When you're waiting for a package to make its way across the world to your doorstep, it can often feel like it moves at a snail's pace, especially when it seems to just stop dead at the border. This article covers what is happening to your package on its way into the country, how you can work out what's going on, and some things that you might need to do to get it moving again.
If your package gets held up in customs at the destination country, you normally receive a notification from us, with one of these statuses:
Status | Definition | What to do |
With customs | The package has arrived at the destination country and it waiting to be cleared through customs. | Keep waiting. Your package should clear customs and be on its way to you soon. |
Customs awaiting payment | The package has arrived at the destination country, but needs customs duties to be paid by the recipient. | If the merchant is responsible for paying, keep waiting. If you are responsible for paying, the customs authority contacts you with details. When payment is received, your package is cleared. |
Customs failed | The package has arrived at the destination country, but has been denied entry by customs. | Customs have failed your package, and it is being returned. Contact the carrier, or the merchant. |
Customs on hold | The package has arrived at the destination country, but is undergoing review by customs. | Keep waiting. Your package should clear customs and be on its way to you soon. |
The merchant that you made your purchase from should have provided all the relevant paperwork for customs. If you need to confirm this has happened, get in contact with the merchant directly.
Customs duties and taxes can be paid by the merchant, or by you. If you are responsible for paying these, you usually pay these charges to the merchant on top of the purchase and shipping costs, and the merchant then passes those on to the relevant authorities at customs. In this case, get in contact with the merchant directly to check that everything has gone through.
In some cases, you might be charged directly by the customs authority. In this case, they should contact you directly, and give you options for paying any outstanding duties or taxes.
If your package fails to clear customs, contact the carrier to work out why your package didn't make it through, and how to get your package redirected. You might also need to contact the merchant to update details or to sort out payment of duties or taxes.