Regarding Customs Duties
Since we ship from Japan, customs duties will be charged. You can pay the duties upon delivery of the goods or pay using the invoice placed in your mailbox.
If you require the exact tax rate, please contact your country's tax authority. While it may take some time, we can also look into it for you upon your inquiry.
- What are customs duties?
- To our customers in USA.
- To our customers in Europe
- Note in other regions
- Delivered Duty Paid
- When the amount of customs duties is high
What are customs duties?
Customs duties are taxes imposed by a country’s government on purchasers when they buy goods from overseas. Their primary purposes are to protect domestic industries from cheap imports, secure government revenue, and maintain a balance in international trade. Since customs duties are added to the price of imported goods, they function as an indirect tax that is ultimately borne by consumers.
To our customers in USA.
Until August 2025, products exported from Japan valued at $800 or less were duty-free, regardless of their country of origin. This allowed us to deliver high-quality, affordable goods from Japan to many customers in the United States.
President Trump's policy led to the Deminimis Rule (Tariff exemption rule) being abolished ahead of schedule.This rule exempted products under $800 from Customs Dutiess if they met certain conditions. It was scheduled to remain in effect until 2027, but its termination was significantly accelerated and abruptly abolished on August 29, 2025. As a result, U.S. citizens are now obligated to pay Customs Dutiess on all products imported from overseas.
We find this tariff law truly regrettable. President Trump has faced several lawsuits over this tariff law and has already lost some of them. We can only hope that the day will come when American customers can once again purchase goods with ease, just as they did before.
According to the information available to us, the current tariff rate on Japanese-made fishing tackle is approximately 15%. Fishing reels are classified as industrial products and are subject to a 50% tariff rate. For this reason, we are currently not selling Fishing reels to the United States. If you absolutely require a specific product, we kindly ask that you contact us.
The following lists the countries of origin and tariff rates for major fishing tackle.
Lure (9507.90.70.00)
Japan: 14.5%
China: 26.5%
Vietnam: 19%
Taiwan: 19％
Rod (9507.10.00.40)
Approximately 16%
Reel (9507.30.**.**)
Approximately 50%
Line (9507.90.20.00)
Japan: 10%
China: 21.2%
Hook (9507.20.40.00)
Japan: 14%
China: 21.5%
Vietnam: 14%
Indonesia: 14%
Other small items (9507.10.00.80)
Approximately 16%
However, it is best to contact your country’s customs authorities for accurate information.
To our customers in Europe
Customers residing in Europe are required to pay customs duties and VAT.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax that is applied to nearly all goods and services that are bought and sold for use or consumption in the EU. While VAT is generally 0% between EU member states, our company is based in Japan, so we are required to pay VAT. VAT rates vary by country and typically range from 7% to 20% of the product price.
The VAT rates for EU member states currently known to our company are as follows:
Belgium : 21%, Bulgaria : 20%, Czech Republic : 21%, Denmark : 25%, Germany : 19%, Estonia : 22%, Ireland : 23%, Greece : 24%, Spain : 21%, France : 20%, Croatia : 25%, Italy : 22%, Cyprus : 19%, Latvia : 21%, Lithuania : 21%, Luxembourg : 17%, Hungary : 27%, Malta : 18%, Netherlands : 21%, Austria : 20%, Poland : 23%, Portugal : 23%, Romania : 19%, Slovenia : 22%, Slovakia : 23%, Finland : 24%, Sweden : 25%.
However, it is best to contact your country’s customs authorities for accurate information.
Additionally, it appears that new tax laws have been enacted in France. For details, please see here.
Note in other regions
In some countries, such as Brazil, local laws require that prices be listed as “tax included,” but customs duties are different from general taxes. Please note that even if prices are listed as “tax included” in our online store, customs duties will be charged separately.
Please note that Brazil currently imposes very high tax rates, and the government levies customs duties equivalent to approximately 100% of the total payment upon the arrival of goods.
Delivered Duty Paid
When you use Delivered Duty Paid (DDP), we can pay the customs duties to the shipping carrier on your behalf at the time of shipment.
After purchasing the item, please let us know your order number and that you wish to use DPP. We will calculate the applicable customs duties and send you a separate invoice; please pay the duties in advance before we ship the item.
The advantage is that customers can pay customs duties in advance, so they won’t have to pay them upon receiving the goods. Additionally, there are no customs clearance issues, and customers simply receive their goods just as they would with a domestic purchase.
The downside is that using DDP results in an additional cost, as the shipping company charges a fee of 5,000 yen (approximately $30).
When the amount of customs duties is high
If you feel that the amount of customs duties you are being charged is higher than expected, it is possible that this is due to an error by customs officials in your country. In that case, you can submit a request to have the tax rate corrected.
In the United States in particular, due to President Trump’s policies, customs duty rates are calculated based on extremely complex rules, and customs laws and rates are frequently revised. As a result, errors by customs officials occur quite frequently.
We believe that if the customs duties charged are unreasonably high, they should be corrected.
First, although we deeply regret this, please pay the duties based on the incorrect rate. Then, submit a “Customs Duty Dispute Form” to the carrier and request an adjustment to the correct duty rate. This should enable you to receive a refund for the overpayment.Please note that correcting this duty may take time, and a refund from U.S. Customs is not guaranteed.
Frankly speaking, as our company is based in Japan, there are limitations to the latest customs duties information we can access. That said, we believe that it is unacceptable for customers to suffer financial loss due to unreasonably high charges, and such charges should be corrected. We will provide all possible assistance within our capacity, such as preparing necessary documents, to help you revise the customs duties.