United States → Korea clearance guide
Overview
- · Small-consignment exemption: goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, or US$200 for US-origin goods under KORUS. Express consignments are split by goods value into list clearance (US$150 or less, US$200 from the United States), simplified import declaration (over US$150 up to US$2,000) and full import declaration (over US$2,000); shipments from the same sender on the same day, or one bill of lading split up, are aggregated.
- · Import VAT is 10%, charged on the customs value plus duty plus any individual consumption or liquor tax.
- · A customs broker is not mandatory. The importer may self-file in UNI-PASS, and an individual needs a personal customs clearance code.
- · FTA preference needs a certificate or declaration of origin: KORUS for U.S. origin, the Korea-China FTA or RCEP for Chinese origin. Korea and Taiwan have no agreement, so the basic or WTO rate applies.
- · Whether a product requirement applies depends on the HS code. Food, cosmetics, electrical goods and radio equipment must clear their agency requirement before customs clearance can proceed.
Procedure
United States export side
The United States levies no export duty and has no export VAT to refund. What an exporter has to get right is the paperwork: an electronic export declaration where one is required, and compliance with export controls and sanctions.
Electronic Export Information (EEI) must be filed in AESDirect, inside CBP's ACE system, when the value of any single Schedule B or HTS commodity line in a shipment exceeds US$2,500, and whenever an export licence is required regardless of value. The rules are the Foreign Trade Regulations, 15 CFR part 30, administered by the Census Bureau. A successful filing returns an Internal Transaction Number (ITN) that the carrier needs before the goods are laded. The filing deadlines are set per mode in 15 CFR 30.4: vessel, 24 hours before the cargo is laden at the US port; air, no later than 2 hours before the scheduled departure time; truck, 1 hour before the truck arrives at the border; rail, 2 hours before the train arrives at the border; mail and other modes, 2 hours before exportation. Exporters approved by the Census Bureau for postdeparture filing may file within 5 calendar days of the date of export, and pipeline shipments within 4 calendar days after the end of the month. Used self-propelled vehicles must separately be presented to CBP at least 72 hours before export.
Goods are classified for export using Schedule B (a Census-maintained extension of the HS) or, where it also works, the HTS number. Controlled items carry an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) on the Commerce Control List administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security; defense articles fall under the U.S. Munitions List administered by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls. All parties to a transaction should be screened against the OFAC and BIS restricted-party lists.
Destination-side paperwork is the exporter's contribution to the buyer's clearance. For Korea that includes a KORUS certification of origin, which is a self-certification with no prescribed form. Taiwan and mainland China have no free trade agreement with the United States, so buyers there generally pay the ordinary applied rate.
Korea import side
Import clearance in Korea is handled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) through its electronic system, UNI-PASS. Goods that arrive are reported on discharge, moved into a bonded area, declared, assessed and then released with an import declaration certificate (수입신고필증). A declaration may also be filed before arrival, or even before the vessel departs, when speed matters.
Duty is assessed on the CIF customs value, and import VAT of 10% is charged on top. Depending on the product, individual consumption tax, liquor tax, education tax and the special rural development tax may also apply. Small self-use consignments can instead be assessed at the simplified combined rate (간이세율) under Article 81 of the Customs Act.
The small-consignment exemption applies to goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, raised to US$200 for goods originating in the United States under KORUS. The basis is Customs Act art. 94(4), Enforcement Rules art. 45(2)1, and the Notice on Import Clearance Administration (KCS Notice 2024-43) art. 67 and Annex 11. The goods value includes the price of the goods plus any tax, inland freight and insurance incurred in the sending country, but excludes the international shipping charge to Korea. Where goods that arrived on one bill of lading or air waybill are split, or goods bought from the same overseas supplier on the same day are split, the values are aggregated for assessment (Notice art. 68).
The importer may file directly (자가통관) or appoint a licensed customs broker (관세사). An individual importer needs a personal customs clearance code (개인통관고유부호). Product requirements under the Food Sanitation Act, the Cosmetics Act, the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act (KC marking) and the Radio Waves Act are checked as part of the declaration.
Priority categories on this lane
Other lanes
Sources: Korea Customs Service: Import clearance · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (Easy Law): overseas direct purchase, duty and VAT calculation · Korea Law Information Center: Customs Act and its Enforcement Rules · Korea Customs Service UNI-PASS · Korea Customs Service FTA Portal · Korean Agency for Technology and Standards: product safety certification · Ministry of Food and Drug Safety · Korea Customs Service: express consignment clearance (list / simplified / full declaration thresholds) · Korea Customs Service: traveller baggage clearance (allowances, voluntary-declaration reduction, penalties) · Korea Customs Service: 2025 FTA frequently asked cases (deadline for retroactive preference claims) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (easylaw): overseas direct purchase — medicines and health functional foods · Korea Law Information Centre: Customs Act article 81, Enforcement Decree article 96 and Annex 2 (simplified tariff rates) · Census Bureau: Foreign Trade Regulations frequently asked questions · eCFR: 15 CFR part 30, Foreign Trade Regulations · CBP: Automated Export System (AES) · International Trade Administration: Electronic Export Information (EEI) · Bureau of Industry and Security: Export Administration Regulations · Census Bureau: Schedule B search engine · eCFR: 15 CFR 30.4 — Electronic Export Information filing procedures and deadlines by mode · eCFR: 15 CFR 30.10 — retention of export information (five years)