New Zealand: a per-parcel levy now applies to all low-value shipments
Since 1 April 2026, the New Zealand Customs Service and the Ministry for Primary Industries have applied a new flat-rate levy per shipment, the Low-Value Goods levy, on every parcel with a customs value of NZ$1,000 or less, on top of the VAT already due.
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From 1 April 2026, New Zealand Customs and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI, responsible for biosecurity) changed the way they charge for handling low-value parcels: the levy is now calculated per shipment (per consignment) rather than per grouped declaration, to better reflect the real cost of processing each parcel.
For a shipment arriving by air, the new Low-Value Goods levy stands at NZ$2.21 excluding GST (NZ$2.54 including GST); by sea, it is slightly lower, at NZ$2.09 excluding GST (NZ$2.40 including GST). This amount is made up of a portion collected by Customs and a portion collected by the MPI for biosecurity.
This levy is added to the 15% GST already applied for several years on almost all imported online purchases, regardless of their value. It is generally collected by the carrier or freight forwarder and then passed on to the seller or buyer, sometimes without appearing clearly as a separate line on the invoice, and it also applies, in most cases with no possibility of refund, to returns and re-shipments.
This affects all sellers shipping low-value parcels from China to New Zealand customers, as well as the platforms and freight forwarders handling this flow of individual parcels.
What it changes for an importer
For a seller shipping large numbers of small parcels from China to customers in New Zealand, this flat-rate levy per shipment adds up, parcel by parcel, on top of the GST already due, and can weigh on the margin of a low unit-value product. Consolidating orders into combined commercial shipments, rather than multiplying individual small parcels, reduces the number of levies charged. Sorva can help organise this freight consolidation from China to New Zealand and clarify, with the freight forwarder, how this levy is passed on.
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