Import duties per unit in your product cost
Duty is charged on the value of what you import, at a rate set by the product's classification and origin. It is part of the cost of the goods, and rate changes can move it faster than supplier prices.
Updated
Working it out
duty per unit = customs value per unit × duty rate
The customs value is defined by the importing country’s rules. Some assess duty on the goods alone and some include freight and insurance, so use the value on your customs entry, not the supplier’s invoice.
A throw with a customs value of $19.00 at a 5% rate carries $0.95 of duty. Add the per-unit share of brokerage and entry fees: $60 across 400 units is $0.15.
Why it deserves its own line
Duty rates change by government decision, sometimes with little notice, and the change applies from a date. If duty is buried inside a single cost figure, a rise looks like a supplier increase and nobody can say how much of the cost is duty. Kept as its own dated line, the change is visible:
| Applies from | Cost | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 2026 | Import duty | $0.95 |
| 1 Sep 2026 | Import duty | $1.90 |
Different origins, different rates
The same product from two countries can carry two duty rates. If you buy from both, the duty belongs with the supplier’s cost. Recording the cost from each supplier as a landed figure keeps each origin’s duty with its own price.
Recording it in Cogsy
Add an “Import duty” cost kind, per unit. Set it on the product so every variant inherits it, and mark it as included in the cost written to Shopify.
Questions
- Are import duties part of cost of goods sold?
- Yes. Duty that you cannot recover is part of the cost of acquiring the inventory.
- Is import VAT or GST a cost?
- Not if you are registered and reclaim it. A tax you recover is not a cost of the goods. A tax you cannot recover is.
- Should duty be a percentage or an amount in Cogsy?
- An amount per unit. Percentage costs in Cogsy are a percentage of the selling price, and duty is charged on the import value.
Related
Glossary
Landed costLanded cost is what a product costs by the time it reaches your warehouse: purchase price, freight, insurance, duties and handling. Formula and worked example.
Cost type
Inbound freightHow to turn a freight invoice into a per-unit cost for Shopify products, the three ways to allocate it across a mixed shipment, and a worked example.
Feature
Dated cost historyEvery cost has a date it applies from. A change is a new row, never an overwrite.
Guide
Landed cost in Shopify after StockyStocky ended on 31 August 2026 and Shopify purchase orders do not change cost per item. How to keep a landed cost per unit in Shopify now, by hand or with an app.