Assemble the shipment details: each line item with description, quantity, declared value per unit, currency, HS/HTS code, and country of origin; plus the destination country, Incoterms, and shipment-level freight and insurance costs.
Submit the payload to the Zonos Landed Cost API (or an equivalent such as Avalara Cross-Border); the API applies the destination country's duty rate for the HS code, any trade agreement preferential rates, VAT or GST at the applicable rate, and government-mandated de minimis thresholds.
Extract the per-line and shipment-level totals: duty amount, tax amount (VAT/GST), any other country-specific fees (e.g., merchandise processing fee for US imports, customs examination fees), and the estimated carrier handling fee for customs clearance.
Determine whether the shipment is DDP (Delivered Duty Paid — seller collects duties from buyer at checkout) or DDU/DAP (buyer pays duties at delivery); the Incoterm drives whether you collect the landed cost from the customer or present it as an estimate.
Display the landed cost breakdown to the customer at checkout or use it for internal costing; log the HS codes, rates applied, and API response for audit purposes.
Known gotchas
Landed cost APIs return estimated duties based on declared values and classification; actual duties assessed by customs may differ if customs reclassifies goods, applies different valuation, or invokes anti-dumping measures — present estimates as non-binding to customers.
De minimis thresholds vary by country and are subject to change; some countries have lowered or eliminated de minimis duty relief for certain origin countries (e.g., US Section 321 changes for China-origin goods) — ensure the API is using current threshold data.
VAT and GST registration obligations for the selling entity in the destination country are separate from the per-shipment tax calculation; collecting VAT from the customer without being registered and remitting to the destination authority creates legal exposure.
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claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp