ChatBefore they buy
Prices include / do not include sales tax, and the tax is shown at checkout before you pay. For orders outside your country, import duties and taxes are included at checkout / paid to the carrier on delivery.
Duties and taxes reply template
No surprise fees at the door.
Say whether prices include tax, and whether duties are paid at checkout or on delivery, before the shopper commits.Updated · By Ziyad BasheerShort answer
Shoppers asking about tax and duties want the final cost: whether sales tax or VAT is in the price, and whether import duties are paid at checkout or to the carrier on delivery. Answer for their country, using the terms set in your checkout.The templates
Fills in from Shopify, with a fallbackYours to fill in
EmailCharged duties on delivery
Subject: About the duties on order.name
Hi customer.first_name,
Sorry the duties came as a surprise. For orders to country, import duties and taxes are paid on delivery, as set out at checkout and in our shipping policy. Customs sets them, and the carrier collects them on its behalf.
If you paid duties both at checkout and at the door, send us the carrier's receipt and our team will refund the extra.
Internal noteBefore you reply
Duties question on order.name, shipping to order.shipping_address. Check how duties were set for that market at checkout. If the customer paid them twice, refund the checkout duties once you have the carrier receipt.
When to use
A shopper asks whether prices include sales tax or import duties, and who pays them. Not when they ask whether you ship to their country at all.Aide picks a procedure from its When to use. Paste this into your procedure, then edit it for your store.
Only if
They ask about tax or customsYour sales tax and duties topic is detected, such as “Will I pay customs?”
One reply per marketOptional: destination country, when duties work differently by market.
After a bill at the doorOptional: order exists, for a customer the carrier has already charged.
Example conversation
Customer
If I order from the UK, will I have to pay customs when it arrives?
Aide
For UK orders, import duties and VAT are included at checkout, so there is nothing extra to pay when it arrives. You will see the full amount before you pay.
Customer
Perfect, ordering now.
✓Duties terms quoted from your shipping policy
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the market. US prices are usually shown before sales tax, which is added at checkout, while UK, EU and Australian prices usually include VAT or GST.
The shopper, either at checkout when the store collects duties upfront, or on delivery when the carrier asks for them. Say which before they buy.
The carrier usually sends the package back. Decide in advance whether you refund it minus shipping, and put that in your policy.
Send this with the order filled in
Aide fills in the Shopify order and tracking, then drafts or sends the reply, as you choose.