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Landed Cost Calculator

What your import really costs

Every tax in the right order, then your real cost, what comes back, and what to sell it for.

Supplier invoice and exchange rate
Duty rates
Applies only to specified origins and tariff lines.
Ad valorem, but subject to a per-entry minimum and maximum this calculator does not apply. Check the current caps.
Ocean shipments only.

Sales tax is charged by states at retail, not at import. Nothing is added at the border beyond duty and the fees below.

Port charges and your mark-up

Fills the form with the 20,000 kg cashew consignment worked through in full below.

Your taxes and total cost will appear here.

How India taxes an import

You are in the United States — this worked example is India’sThe arithmetic below walks through India’s chain, because that is the one we have checked line by line. The United States charges 4 levies: HTSUS duty → Section 301 additional duty → Merchandise Processing Fee → Harbor Maintenance Fee, and no separate value-added or goods-and-services tax is charged at the border on top of those. The calculator on this page already follows your rules rather than these — and the United States glossary is the written version of them.

Indian customs tax is not one percentage on your invoice. It is a chain, and each step is charged on a different base. Getting the order wrong is the usual reason a cost estimate is out by five or ten percent.

  1. 1
    Start from the delivered value, not the goods price The value customs taxes is your goods, insurance and freight added up in rupees. Convert at the exchange rate the government publishes each month, not the market or your bank rate. If you have no insurance bill, customs allows 1.125% of the goods price instead.
  2. 2
    Basic Customs Duty The main import tax, charged as a percentage of that value. The rate depends on your customs code and where the goods come from — a valid certificate under a free trade deal can bring it down to nothing.
  3. 3
    Agriculture and health levies These two extra taxes apply to some goods only. Check the base carefully: they are normally charged on the value customs taxes, though some agents charge the agriculture one on the basic duty instead.
  4. 4
    Social Welfare Surcharge 10% of all the duties added together — basic duty plus the agriculture and health levies, not basic duty alone. Charging it on basic duty alone understates what you owe.
  5. 5
    Sales tax (GST) last, on everything Charged on the value customs taxes plus every duty above. That is why it is the biggest single line on most import bills, even at a low rate.
  6. 6
    Add what customs does not charge Port, storage, delivery-order, detention and inland transport charges sit outside the tax chain but inside your total cost. They carry their own GST, at 12% or 18%.

The number most cost sheets get wrong

The sales tax you pay at import comes back. A GST-registered importer claims it against the GST charged on their own sales. Basic duty, the agriculture and health levies and the surcharge do not come back — they stay in the cost of the goods for good.

A sheet that adds every tax together and calls the total your cost overstates it, and you will price too high. One that ignores tax altogether understates the cash you need on the day the goods land. Both numbers matter, and they are different numbers. This calculator shows them separately: total cost, cash needed on arrival, and real cost after the refund.

Worked example

20,000 kg of a farm commodity at USD 0.82 per kg for the goods, USD 4,000 sea freight, customs exchange rate 97.28, 15% basic duty, 10% surcharge, 5% sales tax and ₹1,50,000 of port charges:

Goods plus freight (no insurance bill)₹19,84,512.00
Basic Customs Duty @ 15%₹2,97,676.80
Social Welfare Surcharge @ 10%₹29,767.68
Sales tax @ 5% on value and duty₹1,15,597.82
Total import tax₹4,43,042.30
Total cost including port charges₹25,77,554.30
Of which comes back to you₹1,15,597.82
Tax that never comes back₹3,27,444.48

Tax works out at 22.3% of the delivered value, but only 16.5% of it is never returned. Price against the 16.5%.

Questions about import costs

Do these answers apply to my country?
Not directly — they are India’s, which is the chain we have checked line by line. The United States charges 4 levies: HTSUS duty → Section 301 additional duty → Merchandise Processing Fee → Harbor Maintenance Fee, and no separate value-added or goods-and-services tax is charged at the border on top of those. The calculator above already uses your rules; the United States glossary writes them out in plain English.
What value does Indian customs tax?
Your goods, insurance and freight added together and converted to rupees at the exchange rate the government publishes each month (CBIC, the Indian customs board). If you have no insurance bill, customs allows 1.125% of the goods price instead. The old 1% landing charge was dropped in 2017 and is no longer added.
Is the Social Welfare Surcharge charged on the basic duty only?
No. It is 10% of all the customs duties added together — basic duty plus the agriculture and health levies. Working it out on basic duty alone understates what you owe whenever those levies apply.
Can I claim back the sales tax I pay at import?
Yes, if you are registered for GST. The sales tax (IGST) paid at import can be set against the GST you charge on your own sales. Basic duty, the agriculture and health levies and the surcharge cannot, and stay in the cost of the goods.
Which exchange rate should I use — my bank rate or the market rate?
Neither. Customs uses its own rate, published monthly, which differs from both. Use the market rate and the value you work out will not match the one on your customs entry.
What is the difference between total cost and real cost?
Total cost is the taxed value plus every tax plus port and transport charges. Real cost takes off the sales tax you will get back. You need the total in cash on the day the goods land, but you should price against the real cost.