Amazon, delayed at customs, what does it mean?

You’ve bought something from Amazon Global with international shipping and your orders appear in the Amazon Shopping app, but the notification you receive is: Delayed at Customs! What does this mean for your order?

Screenshot from Amazon.com Shopping app, delayed at customs, UPS may require additional information from you.

Your package is processed by customs officials. UPS may require additional information from you.

When you buy something from Amazon with international delivery, Amazon decide if you need to pay a deposit for customs and other costs associated with cross border shopping. This is done when you pay for your order at checkout. You should not expect any hassle with customs or import duty during the shipping of your purchase from the Amazon warehouse to your home address, as this mostly is arranged in advance.

If you are looking for more information on how you can resolve a customs clearance delay read this general guide.

Why is it delayed?

But there may be instances where your shopping is held at customs, for instance:

1. You may need to provide an identification number. This is common incountries such as  Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, India, Israel, Peru, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey.
2. You may need to pay an additional fee such as import taxes, customs duties and fees, which are payable once your parcel reaches the country of your address.
3. Customs may be checking the package. This will involve opening it to confirm if the actual product matches the shipping note.
4. The courier or shipping comany may require more information from you, such as your address confirmation.

If this happens to you, then it is often easily remedied, or you just have to wait an extra day or so for the package to clear customs before onward delivery by your local postal service or courier company.

Sources:

UPS – https://www.ups.com/us/en/tracking/tracking/description.page

Amazon Help – https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_AISHELP_4d1_w?nodeId=201910710