What changed for small shipments from India
Until August 29, 2025, an Indian online seller or courier exporter could send a US customer a parcel worth $800 or less and, in most cases, no duty was paid on it. That route is closed. Shipments of every value from every country now pay all applicable duties, taxes and fees.[5] For goods of Indian origin that means the normal duty for the HTS line plus, since July 24, 2026, the 10% Section 301 duty, unless the line is exempt.[8][9]
- Someone has to file a US entry for each shipment. Non-postal shipments, such as express courier, need an informal or formal entry filed by the importer of record or a licensed customs broker it designates.[5][1]
- Mail from India has a new process. Since July 24, 2026, mail goes through a new postal informal entry, and the carrier no longer collects the duty at delivery.[2]
- Most Indian goods by mail need a formal entry. The postal informal entry is closed to goods subject to Chapter 99 duties such as Section 301 and 232.[2] Most Indian-origin goods now carry the Section 301 duty under Chapter 99 heading 9903.05.44, so check the entry type for your product with a licensed customs broker before you ship.[9]
- The buyer's experience changes. Whoever is the importer of record pays the duty, and a bond may be needed. Decide with your US customer, or your US marketplace or fulfillment partner, who will act as importer of record.[5][2]
What the de minimis exemption was
Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C)) let CBP admit goods free of duty and tax when the fair retail value, in the country of shipment, of articles imported by one person on one day was $800 or less.[1] Congress raised the limit to $800 in 2016 from the $200 set in 1993.[1]
Shipments that qualified could be released from the manifest, or through the voluntary Entry Type 86 electronic process CBP set up in 2019, with far less data than a normal entry and no duty paid.[1] That is the treatment now switched off.
Two other Section 321 exemptions are separate and were not suspended by CBP's 2026 rules: bona fide gifts under 1321(a)(2)(A), and personal or household articles that travelers bring with them under 1321(a)(2)(B).[1]
Where de minimis stands on September 23, 2026
The suspension was first ordered under IEEPA emergency powers. After the IEEPA duties were held invalid, Executive Order 14388 of February 20, 2026 kept the suspension going, and CBP then wrote it into its own regulations under 19 U.S.C. 1321(b).[7][1] A 2025 statute ends the exemption outright on July 1, 2027.[1] Goods from China and Hong Kong lost it earlier, on May 2, 2025.[4]
De minimis status for shipments from India and other countries| Channel | What changed | From | Authority |
|---|
| All countries, non-postal | Suspended regardless of value, origin, mode or method of entry. Entry Type 86 closed | August 29, 2025[5][6] | Executive Order 14324[5] |
| All countries, international mail | No entry needed, but carriers collected a duty on each item: the IEEPA rate for the origin, or $80, $160 or $200 per item for the first 6 months | August 29, 2025[5] | Executive Order 14324[5] |
| All countries, international mail | Suspension continued. The per-item duty became the 10% Section 122 surcharge rate | February 24, 2026[7][2] | Executive Order 14388[7] |
| All countries, non-postal | Open-ended suspension written into CBP regulations: formal or informal entry required | June 24, 2026[1] | CBP interim final rule, 91 FR 37789[1] |
| All countries, international mail | Suspension written into CBP regulations, with a new postal informal entry process | July 24, 2026; some data required from October 22, 2026[2] | CBP interim final rule, 91 FR 37801[2] |
| All countries, all channels | The exemption ends by statute | July 1, 2027[1] | Public Law 119-21, section 70531(b)[1] |
Formal and informal entry for low-value goods
Without de minimis, a shipment of $800 or less needs a normal entry. Formal entry (19 U.S.C. 1484 and 1485) generally applies above $2,500. Informal entry (19 U.S.C. 1498) is available at $2,500 or less, but CBP can require formal entry for any goods when it needs to for admissibility or revenue.[1]
For non-postal shipments that used to claim de minimis, CBP names Entry Type 11 as the main informal entry, with formal entry still available. Entry Type 11 carries far more data than release from the manifest did.[1] Entry Type 86 may no longer be used.[6]
- Every duty applies. Former de minimis shipments pay all applicable duties, taxes, fees, exactions and charges.[5] CBP noted that Section 232, 201 and 301 duties went uncollected under the old exemption.[1]
- Bond. Executive Order 14324 authorized CBP to require a basic importation and entry bond for informal entries of $2,500 or less.[5]
- Who files. Entries are made in ACE by a party qualified to make entry: the importer of record or a licensed customs broker it designates.[5][2]
India Post and other mail: the new postal informal entry
Mail followed different rules until July 24, 2026. From August 29, 2025, postal items needed no entry, but the carrier collected a duty on each item and paid it to CBP.[5] From February 24, 2026 that duty was the 10% Section 122 rate, which applied until the surcharge expired or CBP's new postal entry took effect, whichever came first.[7][2]
CBP's postal rule took effect on July 24, 2026. It suspends de minimis for mail and sets up a postal informal entry. CBP officers no longer prepare the entry forms, and duty is no longer collected when the package is delivered.[2] CBP began testing an electronic informal mail entry, Entry Type 13, on September 22, 2026.[3]
- Eligible goods. Mail shipments of $2,500 or less classified only in HTS Chapters 1 to 97.[2]
- Not eligible. Goods subject to Chapter 98 or 99 duties (Section 301, 232 and the like), antidumping or countervailing duty orders, quotas or partner government agency requirements, and goods claiming duty-free treatment under Chapter 98 or a free trade agreement. These must use formal entry.[2]
- Who may file. The owner or purchaser of the goods, or a licensed customs broker designated by the owner, purchaser or consignee.[2]
- Filing and payment. A monthly spreadsheet of entry data and payment through Pay.gov, both due by the 7th day of the month after the package arrives.[2]
- Bond. A single-transaction or continuous bond must be on file before an informal mail entry of $2,500 or less is released.[2]
Options for Indian sellers of small orders
Value no longer decides whether duty is owed. A $300 carton of Indian goods pays the Column 1 duty and any Section 301 or 232 duty on its HTS line, the same as a full container.[5][8] Which entry type applies depends on the value, the mode, and whether Chapter 99 duties, antidumping or countervailing duties, or agency requirements apply.[1][2]
Sellers who used de minimis for samples, replenishment or direct-to-consumer parcels now need someone qualified to file each entry, and a bond in place. One option is to send stock to the US as a single commercial shipment, cleared once through a formal entry, rather than as many separate parcels. Atmavaan moves commercial cargo from India by air freight and ocean freight, including LCL, and arranges the US entry through licensed customs brokers. It does not handle individual mail parcels.
How to estimate what a small shipment will owe
The duty on a small shipment is worked out the same way as on a large one. These tools give an estimate; a licensed customs broker confirms the entry.
- Find each item's code with the HS code lookup.
- Run the code, India as the origin and the value through the tariff simulator for an estimate of the duty and landed cost.
- Check whether the line is exempt from the 10% Section 301 duty, as tea, pepper, turmeric and many finished medicines are, in the US tariffs on India guide.[9]
- If a line carries a Section 301 or 232 duty, plan for formal entry when it goes by mail.[2]
