A cross-border guide to New Zealand ecommerce, shipping, and importing goods

If you are looking to grow your ecommerce business into New Zealand , you’ve come to the right place. In our guide, created by Zonos' cross-border experts, you will find the following:

• Market and trade stats for New Zealand
• Landed cost information for New Zealand
• New Zealand's Customs authority and refund resources
• Shipping options and how to stay compliant in New Zealand
• Tips for exporting from New Zealand

Zonos grade for New Zealand’s ease of importing goods: A 

Ease of doing business 5/5

• There are not any significant trade barriers for importing into New Zealand, making it an ideal place to do business.

Landed cost fairness 4/5

• The import GST rate is fairly high, which can increase landed cost.
• The average duty rate for New Zealand is very low, which can help to balance out the high GST rate, making for a reasonable landed cost.
• The de minimis value is fairly high, which can lower the landed cost or free qualifying shipments of all clearance costs.
• The de minimis does not apply to imports where the seller has exceeded the selling threshold and is required to register for New Zealand GST, which is unfavorable for landed cost.

Flexibility of legal regulations 4/5

• There are few legal regulations for importing into New Zealand, and they do not act as a major hindrance for businesses.

Availability and accessibility of shipping 5/5

• All major shipping carriers offer services to New Zealand.

Accessibility and variety of payment methods 5/5

• New Zealand uses internationally-accepted payment methods, which is convenient for cross-border commerce.

Market opportunity 5/5

• Over half of the population shop online, and nearly the entire population uses the internet, making New Zealand’s market opportunity favorable.

Key stats for New Zealand 

Landed cost for New Zealand 

The landed cost for a cross-border transaction includes all duties, taxes, and fees associated with the purchase. This includes:

• Product price
• Shipping
• Duties
• Taxes
• Fees (currency conversion, carrier, broker, customs, or government fees)

New Zealand de minimis, tax, and duty

Further explanation of de minimis, tax, and duty provided below

Duty and tax de minimis

• Duty and tax de minimis: 1,000 NZD

Applied to the FOB value of the goods

De minimis value

Duty and tax will only be charged on imports into New Zealand where the total FOB value of the import exceeds New Zealand’s minimum value threshold (de minimis), which is 1,000 NZD. Anything under the tax de minimis value is considered a tax-free import, and anything under the duty de minimis value is considered a duty-free import.

Import tax

• Standard rate: 15%

Applied to the CIF value of the order

Goods and services tax (GST)

The standard import GST rate for New Zealand is 15%, which is applied to orders when the CIF value exceeds the 1,000 NZD de minimis threshold. Importers may be required to register for, collect, and remit GST directly to New Zealand if they exceed the annual threshold of 60,000 NZD in low-value goods.

New Zealand low-value GST law

New Zealand’s low-value GST law regulations impact your business if you import more than 60,000 NZD of low-value goods into New Zealand in a 12-month period. A low-value import is anything sold cross-border with a value less than 1,000 NZD in New Zealand. Once you’ve crossed that threshold, you must register with New Zealand Inland Revenue and begin charging GST on low-value sales into New Zealand and remitting quarterly to the tax authority. If you meet certain requirements, you may elect to collect and remit GST on all goods (low and high value).

Once you surpass the 1,000 NZD threshold within a 12-month period on low-value imports into New Zealand, you will need to collect GST at the time of each sale. Imports to New Zealand from registered retailers are GST-exempt at the border since GST is collected at the time of sale.

• For example, if your business has New Zealand sales, your imports would be broken into two tax categories: those more than 1,000 NZD, and those less than 1,000 NZD. If you sold 100,000 NZD in sales a year, but only 40,000 NZD came from low-value goods (goods valued under 1,000 NZD), that portion of your business would still be tax-free. However, if 60,000 NZD or more came from low-value goods, you would need to register for New Zealand GST, begin charging GST on low-value sales into New Zealand, and remit to New Zealand Inland Revenue quarterly.

Excise tax

An excise tax applies to certain goods imported into New Zealand, such as alcoholic beverages, petroleum products, and tobacco products.

Import duty

• Average duty rate: 2.1%

Applied to the FOB value of the goods

Average duty rate

The average duty rate for New Zealand imports is 2%. The duty range for most imports is 0-10%. Duty is only charged on orders into NZ where the total of the goods in the order (the FOB value) exceeds the de minimis threshold of 1,000 NZD.

Landed cost examples

Below are sample landed cost breakdowns for New Zealand (one below the de minimis threshold and one above), which were calculated using Zonos Quoter:

Landed cost for a shipment to New Zealand below the de minimis value:

Landed cost for a shipment to New Zealand above the de minimis value:

Trade agreements

New Zealand has at least 13 trade agreements that offer a zero or highly discounted duty rate for goods made in participating countries.

• There are trade agreements that have completed negotiation but are not yet in force, or are currently undergoing the negotation process.

New Zealand is a member of the World Trade Organization

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), New Zealand must abide by the most-favored-nation (MFN) clause, which requires a country to provide any concessions, privileges, or immunities granted to one nation in a trade agreement to all other WTO member countries. For example, if one country reduces duties by 10% for a particular WTO country, the MFN clause states that all WTO members will receive the same 10% reduction.

Customs resources 

New Zealand's Customs authority

New Zealand Customs Service

Customs refund in New Zealand

Customs refunds and drawbacks in New Zealand

Shipping and compliance 

Top courier services:

• DHL Express
• FedEx
• UPS
• USPS
• Post Haste
• Aramex
• NZ Post

Depending on the courier, additional shipping fees may include:

• Tracking
• Insurance
• Fuel surcharge
• Remote delivery charge
• Signature fee
• Overweight or oversized fee
• Special handling fee
• Dangerous goods fee
• etc.

Documentation and paperwork

Always required:

• Bill of lading or air waybill
• Commercial invoice

Sometimes required:

• Import permit

  • Needed for certain tobacco products

• Import certificates

  • Required for certain goods controlled by certain government agencies

• Certificate of origin

  • May be required for imports that qualify for preferential tariff treatment

Prohibited, restricted, and controlled imports into New Zealand

Government agencies regulate imports.

Prohibited items:

• Objectionable media
• Certain weapons (e.g. flick knives, butterfly knives, swordsticks)
• Weapons disguised as non-weapons
• Equipment for cannabis or methamphetamine use
• Any item intended to be used for a crime

Restricted items:

• Ivory in any form
• Tortoise or sea turtle shell jewelry or decorations
• Meat derived from whales, dolphins, rare cranes and pheasants, or sea turtles
• Medicines containing musk or derivatives of tiger or rhinoceros
• Carvings or other things made from the bone of marine mammals
• Cat skins
• Taxidermies of sea turtles, all big cats, rare reptiles, cranes, pheasants, bears, antelope, and deer
• Live species
• Carnivorous plants
• Plant and animal items in general
• Crayons and craft paints
• Human ashes

Comprehensive list of New Zealand’s prohibited and restricted imports

Legal regulations for businesses

Registering as a commercial importer

Retailers importing goods intended for resale or with a value greater than 1,000 NZD must register for client and supplier codes and for the Trade Single Window (TSW) to submit import declarations electronically. Fulfilling these registration requirements will allow importers to import commercial goods.

Tips for exporting from New Zealand 

New Zealand Customs Service export guide

Next steps

• Decoding South Korea - Graded an A by Zonos cross-border experts, South Korea may be a good place to expand your sales. Learn all about importing goods and South Korean customs regulations in this guide.
• Decoding the Philippines - If you’re looking to expand your sales into international markets, the Philippines may be a good place to consider. Learn all about Philippine import regulations in our country guide.
• Decoding St. Lucia - Branching out into new markets can be scary, but fret not; Zonos provides information on trade barriers, import regulations, and more for many countries, including St. Lucia.

FAQ

What are the most popular online stores in New Zealand?

The most popular online stores in New Zealand are Trade Me, Sly Guild, Countdown, FishPond, and 1-Day/TheMarket.

Resources

• Customs refund in New Zealand
• GST for overseas businesses
• New Zealand Customs Service export guide
• New Zealand Inland Revenue
• New Zealand prohibited and restricted imports
• NZ preferential tariff treatment
• Top 15 eCommerce Companies in New Zealand | clickpost
• Registering as a commercial importer