SALES TAX / VAT & Import Duties
We do not charge sales tax on the purchase from Goenne.com when purchase is made outside of Japan. (for shipping address in Japan, 10% consumption tax is automatically charged). However, buyer (recipient) is responsible for all customs duty and consumption tax (VAT) of their own country. This is handle by the carrier of destination country, whom will collect any applicable tax prior to releasing the package . The calculation is based on the value of the item declared and the HS code for each item when we enclose the commercial invoice with the package. The fees vary, depending on rate set by the destination country. We can get rough estimate on VAT amount billed to buyer through our carrier (DHL). You can also check with your local Custom office on any purchase threshold. Unpaid tax and duties will result in returning of the package to Japan, and canceling and refund for the order will NOT be granted.
Therefore, please check and reply to any emails received from Post Office, DHL or FedEx with the relevant tracking number. They will be informing you on the amount of import tax to be paid with your tracking number. And feel free to contact us if you are not clear on your tracking number or status of the package. And beware of phishing emails pretending to be delivery carriers (always use your tracking number, and track status of the package directly at the carriers' websites)
If Import Duty is not paid to postal carrier by due date, the package will be returned to Japan and we do not offer refund in this case.
TARIFF for importing to US
With elimination of Di Minimus, all items importing to US are subject to tariff import duty.
Expect invoice from DHL or FedEx to collect Duty/Import fee. Once payment is cleared, package will be released for delivery. Unpaid duty will result in returning of the package to Japan and we cannot refund the shipping cost nor any fees, tax and duties already imposed. Read latest update from our blog post on 2025 US Tariff before placing your order.
All international orders may be subject to import duties, taxes (such as VAT or GST), and customs processing fees upon arrival in the destination country.
These charges are not included in our product prices or shipping fees unless explicitly stated at checkout.
Who Is Responsible
The recipient (customer) is fully responsible for:
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Import duties and tariffs
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Value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST)
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Customs clearance or processing fees charged by the carrier
These charges are determined by your country’s customs authority and/or the shipping carrier.
We do not have control over these fees and cannot estimate them with precision.
No Universal Tax-Free Threshold
Many countries have reduced or eliminated tax-free import thresholds.
In practical terms:
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Taxes may apply regardless of order value
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Low-value purchases are no longer guaranteed to be tax-free
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Tax collection may occur at checkout or upon delivery depending on local regulations
How Charges Are Collected
Depending on your country, import charges may be:
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Collected at checkout (for certain regions and order values), or
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Collected upon delivery by the courier (e.g., DHL, FedEx, postal service)
If charges are due at delivery, the carrier will contact you directly before releasing the shipment.
Important – Refused Shipments
If a shipment is refused due to unpaid duties or taxes:
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The package may be returned to us or abandoned by the carrier
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Any return shipping, customs fees, or carrier penalties will be deducted from your refund
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Original shipping fees are non-refundable
Country-Specific Notes (General Guidance)
While regulations vary, the following reflects common international practices:
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United States
Import duties and processing fees may apply depending on current regulations and carrier handling. -
European Union (EU) & United Kingdom (UK)
VAT applies to all imports. Courier processing fees are commonly charged upon delivery. -
Australia & New Zealand
GST applies to most imported goods, including low-value items.
Before You Purchase
We recommend that customers:
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Review their country’s import regulations
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Be prepared for additional charges upon delivery
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Contact their local customs office or carrier if unsure
Customers familiar with international purchases typically account for these charges in advance.
By placing an order, you acknowledge that import duties, taxes, and related fees may apply and are your responsibility as the recipient.
General Shipping Information
DOMESTIC (Japan)
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Japan consumption tax is 10%.
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We ship domestic parcels via Japan Post.
INTERNATIONAL
We strive to provide the most economic, secure and efficient ways to ship your order during inflated, challenging times. We painstakingly use multiple carriers to find most competitive price and will spend extra time to confirm shipping costs and amend your invoices if there are smarter options to ship your items.
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We currently ship to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, most EU countries, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore and some SE Asian countries. Email us to inquire shipping to your country not listed above.
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Physical address AND contact number required for all shipping. Read below section. regarding shipping to PO box or FPO box.
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EU new Import Duty policy (effective July 2021). All purchases are subject to VAT duty tax collection. It will be collected by postal carrier, based on the value of goods purchased, after item arrives the destination EU country. Please watch for carrier's email or post office notification about VAT balance due, if applicable.
