Artsper conditions
Import fees and customs duties are not included in the final total of your order. On Artsper you will pay the price of the artwork as well as the shipping costs. It will be mentioned in the first step of your shopping cart if your order will be subject to customs clearance.
Please note that Artsper is not able to calculate customs fees beforehand, as these are charged directly by the shipping company once the artwork has reached the destination country.
We can, however, confirm that they are calculated on the basis of the value of the artwork as declared by the gallery and the customs office in your country.
What Artworks Are Exempt from Duties?
Original works of art are free from import taxes and tariffs in the vast majority of cases. Chapter 97 of the HTSUS defines original artwork as art that was made entirely by hand by the original artist without the use of mechanical techniques.
Antiques are also exempt from duties – however, they must be at least 100 years old and accompanied by paperwork proving their age. Otherwise, they are subject to import duties ranging from 5.2% to 25%, depending on where they arrive from. The antique must be accompanied by CBP Form 7523. If the value of the items exceeds $2,500, an ACE manifest must be provided and the importation must be handled by a customs broker.
If you are importing art into the United States for business purposes, you must fill out CBP Form 7523. In case the artwork is worth more than $2,500, an ACE manifest must be completed and the import must be handled by a customs broker.
An oral statement is sufficient when importing art for personal use.
Importing from Canada
Importers must complete CBP Form 434 and CBSA Form B232 when transporting art from Canada to the United States. Keep in mind that both forms are mandatory, or shipment may be delayed. In most cases, items exported from Canada to the United States are free of import and export duties.
The good news is that most items traded between Mexico, Canada, and the United States are exempt from import duties under United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), formerly known as NAFTA. Therefore, art shipping from Canada to the U.S. is less expensive and less complicated than importing from other countries.
Importing from the U.K.
When importing art from the U.K. an export license may be required for art, antiques, manuscripts, and furniture older than 50 years. These categories are considered cultural goods and are therefore subject to additional monitoring. You can find the application for this license online.
Also, you may be asked by UK exporters to provide additional paperwork to avoid paying VAT for exports. If you make this extra effort, you can significantly reduce import costs.
Importing from the EU
If you need art shipping from the European Union, you will have to obtain an EORI number. EORI stands for Economic Operator Registration and Identification and is required for both companies (legal entities) and individuals. An EORI number is used for all customs-related activities within the EU as well as for imports from and exports to non-EU countries.
Countries with free, reduced or increased custom duty rates
US authorities do offer varying rates of import taxes by country or with accordance to trade agreements:
- Preferential rates are given to the 20 countries that have Free Trade Agreements (FTA)
- Free or reduced rates to certain developing countries under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
- No duty for many products from the Caribbean and Andean countries
- No duty for many products from certain sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act
- Free or reduced rates for goods manufactured or produced in Canada or Mexico under The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
- Increased duty on certain products of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Ukraine
If you need to calculate how much US import tariff you need to pay use this import duties and taxes calculator.
NB: Artsper is not responsible for the rate applied by the customs services. The information in this article does not engage the responsibility of Artsper.