Section 321 De Minimis: How to Import Under $800 Duty-Free

Every day, millions of small packages enter the United States without paying a cent in duties or taxes. They clear customs in seconds with almost no paperwork. The mechanism behind this is Section 321 of the Tariff Act — the de minimis provision that exempts shipments valued at USD 800 or less from duties and formal entry requirements. For e-commerce sellers and small importers, it has been a game-changer. But the rules are changing fast.

What is Section 321 de minimis?

Section 321 (19 U.S.C. § 1321) authorizes CBP to admit articles free of duty and tax when the aggregate fair retail value of all articles imported by one person on one day does not exceed USD 800. The provision exists to reduce administrative burden — it costs the government more to collect small amounts of duty than the revenue is worth.

Key parameters:

• Threshold: USD 800 fair retail value (raised from USD 200 in 2016)
• Frequency: One clearance per person, per day, from the same consignor
• Documentation: Informal entry or no entry required (Type 86 entry for tracked clearance)
• Duties and taxes: Zero — no duty, no MPF, no HMF

How Section 321 works in practice

The typical Section 321 flow:

1. A package valued at USD 800 or less ships from overseas to a US recipient
2. The carrier (FedEx, UPS, DHL, or a consolidator) files a Section 321 entry with CBP electronically
3. CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system processes the entry
4. If no flags are raised, the package is released — often within minutes
5. No duty, no Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF), no Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF)

Compare this to a formal entry (shipments over USD 2,500 or requiring a customs bond), which requires an entry summary, duty payment, and often takes days to clear.

Who uses Section 321?

Section 321 has become critical for several business models:

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce

Platforms like Shein, Temu, and AliExpress ship individual orders directly from overseas warehouses to US consumers. Each package is under USD 800, so no duties are owed. This model exploded after the threshold was raised to USD 800 in 2016.

Small business importers

Entrepreneurs sourcing samples, small inventory batches, or components can receive goods duty-free if each shipment stays under the threshold.

Returns and replacements

Companies shipping replacement parts or handling cross-border returns often use Section 321 for individual items.

The scale of Section 321

The numbers tell the story:

• 2016: ~340 million Section 321 shipments entered the US
• 2023: Over 1 billion Section 321 shipments (roughly 4 million per day)
• 2024-2025: Estimated 1.3+ billion annually

This volume — and the difficulty of inspecting so many packages — is exactly why regulators are tightening the rules.

2025-2026 policy changes: What is different now

The de minimis landscape has shifted dramatically. Here are the major changes:

China-origin goods restricted

The most significant change: goods subject to Section 301 tariffs (covering the vast majority of Chinese-origin products) lost Section 321 eligibility. This means:

• Packages from China valued under USD 800 now owe duties if the goods are covered by Section 301
• Platforms like Shein and Temu must either pre-pay duties or restructure their logistics
• Goods transshipped through third countries but originating in China are also affected (country of origin, not country of shipment, determines eligibility)

Enhanced data requirements

CBP now requires more information for Section 321 entries:

• 10-digit HTS classification (previously not required for de minimis)
• Country of origin declaration
• Seller/shipper information
• Product description with enough detail for risk assessment

This makes it harder to slip restricted goods through as generic "merchandise."

Type 86 entry formalization

The Type 86 entry — created specifically for Section 321 shipments that need Partner Government Agency (PGA) data — is now more widely required. It provides a middle ground between informal entry and full formal entry.

Eligibility rules: What qualifies for Section 321

To use Section 321, your shipment must meet ALL of these criteria:

Requirement	Details
Value	Fair retail value ≤ USD 800 (including the item, but not shipping/insurance)
Frequency	One clearance per person per day from the same consignor
Recipient	Must be consigned to a single US person or address
Origin	Not subject to trade remedy duties (AD/CVD) or restricted tariff actions
Product type	Not in an excluded category (alcohol, tobacco, certain textiles)
Intent	Not structured to evade duties (no splitting larger orders into multiple packages)

What is excluded from Section 321?