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Majority of packages will be shipped via DHL and FedEx. We will resume to Japan Post Air Mail parcels when available.
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Please track your package with tracking number provided. We shall not be responsible for delay, mis-delivery or stolen packages.
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If you believe the shipping cost reflected during checkout is not accurate, please EMAIL us for a shipping cost review. We can also ship via Surface mail (by sea, if available) for those who are not in a rush.
IS IT CHEAPER TO SHIP VIA REGULAR PARCEL POST from Japan Post?
Japan Post Office has raised its AirMail Parcel postage to become higher than Post Office EMS International Priority service. And Express EMS delivery time is 13-15 days according to Japan Post webpage. (Not really express service but more expensive than other carriers).
SHIPPING KINTSUGI SUPPLIES
Shipping kintsugi supplies may require extra processes in custom clearance. Please be sure to check emails from carriers and track the package using tracking number provided.
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Most reliable service is offered by DHL, and we have created "DHL Kintsugi Supplies Flat Rate box" for all kintsugi supplies order. Box size 18 x 33 x 10cm, we can put additional items that is not fragile and as long as they fit within this box size.
SHIPPING TO P.O. BOX or FPO address
PO Box address is acceptable but requires a full physical address of the post office (street number, street name, branch name).
All APO address (military post box address) will be shipped via Japan Post regular parcel ONLY. No Express EMS accepted.
REMOTE LOCATION DELIVERY (charged by DHL and FedEx)
With private carriers (FedEX & DHL), if your address falls into "Remote Location", "Outside Delivery Zone", there will be additional charge by the carrier to deliver the package. Typical cost is about $26-28. When we process your order, we will notify you your address has been considered as remote location with the additional cost amount. You can decided if you would like to proceed or cancel the order.
If you are unsure about whether your location is consider as remote or not, please feel free to email us your address in advance and we can check for accurate shipping cost. We will continue to improve our system to give most accurate shipping cost information and streamline the communication.
In most cases, we will check to see Japan Post (and your local post office) accepts such delivery, where there will be no additional charge.
CUSTOM CLEARANCE
Custom clearance are handled by destination country's Custom Department and communicated through carriers (Post Office, DHL, FedEx). At the discretion of the country's or entry port's Custom officer, certain products may require additional certification and documents to get clearance. Typically to certify material contains no toxic substance, or wood species are not endangered. Typical items that may require additional paperworks would be wood products and raw material such as lacquer and precious metal powder for kintsugi.
As a responsible seller, we have all the necessary certificates to get the clearance. However, according to international shipping law, such document is to be provided/certified by Buyer/Recipient unless you grant "Power of Attorney" to authorize the Seller/Shipper to provide the certification. In such case, carrier will contact you to obtain either the required certificates OR grant the Shipper power of attorney to submit the certificates.
The format of "Power of Attorney" depends on the carrier, some asked for a simple statement via email sent directly to the carrier's custom clearance department, some may provide a form for you to sign. If you do not complete such process, Custom will not allow clearance for the package to enter the country and will return it to Japan. Usually they allow 5-7 days for such paperwork submittals and will provide due date to you via email.
To clear Custom smoothly, we require your attention and response to emails from carriers. If you are suspicious of scam and fraudulent, we recommend you contact carrier office directly (DHL, FedEx or Post Office) to discuss what is needed to be done. Or email us so we can assist you through the process.
If you decided you do not want to follow the Custom Clearance procedure, you can decline the request and have the package returned to Japan. However, shipping fee is non-refundable. And if package returned to us in un-used un-opened state, we will refund the merchandize cost minus 10% restocking fee.
YOUR COUNTRY or COUNTY NOT LISTED, WANTS US TO ADD YOUR COUNTRY?
Email us and we can check the rates and add your country to our system.
RETURN, REFUND, DAMAGED SHIPMENT
Please visit Store Policy Page for information.
Encounter "Items cannot be delivered" message at checkout?
Not to worry, all our products are deliverable to most countries. It is the check-out system that is not sophisticate enough to handle our complex shipping rate calculation.
If you encounter the yellow box message "not deliverable", just go to the shipping rate drop down menu and choose the one that works.
What to do next?
Go to Shipping Cost Drop-down menu and choose other shipping method. There should be one shipping rate that works for all the items in your cart.
