The Import Duties Thread (share here)

[sbproducer]

Starting this thread in hopes that we can share information about import duties paid on parts for the Emira.

I recently ordered 9 parts from JUBU in Austria. The total invoice was right at $3000. The import duty bill was a surprising $1500. I reluctantly paid the bill. I thought there might have been a mistake, so I'm currently trying get a partial refund for those duties paid. No idea if I'll be successful. The process potentially takes months due to a backlog.

UPS sent an "Import Shipment Detail." I received this a couple of weeks after the JUBU shipment. Here is the relevant information:

Duty Class: 9903.81.91 Description of Goods: Motorteile Tariff Rate: 50%

Anyone else getting ridiculous import duty bills?

Anyone else order parts from JUBU lately? Trying to determine if there were errors made with my shipment.

 

[docron]

Where are you located?
When my Ohlins TTX from Jubu was shipped via UPS to me here in the US, i had to pay around 10% import tax to UPS (for ~$8K USD purchase) which was around $800. This was back in June 2025.
Also from my email to Jubu post delivery,
“Just a heads up for any potential US buyers of your products that you might want to let them know about is if purchase import is greater than $2500USD, US Customs will require "Formal Entry" for receiver/buyer. This means that the customer will be contacted by shipper (UPS in my case) to provide social security number or tax ID number to US Customs. Otherwise shipment will NOT clear Customs. Because of the high potential for identity theft here in the States, i was a little anxious giving my social security number to a complete stranger (UPS brokerage employee) over the phone as you can imagine. But by doing so, it cleared Customs within an hour.”

I recently had to replace a Jubu rear brake cooling duct (due to a roadkill animal obliterating it…lol) Replacement cost + shipping to me was $230 USD (not including any import taxes) and i paid $98 in import tax (ugh!) for this UPS delivery. This was just in late September 2025.

 

[kitkat]

Starting this thread in hopes that we can share information about import duties paid on parts for the Emira.

I recently ordered 9 parts from JUBU in Austria. The total invoice was right at $3000. The import duty bill was a surprising $1500. I reluctantly paid the bill. I thought there might have been a mistake, so I'm currently trying get a partial refund for those duties paid. No idea if I'll be successful. The process potentially takes months due to a backlog.

UPS sent an "Import Shipment Detail." I received this a couple of weeks after the JUBU shipment. Here is the relevant information:

Duty Class: 9903.81.91 Description of Goods: Motorteile Tariff Rate: 50%

Anyone else getting ridiculous import duty bills?

Anyone else order parts from JUBU lately? Trying to determine if there were errors made with my shipment.

Unfortunately this sounds about right friend — irregular mostly aluminum and steel parts have irregular aluminum and steel parts tariff code. I’ve been struggling with the idea of CNCing parts from out of the country for Emira owners and I’m not looking to make a profit — but for prototype parts I’ve had made the tariffs this year have been anywhere from 50-100%, matched with low order quantity because frankly there just aren’t enough Emira owners who’d be interested in parts — hard to justify going through with any projects.

 

[sbproducer]

Unfortunately this sounds about right friend — irregular mostly aluminum and steel parts have irregular aluminum and steel parts tariff code. I’ve been struggling with the idea of CNCing parts from out of the country for Emira owners and I’m not looking to make a profit — but for prototype parts I’ve had made the tariffs this year have been anywhere from 50-100%, matched with low order quantity because frankly there just aren’t enough Emira owners who’d be interested in parts — hard to justify going through with any projects.

I was hoping that some of the parts which don’t have steel in them would fall under a different code. Yea, 50% is pretty rough.

 

[sbproducer]

Ye

Where are you located?
When my Ohlins TTX from Jubu was shipped via UPS to me here in the US, i had to pay around 10% import tax to UPS (for ~$8K USD purchase) which was around $800. This was back in June 2025.
Also from my email to Jubu post delivery,
“Just a heads up for any potential US buyers of your products that you might want to let them know about is if purchase import is greater than $2500USD, US Customs will require "Formal Entry" for receiver/buyer. This means that the customer will be contacted by shipper (UPS in my case) to provide social security number or tax ID number to US Customs. Otherwise shipment will NOT clear Customs. Because of the high potential for identity theft here in the States, i was a little anxious giving my social security number to a complete stranger (UPS brokerage employee) over the phone as you can imagine. But by doing so, it cleared Customs within an hour.”

