Service, Regulatory Updates and Important Notifications
Service, Regulatory Updates and Important Notifications
Service News
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is rolling out an automated capability to enforce the de minimis threshold, which allows the duty and tax-free entry of shipments with an aggregate value of USD800 or less per person, per day. FedEx customers are reminded that if a recipient’s aggregated imported shipments across all transportation modes or carriers exceed the USD800 de minimis daily threshold, then informal or formal entries may be required—including payment of all applicable duties, taxes, and fees—and may be subject to delays as a result.
While the “per person, per day” de minimis provision is already actively enforced by CBP, we anticipate that automated enforcement of this provision will lead to more consistent and comprehensive treatment by CBP.
To avoid potential clearance delays, FedEx encourages customers to follow these best practices to remain in compliance with CBP guidelines:
Provide precise cargo descriptions when creating shipments with FedEx.
These guidelines include a precise product description, specific monetary value and currency, shipper and recipient details, as well as an HS code (where required). Vague merchandise descriptions violate CBP guidelines and may delay clearance.
To learn more about writing a clear commodity description and HS code, watch our video here.
Ensure you are using FedEx Ship ManagerTM at fedex.com or the most updated version of FedEx shipping software.
If inbound shipments are heading to fulfillment centers:
Follow CBP’s guidance during shipment creation, including listing the consignee name as “[Merchandise Owner Name] c/o [fulfillment center name]”, for example, “Company ABC c/o Amazon Fulfillment Center”.
For further information and support regarding this enforcement, please contact your sales representative or FedEx customer service team.
The following changes will take effect on January 13, 2025, for FedEx international shipments:
All international packages that meet the criteria of Additional Handling Surcharge – Dimension will be subject to an 18kg (40lb) minimum billable weight. Other Additional Handling Surcharge assessment criteria currently used to determine the applicability of these surcharges remain unchanged. Visit our Surcharge and other information webpage for details.
NOTE: If a FedEx package is subject to an Oversize Charge or Additional Handling Surcharge – Packaging, and also meets the criteria for Additional Handling Surcharge – Dimension, the minimum billable weight of 18kg (40lb) will still apply. This means that this condition is applied even if Additional Handling Surcharge – Dimension itself is not charged.
A U.S. Inbound Processing Fee will be assessed on all international shipments imported into the U.S. in connection with the processing of those shipments for customs clearance. Visit our Surcharge and other information webpage for details.
Additional surcharges will be included in the list of fuel-applicable surcharge for all international shipments. Visit our Fuel surcharge webpage for details.
A Duty and Tax Forwarding Fee will apply instead of the Disbursement Fee if the shipper selects a third-party billing option for duties and taxes and duties and taxes are to be paid outside of the shipment’s destination country. Visit our Clearance services and related fees webpage for details.
Effective January 22, 2024, we will add an additional page with your invoice. This concise one pager will showcase detailed information about FedEx billing and invoicing information, such as transportation charges, duties and taxes and related charges, fuel, and other surcharges, and so on. You can easily access any billing information you want through this. The one pager is only applicable on the soft copy of FedEx invoice (PDF).
To get the copy of the One Pager, you can click here.
To continue offering the best possible ancillary clearance service, the rate of advancement fee assessed on import shipments will be adjusted to 2.9% of Duty & Tax or NZD20, whichever is higher. This adjustment will take effect starting November 1, 2023.
With the B2C e-commerce market growing steadily and residential deliveries on the rise, consumers are not always home to receive their deliveries.
Starting July 7, 2023, in New Zealand and September 4, 2023, in Australia, residential shipments may be released without signature at recipients’ doorstep or such other appropriate place, with a Picture Proof of Delivery, when recipients are not at home. Picture Proof of Delivery will give e-commerce merchants and consumers peace of mind on the delivery of their shipments.
This enhancement is another step in our continued efforts to innovate digitally, improve our customers’ experience and will assist in decreasing our carbon footprint.
The change will apply to all FedEx International Connect Plus (FICP) and International Priority Express (IPE), International Priority (IP), and International Economy (IE) services with declared customs value less than USD600 and declared value for carriage less than USD1 delivered to residential addresses.
For residential shipments that require a signature, customers need to select one of the following signature options at shipment creation: Indirect Signature Required (ISR), Direct Signature Required (DSR) or Adult Signature Required (ASR). Please note that DSR and ASR options come with a surcharge.
Shipping Regulatory Update
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that it will begin rejecting any U.S. import shipment data containing vague descriptions effective November 12, 2024. If CBP rejects a vague cargo description, then FedEx may decline the shipment at origin or may hold the shipment at origin until complete data is submitted.
