Duty and tax charges for non-Zonos orders

If you print shipping labels outside of Zonos Dashboard, your carrier may bill duties and taxes to Zonos for orders that were not processed by Zonos.

If Zonos is billed for orders that are not found in the Zonos system, you will be invoiced for the order's duties and taxes along with Zonos' standard fee of 2 USD and 10% of the applicable duties, taxes, and fees.

Why this happens and how it affects your invoice 

When duties and taxes are billed to Zonos for orders not processed through Zonos' Landed Cost guarantee, it typically happens because of integration issues, particularly when tracking numbers are not properly recorded in the Zonos system, leading to misidentified shipments. This and other common causes include:

• Tracking and integration issues: If tracking numbers aren’t in the Zonos system, but Zonos is billed on the carrier invoice, we can’t confirm whether the order was processed through Zonos, especially without corresponding order numbers.
• Carrier account-level billing for third-party orders: Your carrier account may bill Zonos for duties and taxes on shipments not processed by Zonos, including international orders from platforms like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy that are sent DDP but not processed through Zonos.
• Unauthorized use of Zonos' account numbers: Using Zonos' account numbers or tax IDs for re-shipments, replacements, returns, or gifts without processing them through Zonos will result in duties and taxes being billed to Zonos, but the tracking numbers won't be recognized in our system.
• Re-sent orders without voiding the first shipment: If an order is turned around and re-sent without voiding the initial shipment and updating the tracking in Zonos' system, it can lead to double billing.
• Incorrect shipping method usage: If a merchant quotes and ships DDU and Zonos receives the duty and tax bill from the carrier.

When this happens, your invoice will include:

• The total duties and taxes billed by the carrier.
• Zonos' standard fee of 2 USD and 10% charge of applicable duties, taxes, and fees. Zonos will apply any available discounts on advancement fees when applicable.

Identifying, resolving, and preventing billing issues 

If you are billed for a shipment that Zonos cannot find in the system, it may be due to missing tracking data, incorrect billing setups, or shipments not processed through Zonos. To resolve and prevent these issues, follow these steps:

How to identify the issue:

1. Check order records: Confirm if the order was processed via Zonos' Landed Cost guarantee.
2. Review tracking details: Ensure tracking numbers on the duty and tax invoice match Zonos' tracking numbers.
3. Check for external orders: Verify whether the shipment originated from another platform (e.g., Amazon, eBay, or Etsy).
4. Confirm shipping methods: Ensure the quoted shipping method matches the actual method used.
5. Investigate re-shipments, replacements, returns, and gifts: If these shipments used Zonos' account numbers but were not processed through Zonos, they will still be billed to Zonos.
6. Check for re-sent orders: If an order was re-shipped, confirm that the original shipment was voided and the tracking updated in Zonos' system to prevent duplicate charges.

How to prevent future issues:

• Ensure tracking data syncs with Zonos: Work with your technical team to pass tracking details for all orders processed through Zonos.
• Clarify your carrier billing setup: Review carrier account setup to prevent non-Zonos shipments from being billed to Zonos.
• Monitor international orders from other sources: Track which orders are processed through Zonos, especially when selling on multiple platforms.
• Educate your team on account number usage: Zonos account numbers and tax IDs should only be used on Zonos LCG orders.
• Void and update tracking for re-sent orders: Ensure the original shipment is voided and tracking is updated in Zonos' system to prevent double billing.
• Confirm shipping method consistency: Verify that the shipping method quoted at checkout matches the method used.
• Follow the labels outside Dashboard checklist: If printing LCG labels from another system, follow our Labels outside Dashboard checklist to ensure compliance and prevent issues.

If you believe duties and taxes were billed to Zonos incorrectly or need further clarification, contact our support team for assistance.