Delayed payment from the consignee
If the consignee is slow to pay duty and tax and it results in a held package, there are multiple ways to manage the logistics.
Shipment is held by the final mile provider
If you have the ability to manage the storage of unpaid customs invoices awaiting payment, you can continue to warehouse and hold packages until the consignee pays the duty and tax or a pre-determined amount of time has passed. If the consignee does not pay the duty and tax, Zonos will pay the customs invoice and take the title of the goods.
Shipment is routed to and held by Zonos
Zonos can take possession of the goods, and hold the package until the customs invoice is paid. During the storage period, a new invoice will be provided to the consignee with additional fees from Zonos for storage. Once paid, the final mile delivery provider is responsible for delivery. You can add additional fees to held packages to support additional costs for re-routing and managing a new delivery.
Refused payment by consignee
Whether the package is held by Zonos or the final mile delivery provider, Zonos will continually contact the consignee for payment of duty and tax.
If the consignee refuses payment or is unresponsive, Zonos will contact the sender in the export country regarding the returns process. The sender will have two options:
- Return to sender: If the sender wants the goods returned, Zonos will process the return to the sender.
- Abandonment: If the sender chooses to abandon the goods, Zonos will take the title of the goods and liquidate the product.
If the sender and consignee do not respond within a pre-determined period, the goods will be considered abandoned and the title of goods will be transferred to Zonos.
Consignee support
Zonos will manage the customer service inquiries for consignees regarding questions on the customs invoice. We will also offer customer support for the sender in the export country. For an additional charge (paid by the consignee), Zonos can send paper invoices to the consignee for collection.
Pricing
In most cases, it will be substantially lower cost to use Zonos Collect with a guarantee rather than paying customs for duty and tax you did not collect. Additionally, it is expensive to manage package storage, customer service, collections, shipment abandonment, and coordinating a return package to the sender. Pricing for Collect with a guarantee is specific to your current processes and risk. It will also depend on the services selected and your current collection failure rate.
Getting started with Zonos Collect
Learn how Zonos can guarantee the collection of duty and tax for every customs invoice.
BETA
Through Zonos Collect guarantee, Zonos can pay customs invoices on all imports, regardless of whether the consignee pays the duty and tax. After the duty and tax is paid by the consignee, the shipment can be released for delivery. For consignees that are slow to pay the duty and tax or refuse to pay it, Zonos will still pay the customs invoice and take the title of the goods.