FedEx customers are reminded of the importance of providing precise cargo descriptions when creating their shipments with FedEx to ensure their shipments comply with CBP’s regulations. After the effective date, any shipments identified by CBP as containing vague descriptions will be rejected by CBP and may incur delays.
Precise descriptions accurately describe what the goods are made of and their intended use. Examples include “children’s toys made of plastic” rather than “toys” and “women’s dresses made of 60% cotton 40% polyester” rather than “clothing”.
To learn more about writing a clear commodity description, watch our video here on fedex.com. Additionally, CBP has provided a list of examples to illustrate how to create a precise commodity description, which you can find here.
With this enforcement in place, manual air waybills destined for the United States will experience a 1-day transit extension. To minimize any impact on your shipments, we encourage customers to utilize FedEx online shipping tools to create shipments.
For further information and support related to this enforcement, please contact your sales representative or FedEx customer service team.
Effective July 1, 2024, the New Zealand Government increased Customs goods fees to reflect inflation.
As such, those relevant fees passed on to customers by FedEx will be increased on and from September 2, 2024.
Please note New Zealand Government has advised these increases are interim, pending a longer, more comprehensive review of Customs goods fees.
For more details, please visit the New Zealand Government Customs website.
Online Fraud Alert
We have received reports of fraudulent emails claiming to come from BillingOnline@fedex.com. These messages have a vague subject referencing an invoice (e.g. “Your FedEx invoice is ready to be paid now,” “Please pay your outstanding FedEx invoice,” “New FedEx Invoice,” “Your FedEx invoice is ready,” “Pay your FedEx invoice online”).
If you receive a message matching this description do not open the email or enter any personal information. Delete the email immediately.
FedEx does not send unsolicited emails to customers requesting information regarding packages, invoices, account numbers, passwords or personal information.
Go to our FedEx FedEx Trust Center to learn more about protecting yourself online. By following a few simple tips, you can make your online experience safer and more secure.
For more information on other fraudulent emails, you can visit our U.S. website by clicking here.
It has come to our attention that a fraudulent e-mail with unauthorized use of the FedEx name has been circulating to our customers. The e-mail claims that a FedEx shipment could not be delivered and asks the customers to open an attachment, print it out and take it to a FedEx facility to pick up the package.
Customers need to be aware that this is a fraudulent request and that this e-mail attachment contains a virus. If you have received one of these fraudulent e-mails, do not open the attachment, but delete the email immediately.
FedEx does not request payment or personal information in return for goods in transit or in FedEx custody via unsolicited mail or e-mail.
If you have received a fraudulent e-mail that claims to be from FedEx and have experienced resulting financial loss, contact your banking institution immediately through the appropriate channels.
*FedEx is not responsible for any charges or costs incurred as a result of unauthorized or fraudulent activity that abuses the FedEx name, service marks and logos.
Service Disruption
Effective immediately, FedEx International Economy® and all freight services¹ to Lebanon are temporarily discontinued until further notice. We continue to provide FedEx International Priority® to Lebanon. Services for outbound shipments from Lebanon remain normal.
Should you have further enquiries, please contact your Sales Representatives or our Customer Service team.
¹All freight services include both FedEx International Economy® Freight and FedEx International Priority® Freight
Effective immediately, FedEx International Economy® services from China to select markets in Middle East and Africa are discontinued until further notice due to multiple factors.
As an alternative, we recommend customers using FedEx International Priority services2 for shipments from China to these destinations.
Providing excellent customer experience is a top priority for us and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Listed below are the countries included in the suspension until further notice:
Destination Country |
Service |
Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Algeria, Congo (the), Congo (the Democratic Republic of the), Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Djibouti, Libya, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia (the), Guinea, Morocco, Tunisia, Liberia, Lesotho, (the)Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania Uganda, Zimbabwe, Chad |
FedEx International Economy® |
Angola, Burundi, Algeria, Libya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe |
FedEx International Economy® Freight |
Should you have further enquiries, please contact your Sales Representatives or our Customer Service team.
1FedEx International Economy® services include FedEx International Economy®, FedEx International Economy® Freight and FedEx International Economy® DirectDistribution.
2FedEx International Priority® services include FedEx International Priority®, FedEx International Priority® Express, FedEx International Priority® Freight, and FedEx International Priority® DirectDistribution.
FedEx International Priority inbound and outbound service to and from Ukraine has been reinstated covering the majority of Ukrainian postal codes. Pick-up and delivery services will be performed according to local authority instructions, where it is safe and possible.
All Russian and Belarusian FedEx International services continue to be suspended until further notice.
Continue to check this page for updates. For specific shipment status information, please track your shipment at fedex.com.
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