New Customs goods management levies
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. It modernises our goods cost recovery framework, and also makes the way we recover costs fairer for levy payers and for taxpayers. It allows Customs and MPI to recover the costs of managing goods crossing our border.
You can read the Customs and Excise (Goods Management Levies) Order 2025 and the Customs and Excise (Postal Articles) Amendment Regulations 2025.
Why levies are being introduced
- These changes will make our charges fairer for levy payers and for taxpayers.
- By removing cross-subsidies they ensure that levy payers pay for the actual cost of the services they use, rather than indirectly funding services for others.
- By removing taxpayer subsidies, those levy payers who fully pay for their costs will no longer be directly competing with other levy payers who have their costs partly or fully subsidised by taxpayers.
What the key changes are
- Separate levy rates for high value imports and exports by air and sea, reflecting the differences in Customs’ costs
- Charging low value import and export levies on a consignment basis rather than per cargo report.
- New levies for international transhipments, empty sea containers and commercial vessels.
- Removal of Crown subsidies for Customs’ management of low-value goods and international mail, with a new mail levy being introduced.
Helping businesses prepare
Customs undertook an extensive consultation process with industry and stakeholders. Feedback helped to shape the levy design and confirmed strong support for a fairer, more transparent approach.
We’re hosting industry meetings and online sessions to explain the changes and answer questions. Download industry information packs from Customs at Goods Fees – 2026 changes.
For more information, email trade.programme@customs.govt.nz.