International orders

International orders have additional requirements compared to domestic orders, including:

Customs information: details like tariff codes, country of origin, and customs declaration information
Duties and taxes: depending on the destination country and the value of the goods, you might need to include information about duties and taxes
Recipient identification: some countries require the recipient’s identification number for customs clearance, such as a passport or national ID number

For more information about requirements for international shipping, see the International shipping article on the Shippit help centre.

Customs information

It’s important to declare customs information on your international orders. You can declare information like harmonised system (HS) codes, and country of origin in your order payload.

If you don’t include an HS code in your payload, Shippit attempts to determine the correct HS code to use based on your product description. If Shippit can’t determine an HS code with high enough accuracy, then your order doesn’t get an HS code added to it. For more information about writing accurate product descriptions, see the product descriptions article on the Shippit help centre.

Set the reason for exporting dutiable goods using the customs_clearance_attributes.export_reason field. The information here can affect how your shipment clears customs, and the tax imposed on your shipment. Valid options for the export_reason field are:

Export reason	Description
`Permanent`	Goods are being exported permanently and will not return to the origin country
`Temporary`	Goods are exported for a limited period and will return to the origin country
`Return For Repair`	Goods are being returned to the origin country for repair
`Used Exhibition Goods To Origin`	Exhibition goods are being returned to the origin country after use
`Intercompany Use`	Goods are being shipped between branches or subsidiaries of the same company
`Commercial Purpose Or Sale`	Goods are being exported for commercial purposes or sale
`Personal Belongings or Personal Use`	Goods are for personal use or are personal belongings
`Sample`	Goods are being exported as samples, not for sale
`Gift`	Goods are being exported as a gift
`Return To Origin`	Goods are being returned to the country of origin
`Warranty Replacement`	Goods are being exported as a replacement under warranty
`Diplomatic Goods`	Goods are for diplomatic use and may be exempt from certain duties or taxes
`Defence Material`	Goods are classified as defence material and may be subject to special regulations

If you are shipping goods to the United States of America, you also need to include a MID code for US Customs and Border Control to provide import clearance.

For an example of an international order payload, see the international examples section.

Duties and taxes

When you ship internationally, you can choose to pay the duties and taxes required, or have the package receiver pay them when they enter the destination country.

If the merchant is responsible for duties and taxes, ship your goods with a DDP (delivered duty paid) incoterm. If the package receiver is responsible for duties and taxes, ship your goods with a DAP (delivered at place) or DDU (delivered duty unpaid) incoterm.

Set the required incoterm for the order using the customs_clearance_attributes.incoterm field. Valid options for the incoterm field are:

Incoterm	Full Name	Description
`DDU`	Delivered Duty Unpaid	Receiver pays duties and taxes upon arrival
`DDP`	Delivered Duty Paid	Sender pays all duties and taxes before delivery
`EXW`	Ex Works	Buyer is responsible for all transport and customs from seller’s premises
`FCA`	Free Carrier	Seller delivers goods to a carrier or another person nominated by the buyer
`CPT`	Carriage Paid To	Seller pays carriage to the named destination, risk transfers to buyer upon handing to carrier
`CFR`	Cost and Freight	Seller pays costs and freight to destination port, risk transfers at shipment
`CIP`	Carriage and Insurance Paid To	Seller pays carriage and insurance to destination, risk transfers to buyer upon handing to carrier
`CIF`	Cost, Insurance and Freight	Seller pays costs, insurance, and freight to destination port, risk transfers at shipment
`DAF`	Delivered At Frontier	Seller delivers goods to a named border point before customs border
`DAT`	Delivered At Terminal	Seller delivers goods unloaded at a named terminal
`DAP`	Delivered At Place	Seller delivers goods ready for unloading at the named place, buyer pays duties and taxes
`DPU`	Delivered at Place Unloaded	Seller delivers goods unloaded at the named place
`DES`	Delivered Ex Ship	Seller delivers goods on board the ship at the destination port
`DEQ`	Delivered Ex Quay	Seller delivers goods on the quay at the destination port
`FAS`	Free Alongside Ship	Seller delivers goods alongside the vessel at the port of shipment
`FOB`	Free On Board	Seller delivers goods on board the vessel at the port of shipment

For more information about the different incoterms, see the incoterms article on the Shippit help centre.

Cash on delivery

COD services are available for merchants with store addresses in Singapore and Malaysia, for these carriers:

Aramex Singapore and Malaysia
DHL
Ninja Van

To mark an order as being COD, pass these parameters to the Order endpoint:

cash_on_delivery_amount: used by the carrier to indicate the amount they need to collect on delivery
courier_allocation: specifies which carrier is handling the order. This must be a carrier that supports COD. You can skip this field if you include courier_type.
courier_type: specifies the preferred shipping service class for an order. The available options are standard or express. You can skip this field if you include courier_allocation.

Note that COD orders ignore authority to leave (ATL) requests. Someone must be present at the delivery address to pay for the delivery.

For more information on COD orders, see the Understanding cash on delivery article on the Shippit Help Centre.