Customs storage fees: why a held shipment gets expensive
Short answer
Once a free period expires, held shipments accrue storage daily. The usual cause is an unpaid duty bill the recipient did not realise was waiting, and the charges compound alongside whatever triggered the hold in the first place.
A shipment stops for one of a few reasons: duty is owed and unpaid, the declaration is incomplete, another agency wants to review it, or it was selected for examination. Each carrier allows a free period, and after that storage begins accruing per day.
The expensive scenario is a compounding one. An unpaid duty bill holds the shipment, storage accrues while it waits, and if the hold was caused by a paperwork problem there may be a clearance entry charge on top. A parcel worth $60 can end up owing more than its value, at which point refusing delivery becomes the rational choice — though some carriers still bill return shipping.
The practical defence is simply noticing. Duty bills arrive by email or text and are easy to miss, particularly since most people did not expect one at all. If a shipment stops moving in tracking, check for an unpaid charge before assuming it is a delay.
What to check
- Check for an unpaid duty notice as soon as tracking stalls.
- Ask the carrier what triggered the hold and when the free period ends.
- If the total is approaching the value of the goods, decide early whether to refuse.
- Refusing may still incur return costs — confirm before deciding.
Common questions
Sources
- FR
- 90 FR 34665
- effective
- 2025-10-01
- retrieved
- 2026-08-09
FY2026 MPF: formal 0.3464% ad valorem, min $33.58, max $651.50, $4.03 manual filing surcharge. Informal fixed fees $2.69 / $8.06 / $12.09. MPF value base excludes duty, freight, and insurance.