With very few exceptions, upon international delivery of your Dive Gear Express package you should always expect to pay both import duty and tax. They are assessed during Customs clearance and paid by the carrier as the package enters the country; then the monies are reimbursed to the courier by the package recipient upon delivery. Third-party expedited couriers like DHL and UPS apply a modest service fee for paying the duty and tax in advance during customs clearance, then collecting in arrears at time of delivery. The service fee is typically about 2% to 3% of the amount advanced, usually with a $10.00 to $15.00 minimum. Slower postal service delivery typically does not include a fee for collecting the duty and tax.
However, all the package carriers have had in-house resources stretched to their limits. As a result, the carriers are sometimes using third party delivery personnel for the final delivery to the addressee. These third party contract workers and their vehicles may even be displaying the uniform and logo of the courier. Recently, there are reports of these delivery people attempting to collect fraudulent additional fees. To avoid this scam, we recommend you pay the carrier's legitimate charges online at their website prior to delivery. In the case of UPS and DHL, using your tracking number you can monitor the progress of your package and once the package clears Customs, you can make payment at the appropriate UPS My Choice®, or DHL On Demand™ website.
If you choose to pay the delivery person directly during delivery, please carefully examine the duty and tax invoice presented. If the payment amount requested seems improper, we recommend you initially decline to accept delivery, retain a copy of the invoice and get the name of the delivery person, then contact us (assuming we were the shipper) immediately.
Just to be clear: Dive Gear Express has already pre-paid all shipping fees. While you do not have to pay any shipping fees, international package recipients should always expect to pay both import duty and tax, plus a reasonable service fee.