De minimis and Section 321: when small China imports clear duty-free

Every country sets a value below which an imported parcel clears without duty — sometimes without formal entry at all. For ecommerce sellers and sample buyers, knowing where that line sits can be the difference between a clean delivery and a customs bill.

What is de minimis, in plain terms?

De minimis is the shipment value under which customs waives duty and tax to avoid the cost of collecting small amounts. Above the line, normal duty, VAT, or Section 301 tariffs apply. Below it, the parcel usually passes through with minimal formality.

The catch: the threshold, and what counts toward it, varies by country and is changing fast.

What is Section 321 in the US?

Section 321 is the US de minimis rule. It lets shipments valued at or under 800 USD per person, per day enter duty-free with simplified clearance. It's why so many direct-to-consumer parcels from China land without a duty charge.

It comes with limits: one claim per consignee per day, and certain goods (some regulated or tariff-targeted categories) are excluded. The rule has also been under active political review, with proposals to narrow or remove it for China-origin goods — so treat it as a moving target, not a permanent strategy.

What are the EU and UK thresholds?

• EU: Customs duty applies above €150. But VAT applies from the first euro — the old €22 VAT exemption is gone, so there's no truly tax-free band anymore.
• UK: Duty applies above £135; below that, VAT is generally collected at the point of sale rather than at the border.

So "de minimis" rarely means tax-free in Europe. It means duty-free up to a point, with VAT almost always due. Build that into your landed cost.

Can I split orders to stay under the threshold?

Splitting one genuine order into many parcels purely to stay under de minimis is the kind of thing customs flags as undervaluation or structuring. It risks seizure, penalties, and loss of the simplified treatment. If your volume genuinely exceeds the threshold, ship it properly as a formal entry — often via LCL or FCL ocean freight, which is cheaper per unit at scale anyway.

When does de minimis stop being your strategy?

The moment you're shipping inventory in bulk rather than one-off parcels. Small-parcel de minimis suits samples and early dropshipping; a growing ecommerce import operation usually moves to consolidated freight and formal clearance. To compare what bulk freight would cost versus parcel-by-parcel, run your volume through our freight estimator and see where the crossover happens.