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What is a Recipient Tax ID for International Shipments, and is it required?
What is a Recipient Tax ID for International Shipments, and is it required?

Some countries require shippers to provide the Tax Identification Number for the recipient of any shipment.

Updated yesterday

Some countries impose Sales Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT) on international shipments, and require shippers to provide their recipient's national tax ID number on the label.

If the country you're shipping to requires this, you can enter the national tax ID number in the "Recipient Tax ID" field when creating your label 👍 Here's where to find that at the bottom of the page:

Your international recipient's Tax ID is similar to how Social Security Numbers (SSN) or Employer Identification Numbers (EIN) work in the United States 😉

Oftentimes, your international recipient will provide their tax ID to you when they place their order. While Pirate Ship doesn't require you to enter your international recipient's tax ID in order to create labels, your shipment may be refused at customs if you don't provide it when shipping to certain countries.

Below are some examples of countries that require a national tax ID for shipments to clear customs:

Brazil

If your Brazilian recipient doesn’t provide you with their Tax ID number when they place their order, we suggest contacting them before creating your label and asking for it.

In Brazil, the importer’s Tax ID Number is called the CPF for natural persons (people), and CNPJ for legal persons (companies). The formatting of the two different identification types is as follows:

  • CPF: 000.000.000-00

  • CNPJ: 00.000.000/0000-00

European Union (EU)

You'll be required to enter an EORI number in the "Recipient Tax ID" field when using UPS services to ship to certain countries in the European Union. If you don't include an EORI number for the required countries, you'll receive an error message when you try to create your label.

  • EORI Numbers: EORI stands for “Economic Operators Registration and Identification" number. These numbers are given to businesses located within the European Union.

  • Its format is two letters followed by seven digits, as seen in this example: DE1234567.

  • Your EU recipients will know their specific EORI number and should provide it to you along with their order information.

Mexico

You must include your recipient's tax ID on all shipments to Mexico, regardless of the service and carrier you choose.

  • You can provide your recipient's Mexican Tax ID (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes - RFC) or National ID (Clave Única de Registro de Población - CURP).

  • Failure to include a recipient tax ID may result in packages being held in Mexican customs and not being delivered.

  • In addition to requiring your recipient's Tax ID, Mexico also requires detailed customs information for all inbound shipments. Learn more about the tax ID requirements for shipments going to Mexico.

New Zealand

While it's not required to be included on any labels, New Zealand's national tax ID is called the IRD number, and the government's Inland Revenue Agency assigns one to each individual and business entity.

According to NZ Inland Revenue, the IRD number consists of the following parts:

  • A seven or eight-digit base number

  • A trailing check digit

Norway

The Norwegian government requires that Value Added Tax (VAT) payments come from online sellers with annual sales of 50,000 Kroner or more to Norwegian consumers. Individuals or businesses that meet or exceed this threshold will need to register with the Norwegian Tax Administration, Skatteetaten.

If this is the case for you, then you are responsible for remitting taxes to the Norweigan government, and not your recipient.

Singapore

When shipping to Singapore, you don't need to include your recipient's tax info, but you may need to include your tax ID number that you receive from the Singaporean government.

Singapore's Inland Revenue Authority requires Singaporean consumers to pay taxes on shipments containing low-value goods, meaning shipments valued at or below $400 Singapore dollars. Beginning in 2023, you'll need to register with the Inland Revenue Authority to receive a Goods and Service Tax ID (GST) number that you include on your labels if your business meets the following criteria:

  • You send direct-to-consumer supplies of low-value goods to Singapore exceeding 100,000 SDG (about $73,500 USD)

  • Your business has annual global revenue exceeding 1 million SGD (about $735,000 USD)

If your business meets these thresholds, you will need to enter your GST number into the International Tax ID field in the Customs Form section when creating your label.

South Korea

South Korea issues a 12-digit number prefixed with a "P" to its citizens. This number is known as a Personal Customs Clearance Code, or "PCCC," for short. A PCCC allows individuals to clear customs when receiving goods from outside of the country, and you're required to include this number on your labels whenever you send packages to South Korea from the U.S.

South Korean citizens can generate their PCCC here or request it through the customs office. If this number is given to you by your South Korean recipient, you can enter it into the "Company" field when creating your international label. If you're pulling in orders from any of our integrations, you'll be able to find your recipient's PCCC number on their Order Details page.

United Kingdom

  • You do NOT need to put any tax ID numbers on the shipping label for UK shipments.

  • If the total shipment value is BELOW £135 (around ~$175 US dollars), the online seller (that's you) is responsible for paying a Value Added Tax (VAT) to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Department (HMRC).

  • If the sale takes place via an online marketplace like eBay or Etsy, the marketplace is considered the seller and will pay the VAT instead of the shipper (so you don't have to do anything).

  • If the sale was made directly to a UK recipient without the aid of a marketplace, you are required to register and pay the VAT.

Have any questions? Click the blue chat button to get in touch with our support team 😎

Note: The content contained in this article is considered suggestions based on research, and is not legal or tax advice.

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