In case customs taxes and/or duties must be paid, the courier usually contacts directly the receiver of the goods. Note that although the couriers contact your client in this regard, they do not have any additional information about why the taxes or duties must be paid at the destination. The reason lies in the customs policy of the importing country.

The couriers do not have the information about the conditions of the importing country since these might change from one day to the next, and may even be different depending on the region/city of destination within the country.

Therefore you should know that depending on the product you send, its value, and the destination, the receiver of the goods may have to pay additional taxes and/or duties before the courier can make the delivery. The best way to inform yourself about customs-related topics is to contact directly one of the customs agents of the destination country, visit the Ministerio de Hacienda webpage (when shipping from Spain), or alternatively the official taxes webpage of the destination country.

From our experience, we can say that South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, or Chile tend to apply taxes that other countries do not have. It is something that as a seller you must take into consideration.

Keep in mind that Outvio and the couriers stay completely independent of the customs policy of the importing countries. Outvio does not offer tax/export advisory services. The only way to deliver the package, in case the courier requests the payment of taxes or duties, is to contact the courier directly and pay these fees (the easiest way to solve the problem is to let the recipient pay them). Otherwise, there is a high probability that the shipment will be returned.

More information on why shipments get stuck at customs and what to do in those cases can be found HERE.