LandedPulseImport duty and landed cost, explained
Short, direct answers to the questions procurement, logistics and finance teams ask when a clearance costs more than the quotation said it would.
Deterministic maths
How is landed cost calculated?
Landed cost is built in a fixed order: customs value first, then duty on that value, then any applicable surcharge, then tax over everything combined. Each step is a separate line in the report, so the total can be reproduced by hand.
Does an AI model calculate the duty rate?
No. Every amount is calculated from published tariff rules, so identical inputs always return identical figures. AI is used only to write the plain-language risk commentary shown beside the numbers, and it can never change a rate or a total.
Tariffs & surcharges
Why does a rate come back as "not covered"?
A rate is marked not covered when it cannot be expressed unambiguously as a single ad valorem percentage — specific duties charged per unit, compound rates, tariff-rate quotas and preference-dependent rates all fall into this class. We decline rather than approximate.
What is a Section 301 tariff?
Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974 lets the United States impose additional duties in response to trade practices it has found unfair. The resulting surcharges apply on top of the normal column 1 rate, commonly at 25% ad valorem, and are assessed at entry alongside the base duty.
What is the difference between the nominal and the effective rate?
The nominal rate is the percentage printed in the tariff schedule against a heading. The effective rate is what the shipment actually costs as a proportion of goods value once the duty base, surcharges and taxes are applied — it is almost always higher.
How is VAT applied to an import?
Import VAT is calculated over the composed base — goods value, freight, insurance, duty and any surcharge together — not over the invoice price. That is why the same goods cost more in tax when imported than when bought domestically.
Credits & billing
How do calculation credits work?
One completed calculation consumes one credit. Queries that fail validation or return no covered rate do not consume anything, and credits bought outright do not expire.
Can I cancel Pro Pass at any time?
Yes. Cancellation is self-serve from the billing portal, carries no penalty, and takes effect at the end of the cycle already paid for. Credits granted for that cycle stay usable until it ends.
Run the numbers on your own shipment
Enter an HS code, an origin and a destination and get the full duty and VAT breakdown, with surcharge exposure flagged and the audit trail attached.
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