I recently had to replace a Jubu rear brake cooling duct (due to a roadkill animal obliterating it…lol) Replacement cost + shipping to me was $230 USD (not including any import taxes) and i paid $98 in import tax (ugh!) for this UPS delivery. This was just in late September 2025.

I’m in the state of Georgia. I also had to give my social..

 

[GRP]

Just wait until you order something, they totally mis-classify it and there is a 200% tariff applied.
We just received a bill for $7200 yesterday from UPS for a shipment worth about $3500 last month. The items were given the wrong commodity code entirely so we have to dispute it.

 

[kitkat]

Just wait until you order something, they totally mis-classify it and there is a 200% tariff applied.
We just received a bill for $7200 yesterday from UPS for a shipment worth about $3500 last month. The items were given the wrong commodity code entirely so we have to dispute it.

I'm surprised there's even a way to dispute it honestly

 

[mr.suntorytime]

Just wait until you order something, they totally mis-classify it and there is a 200% tariff applied.
We just received a bill for $7200 yesterday from UPS for a shipment worth about $3500 last month. The items were given the wrong commodity code entirely so we have to dispute it.

damn, im going to be disputing my ass off soon.

 

[Yorkie]

At those kind of prices for import duties, might be worth a trip to Europe for a "free" holiday with space in your suitcase for the parts on the way back!

 

[Nova]

Starting this thread in hopes that we can share information about import duties paid on parts for the Emira.

I recently ordered 9 parts from JUBU in Austria. The total invoice was right at $3000. The import duty bill was a surprising $1500. I reluctantly paid the bill. I thought there might have been a mistake, so I'm currently trying get a partial refund for those duties paid. No idea if I'll be successful. The process potentially takes months due to a backlog.

UPS sent an "Import Shipment Detail." I received this a couple of weeks after the JUBU shipment. Here is the relevant information:

Duty Class: 9903.81.91 Description of Goods: Motorteile Tariff Rate: 50%

Anyone else getting ridiculous import duty bills?

Anyone else order parts from JUBU lately? Trying to determine if there were errors made with my shipment.

9903.81.91 is a catch-all HTS code for all but section 73 products with steel content. You need the HTS code that they actually entered the article under. If the products you purchased does not have steel content, it wouldn't be subject to this tariff. Also, even if the goods you bought have steel content, this tariff is only on the value of the steel content, and not on the overall value of the product. For example, if the goods you bought contained a metric ton of steel, it would be declared at $800 USD value for the steel content, and the tariff subject to 9903.81.91 would then be $400. If the goods you purchased is a $1000 car part that contained 10 pounds of steel, then the actual steel content value is about $3.63, and your duty would be $1.82, plus customs brokering fees. The following is specific language from CPB to this effect:

The value of the steel/aluminum content should be determined in accordance with the principles of the Customs Valuation Agreement, as implemented in 19 U.S.C. 1401a. Thus, the value of the steel/aluminum content is the total price paid or payable for that content, which is the total payment (direct or indirect, and exclusive of any costs, charges, or expenses incurred for transportation, insurance, and related services incident to the international shipment of the merchandise from the country of exportation to the country of importation) made/to be made for the steel/aluminum content by the buyer to, or for the benefit of, the seller of the steel/aluminum content. Normally, this would be based on the invoice paid by the buyer of the steel/aluminum content to, or for the benefit of the seller of the steel/aluminum content.

This is free advice, take it for what it's worth.

You can file a correction with whoever your carrier is, whether it's UPS or DHL. There will be a fee for this, but it's a heck of a lot better than paying $1500.

 

[Emira Fan]

At those kind of prices for import duties, might be worth a trip to Europe for a "free" holiday with space in your suitcase for the parts on the way back!

damn, im going to be disputing my ass off soon.

Hi Greg and Mr.suntorytime.

I reached a human using this intake address; case was assigned to a nice lady [Marcia] to discuses my tariff concerns- If you get stuck I can privately send her direct email address.

