Is there import tax for a loose diamond when sent from the USA to the Philippines?

[kevindd992002]

So I'm looking to buy a loose diamond from the US and have the online vendor ship it to the Philippines. They use FedEx International Priority with full insurance for this. However, I need to know if there is import tax/duty for this item when received in the Philippines? It costs around $3.5K USD.

I was told to use the "7102.39.00" commodity code in the tariff finder and I'm kinda confused on the MFN results. It says that the applicable tariff rate is "3 /j" but then the legend for j says:

"Zero duty under Republic Act No. 8502 (Jewelry Industry Development Act of 1998), subject to accreditation issued by the Board of Investments."

So is it 3% or 0%?

[hk blues]

32 minutes ago, kevindd992002 said:

So I'm looking to buy a loose diamond from the US and have the online vendor ship it to the Philippines. They use FedEx International Priority with full insurance for this. However, I need to know if there is import tax/duty for this item when received in the Philippines? It costs around $3.5K USD.

I was told to use the "7102.39.00" commodity code in the tariff finder and I'm kinda confused on the MFN results. It says that the applicable tariff rate is "3 /j" but then the legend for j says:

"Zero duty under Republic Act No. 8502 (Jewelry Industry Development Act of 1998), subject to accreditation issued by the Board of Investments."

So is it 3% or 0%?

No idea but doing the same as you I came up with the same answer - it seems zero % since 2012.  

I'd seek some more professional guidance - what do FedEx say, if anything?  

Edited April 9, 2021 by hk blues

[kevindd992002]

5 hours ago, hk blues said:

No idea but doing the same as you I came up with the same answer - it seems zero % since 2012.  

I'd seek some more professional guidance - what do FedEx say, if anything?  

I've yet to ask FedEx but I'll contact them on Monday. I also checked Excise Tax and it looks like it includes imported diamonds :( So is tariff, duty, VAT, excise taxes all different things? This is really getting confusing.

[Dave Hounddriver]

I was surprised to find out that Fed Ex will ship jewelry but it seems they do.  Looks like you may have found a winner.

[kevindd992002]

5 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I was surprised to find out that Fed Ex will ship jewelry but it seems they do.  Looks like you may have found a winner.

Yeah, they do. Most of the diamond vendors outside the Philippines use FedEx to ship worldwide. What do you mean a winner though? If they charge 20% excise tax when the diamond lands here, that really isn't "winning" :)

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, kevindd992002 said:

I've yet to ask FedEx but I'll contact them on Monday. I also checked Excise Tax and it looks like it includes imported diamonds :( So is tariff, duty, VAT, excise taxes all different things? This is really getting confusing.

They are different things, excise tax is in addition to any other taxes.  

[Shady]

22 hours ago, kevindd992002 said:

 It costs around $3.5K USD.

If that's what it says on the invoice, you're paying at least $1000 USD to customs. Learned this the hard way. Oh and customs doesn't return-to-sender things that you don't pay duties and taxes for, so you pay it or you lose it.

 

 

[kevindd992002]

12 minutes ago, Shady said:

If that's what it says on the invoice, you're paying at least $1000 USD to customs. Learned this the hard way. Oh and customs doesn't return-to-sender things that you don't pay duties and taxes for, so you pay it or you lose it.

 

 

Yeah, I was reading a similar case on the Philippine Watch Club forum. The guy paid P132K for a watch worth $15K. And they don't do RTS like you said.

Shipping direct for high-valued items is super risky. I guess I'm going to go with the freight forwarder route and find one that can fully insure the item. I think JAC can do that.