When you send branding materials—like pack-ins or custom packaging—to our warehouses, who clears customs depends on the destination. Because the materials remain your property, you’re generally responsible for customs clearance and any duties or taxes before the shipment reaches us. The only exception is Mexico, where we handle clearance for you.
Who clears customs?
If you’re shipping branding materials internationally to our warehouses in the US, Canada, Spain, Latvia, or the UK, you’re responsible for customs clearance. That includes paying any duties and taxes that apply.
Typical fees may include:
- VAT, Sales tax, or GST
- Import duties (with percentages depending on the type of goods)
- Additional carrier-specific fees
How to prepare your international shipment
All branding materials sent internationally to our warehouses must arrive free of unpaid customs charges. When you register your shipment with your shipping carrier, make sure to:
- Mark it as Delivered Duty Paid (DDP).
- List yourself or your company as the importer of record (receiver of goods), and list our warehouse only as the delivery location.
- Attach the following to the outside of the shipment:
- Commercial invoice
- Shipping label/invoice/bill
- Power of attorney (if applicable)
Fill out the commercial invoice
Most carriers provide a commercial invoice template. As the exporter (you or your supplier) and importer (you), complete it as follows:
- Exporter: you or your supplier
- Consignee address: our warehouse address only
- Duties and taxes payable by: Exporter (or choose DDP in Incoterms)
- Description of goods: include the material composition
- Unit Value / Total Value: enter the price you paid (cannot be 0)
Shipping label, invoice, or bill
Your shipping document should describe the shipment contents and include an Incoterms. Since you’re covering customs clearance, duties, and taxes, use DDP as the Incoterm.
Power of attorney (if applicable)
If your carrier or customs broker is handling clearance, you’ll need a power of attorney—an authorization that allows them to act on your behalf. Contact your carrier for details or to find a customs broker.
If your shipment doesn’t meet these requirements, we may refuse it or ask for additional information before processing.
How customs work for shipments to Mexico
Due to local regulations, all shipments to Mexico—domestic or international—go through customs. We’ll manage clearance and payment collection for you, which can add processing time. Here’s how it works:
- After your branding is confirmed for stocking, create a shipment in your Printful Dashboard → Warehouse → Shipments and select Mexico as the destination.
- Download and fill out the customs form provided in the shipment flow.
- Email the completed form to branding-mx@printful.com for processing.
- Shipment status will show as Pending while we calculate the payment.
- We’ll email you the payment details. Once payment is received, you’ll be notified by email.
- The status will change to Partially Done. Manually complete the shipment until it’s marked as In Transit.
- After that, you can download and attach the packaging labels to your box.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our Support Team at warehousing@printful.com.