To: SDF Post Entry Desk <sdfpostentrydesk@ups.com>

 

[sbproducer]

Ye

Where are you located?
When my Ohlins TTX from Jubu was shipped via UPS to me here in the US, i had to pay around 10% import tax to UPS (for ~$8K USD purchase) which was around $800. This was back in June 2025.
Also from my email to Jubu post delivery,
“Just a heads up for any potential US buyers of your products that you might want to let them know about is if purchase import is greater than $2500USD, US Customs will require "Formal Entry" for receiver/buyer. This means that the customer will be contacted by shipper (UPS in my case) to provide social security number or tax ID number to US Customs. Otherwise shipment will NOT clear Customs. Because of the high potential for identity theft here in the States, i was a little anxious giving my social security number to a complete stranger (UPS brokerage employee) over the phone as you can imagine. But by doing so, it cleared Customs within an hour.”

I recently had to replace a Jubu rear brake cooling duct (due to a roadkill animal obliterating it…lol) Replacement cost + shipping to me was $230 USD (not including any import taxes) and i paid $98 in import tax (ugh!) for this UPS delivery. This was just in late September 2025.

I’m in the state of Georgia. I also had to give my social..

9903.81.91 is a catch-all HTS code for all but section 73 products with steel content. You need the HTS code that they actually entered the article under. If the products you purchased does not have steel content, it wouldn't be subject to this tariff. Also, even if the goods you bought have steel content, this tariff is only on the value of the steel content, and not on the overall value of the product. For example, if the goods you bought contained a metric ton of steel, it would be declared at $800 USD value for the steel content, and the tariff subject to 9903.81.91 would then be $400. If the goods you purchased is a $1000 car part that contained 10 pounds of steel, then the actual steel content value is about $3.63, and your duty would be $1.82, plus customs brokering fees. The following is specific language from CPB to this effect:



This is free advice, take it for what it's worth.

You can file a correction with whoever your carrier is, whether it's UPS or DHL. There will be a fee for this, but it's a heck of a lot better than paying $1500.

Much appreciated. After calling UPS, they gave me an email address and a list of things to include in the email. Here was the response I got.

Thank you for contacting the Post Entry Mailbox about your US import shipment. Your request is very important to us!

Recent changes to US import guidelines have created a significant backlog of disputes for both UPS and US Customs. Our team is currently responding to emails as quickly as possible and appreciates your patience and understanding.

Post Entry prioritizes our work based on the Liquidation Date with US Customs; typically, 1 year from when the shipment made entry into the US. We do this to avoid being assessed penalties by US Customs and to treat all UPS customers equally. When your dispute comes up in a researcher's queue, they will follow up with you to confirm the details of your dispute and to request necessary substantiation. Some examples of substantiation that could be needed would be things like product literature, color photos, etc.

Post Entry has received your communication. Please be patient and refrain from sending multiple emails to this mailbox about the same issue. Multiple emails only create more work for our team and add additional time to resolving your dispute.

Here is contact information for other UPS departments, depending on your need:

• Exporting Customer Concerns – 1-800-782-7892.
• Brokerage Accounting for billing concerns – 502-485-2222 or 866-493-7140.
• Entry packet or ACE report requests – sdfupsusfileprep@ups.com.
• Temporary In-Bond (TIB) shipments – UPSSDF-SPTIBGROUP@ups.com.
• Government Contract shipments – UPSUSSPGovernmentContracts@ups.com.
• Canada/Mexico Ground shipments – casbseattleground@ups.com.

Thank you for choosing UPS, and we look forward to resolving your dispute.

Best regards,
UPS Post Entry Team

 

[sbproducer]

JUBU and I have gone back and forth over emails about this issue in order to share information and today I suggested to them that they should probably include visible literature on any packages headed to the U.S. with a description of the items and total weight of steel present in the package. There are still a couple of parts I need and I'm sure some of you may entertain buying a few parts. Don't want to have to go through this again.

 

[Nova]

JUBU and I have gone back and forth over emails about this issue in order to share information and today I suggested to them that they should probably include visible literature on any packages headed to the U.S. with a description of the items and total weight of steel present in the package. There are still a couple of parts I need and I'm sure some of you may entertain buying a few parts. Don't want to have to go through this again.

No, not literature. CBP don't have the time to look through literature. I don't know how it's handled with UPS/DHL, but for the ocean shipments we do, we fill out a form that contains the steel and aluminum content of things we ship over. We provide CBP with the value that they apply the tariff on. If CBP determines an article is subject to one of the additional tariffs, they will just use the entire article's declared value if no separate content value is provided. If JUBU is serious about doing business with the US, they need to find a freight forwarder that can help them with this process. I would assume that UPS/DHL receives from their shippers the HTS code for the merchandise being shipped, that same information block should contain this additional declaration.