These goods cannot use de minimis treatment regardless of value:

• Goods subject to antidumping or countervailing duties — AD/CVD always applies
• Goods under Section 301 tariffs (most China-origin products as of 2025)
• Goods under Section 201 tariffs (solar panels, washing machines)
• Alcohol and tobacco — subject to TTB regulations regardless of value
• Certain textiles and apparel — quota-class merchandise
• Goods requiring formal entry — some FDA, USDA, and EPA-regulated items

Section 321 vs formal entry: Cost comparison

Here is what you save (or do not save) with Section 321:

Cost element	Section 321	Formal entry
Import duty	$0	Varies (0-25%+ of value)
Merchandise Processing Fee	$0	0.3464% (min $31.67)
Harbor Maintenance Fee	$0	0.125% (ocean shipments)
Customs bond	Not required	Required (over $2,500)
Broker fees	Usually $0-5	$50-150+ per entry
Clearance time	Minutes to hours	1-5 business days

For a USD 500 shipment with a 10% duty rate, Section 321 saves approximately USD 85 (USD 50 duty + USD 31.67 MPF + broker fees).

Strategies for legitimate Section 321 use

For e-commerce sellers

• Direct ship from non-restricted origins: If your products come from Vietnam, India, or other countries not subject to Section 301, individual orders under USD 800 still qualify
• Use bonded warehouses for larger inventory: Bulk ship to a US warehouse (paying duties once), then fulfill domestically — more predictable than relying on de minimis for each order
• Hybrid model: Use Section 321 for low-value items and formal entry for high-value inventory

For sample importers

• Request suppliers ship samples individually (one per day) to stay under the threshold legitimately
• Keep records of each shipment's value in case CBP audits

For Amazon FBA sellers

Section 321 generally does not work for Amazon FBA inventory shipments because:

• FBA shipments are typically bulk (well over USD 800)
• Even if you split them, CBP considers the total order value
• Amazon requires formal entry documentation for FBA inventory

Section 321 is better suited for merchant-fulfilled orders shipped directly to individual customers.

Common mistakes and compliance risks

Structuring (splitting shipments)

The biggest compliance risk. Structuring means intentionally breaking a larger shipment into multiple packages to stay under USD 800 each. Examples:

• Ordering USD 2,000 of goods and asking the supplier to ship in three separate packages
• Having the same item shipped to the same address on consecutive days from the same seller
• Using multiple names/addresses to receive parts of the same order

CBP actively monitors for structuring patterns. Penalties include:

• Seizure of goods
• Civil penalties (up to 4x the unpaid duties)
• Loss of Section 321 privileges
• Criminal prosecution in egregious cases

Misrepresenting country of origin

Shipping China-origin goods through a third country (like Malaysia or Thailand) does not change the country of origin. If the goods were manufactured in China, they are China-origin regardless of where they shipped from. CBP uses intelligence and data analytics to identify transshipment schemes.

Undervaluing goods

Declaring a USD 1,200 item as USD 750 to qualify for de minimis is fraud. CBP can verify values through commercial databases, marketplace listings, and supplier records.

How to calculate if you qualify

The de minimis value is based on fair retail value in the country of shipment:

1. Take the price you paid for the goods (transaction value)
2. Do NOT include international shipping or insurance costs
3. Do NOT include domestic shipping costs
4. DO include the value of assists (molds, tooling provided to the manufacturer) if applicable

If the total is USD 800 or less → eligible for Section 321 (assuming no other exclusions apply).

Use our Import Duty Calculator to see what you would owe if your shipment exceeds the threshold.

The future of de minimis

Section 321 is under intense political and regulatory scrutiny. Expect continued changes:

• Further origin restrictions: Other countries with trade tensions may lose de minimis eligibility
• Threshold reduction proposals: Some legislators have proposed lowering the threshold back to USD 200 or even USD 100
• Mandatory data filing: All Section 321 shipments may eventually require the same data as formal entries
• Product-specific exclusions: More product categories may be carved out

For importers relying heavily on Section 321, the strategic move is to build flexibility into your supply chain now — do not build a business model that collapses if the threshold drops or more origins are restricted.

Key takeaways

• Section 321 exempts shipments ≤ USD 800 from duties, taxes, and formal entry requirements
• China-origin goods subject to Section 301 tariffs are no longer eligible (as of 2025)
• One clearance per person, per day, from the same shipper
• Never structure (split) shipments to stay under the threshold — penalties are severe
• The rules are tightening — build supply chain flexibility now
• For bulk imports, formal entry with a customs bond is the correct path