From this page, you can access important notices that were issued in 2025.
Some of these notices may contain information that is no longer correct or relevant in the current year. Information within the notices was correct on the date they were issued.
New regulations have been made that give effect to the Customs Goods Management Levies announced in March 2025. The new levy structure will take effect on 1 April 2026.
The annual indexation increase to excise and excise-equivalent duty rates will take place on 1 January 2026.
From 1 January 2026, changes to the Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Goods) Levy Regulations will result in decreased levy rates.
From 13 November 2025, changes to Schedule 2 of the Heavy Engineering Research Levy Act 1978 (the Act) enable the Heavy Engineering Research Levy to be collected on two new tariff code items.
Customs would like to remind travellers that submitting a digital New Zealand Traveller Declaration is free and should be done on the official government website.
Changes to the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 (the GST Act) were made by the Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2025. Those changes came into force on 24 September 2025.
The Working Tariff Document will be updated on 28 August 2025. Printing of the Working Tariff Documents has been delayed to accommodate this update.
New Tariff codes items have been added onto Schedule 2 of the Heavy Engineering Research Levy Act 1978.
The annual adjustment to the excise and excise-equivalent duty rates and levy rates on alcoholic beverages took place 1 July 2025.
The updated Working Tariff Document, which will take effect 1 July 2025, is now available.
The annual adjustment to the excise and excise-equivalent duty rates and levy rates on alcoholic beverages will take place on 1 July 2025.
New Zealand, Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland have signed the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS). Domestic ratification for the Agreement has been completed and it will come into effect 1 July 2025.
The annual indexation increase to excise and excise-equivalent duty rates will take place on 1 January 2025.
Customs is consulting on the proposed topic and scope for its Long-term Insights Briefing (LTIB).
From 1 April 2025, Customs will be implementing changes to the restricted declarant pin process.
New Zealand Customs Service (NZ Customs) has reviewed the treatment of drugs and other material imported solely for the purposes of clinical trials.
Cabinet has approved changes to the fees and levies that the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) charge to recover the costs of managing goods crossing our border.
Information about recent announcements on US tariffs.
The Comptroller of Customs has set new levy rates to apply from 1 December 2024 for each traveller arriving in and departing from New Zealand.
New Zealand Customs has become aware of an administrative issue which resulted in some individuals being charged the Customs portion of the Import Entry Transaction Fee (IETF) in error.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has updated the rules for importing and manufacturing graphic materials marketed at children, such as fingerpaints, crayons, and felt-tip pens, as part of their decision to reduce the lead impurity levels allowed in paints.
On 1 March 2024, a fee for regulated tyres will be implemented under the Waste Minimisation (Tyres) Regulations 2023. Various questions have been asked in the leadup to the implementation date, and this page contains a list of questions that have been considered by the Valuation, Origin and Classification (VOC) team.