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Importing – Bringing goods into the Cook Islands

Importing is the process of receiving or bringing in goods from overseas for various purposes.

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Individuals, various organisations, businesses and or government agencies receive imported goods.

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All imported goods arriving via sea freight, airfreight, parcel post or passenger carried must be cleared through Customs unless otherwise advised.

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Imported goods can be cleared prior to or upon arrival by the submission of an import entry or declaration through the services of a licensed Customs Brokers here in the Cook Islands or a Customs Declarant.

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If unsure whether your goods require Customs clearance, please contact us:

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Cook Islands Customs Service

Phone: +(682) 29510

Email: customs.info@cookislands.gov.ck

Certain imported goods exempt from entry

Regulation 34 of the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Regulations 2012 states, The following goods or classes of goods are exempt from the requirements of an Import entry:

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  • Any goods not unloaded in the Cook Islands that are destined for a point outside the Cook Islands.

  • Any craft, not being owned or registered in the Cook Islands, that arrives in the Cook Islands from a foreign port or airport as part of an international voyage.

  • Any craft that arrives solely for repair during the course of an international voyage.

  • A military craft forming a part of the armed services of any foreign country.

  • Any Cook Islands owned or registered craft, not being imported as cargo that has previously been entered for home consumption.

  • Any craft built in the Cook Islands, not being imported as cargo that has not previously been entered for export.

  • Any stores on board crafts that is declared on a stores list and the stores must be kept in a secure area.

Import of Prohibited and Restricted Goods

Some goods are prohibited, and approval cannot be given to import them into the country. Other goods will require approval to import. Approval must be given before goods are brought into the country.

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Customs Controlled Area (CCA)

The Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2012 (‘CRBP Act’) and the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Regulations 2012 (‘the CRBP Regulations’) - require that areas used for certain specified purposes, including the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and sugary drinks, must be licensed as Customs Controlled Areas (‘CCAs’).

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WHAT KIND OF AREAS NEED TO BE LICENSED AS CCAS?

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Any areas that are used for:

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  • A. The manufacture of excisable goods including alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and sugary drinks (for example, premises used to manufacture beer or soft drinks); or

  • B. the storage of imported goods or excisable goods pending the sale of those goods on a duty-free basis (for example, businesses selling duty-free goods to persons arriving into and departing from the Cook Islands); or

  • C. the deposit, keeping, or securing of imported or excisable goods, without payment of duty, pending export to another country (for example, areas used to temporarily store goods that have been imported into the Cook Islands but are being transshipped to another country); or

  • D. the processing of craft arriving in or departing from Cook Islands (for example, airports) or the loading /unloading of goods onto or from such craft (for example, areas used to unload freight from airplanes and ships).

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WHAT ARE EXCISABLE GOODS?

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Excise duty is applied to locally manufactured goods that are subject to Customs Import Duty (for example, locally manufactured alcohol and sugary drinks). Goods subject to excise duty are set out in Chapter 99 of Schedule 1 to the Customs Tariff Act 2012.

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These goods include:

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  • alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, cider and spirits

  • ethyl alcohol;

  • sugary drinks including soft drinks and sports drinks;

  • tobacco products including cigarettes; and

  • petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.

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HOW DO I OBTAIN A LICENCE FOR A CCA?

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The owner or occupier of, or person operating in, the area, may lodge an application for a CCA license with your nearest Customs office.

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To apply, must complete a copy of the Cook Islands Customs Service Form 1: Application for CCA and submit it to Customs. The application must include a plan in the form of a diagrammatic layout of the area to be licensed, which should include:

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  • All exit and entry points.

  • Manufacturing area as well as storage area of excisable goods.

  • Security measures.

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Must also provide details of land section, security measures and a list of personnel who will have access to CCA Area.

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GRANT OR REFUSAL OF CCA LICENCE

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Customs will consider the application and may request further information from the applicant. After considering the application Customs may grant or refuse the application. If the application is refused Customs will advise the reasons for the refusal. CCA licences are subject to the terms, conditions and restrictions outlined in the procedure statement.

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PROCEDURE STATEMENT FOR CCA LICENCES

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Customs will issue a procedure statement to be signed by the CCA licensee. The procedure statement will detail the terms, conditions, restrictions and operating procedures that apply to the CCA licence.

The contents of the procedure statement will be reviewed by Customs from time to time.

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FEES PAYABLE

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CCAs used for the manufacture of excisable goods (for example, premises used to manufacture beer or soft drinks):

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  1. $200 for new licence; and

  2. $100 for annual renewal.

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CCAs used for the deposit, keeping or securing of imported goods or excisable goods without payment of duty pending export to another country (for example, areas used to temporarily store goods that have been imported into the Cook Islands but are being transshipped to another country:

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  • A. $500 for new licence; and

  • B. $400 for annual renewal.

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CCAs used for the storage of imported goods or excisable goods pending the sale of those goods on a duty-free basis (for example, businesses selling duty-free goods to persons arriving into and departing from the Cook Islands):

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  • A. $500 for new licence; and

  • B. $400 for annual renewal.

Customs Exchange Rate

Customs exchange rate may differ slightly from the currency rates published by overseas trading banks. The exchange rate is set for a two-week period. The Customs Value of imported goods must be converted to New Zealand Dollar currency (NZD). The Customs Value, or the value for duty of imported goods is used to calculate Customs import charges. The Cook Islands uses the New Zealand Customs Service Exchange Rates.

Customs Valuation – Customs Import Value

You must declare a Customs value on anything you import into the Cook Islands.

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Customs value of imported items

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This is detailed in Schedule 2 of the Cook Islands Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2012.  If you are an online shopper, the Customs value is what you paid for an item. If you are importing items for business or other reasons, determining the items’ Customs value can be complicated. There are 6 methods for determining Customs value. You must use them in strict hierarchical order.

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Method 1 - transaction value

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The Customs value of imported goods must be their transaction value, that is the price paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the Cook Islands, the transaction value is the primary method. You should use this method first, whenever possible.

Customs value also includes:

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  • commissions and brokerage fees, except buying commissions;

  • packing and container costs and charges;

  • the value of any items or services you supplied free – or at reduced cost – to the seller to get the product made or sold;

  • royalties and license fees;

  • any proceeds from resale, disposal or use that you must then pay to the seller;

  • the value of any materials, parts, and services used to repair or refurbish the item before importing it;

  • transportation and shipping costs, including loading/unloading and handling charges, before the item leaves the country you’re exporting from.

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You can deduct the following charges – if you paid them, and they are clearly separated from the price of your item(s):

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  • transport and insurance costs, including loading/unloading and handling charges, after the item leaves its country of export;

  • any (reasonable) costs related to constructing, maintaining or getting technical help with the item when it arrives in the Cook Islands;

  • any (reasonable) costs for transportation or insurance of the item(s) within Cook Islands;

  • any local Customs duties or other taxes.

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To use the transaction value method:

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  • you must have evidence of a sale specifically for export to, i.e., a commercial invoice, contract or purchase orders;

  • any relationship between the buyer and seller mustn’t have affected the item’s price;

  • the item’s price or sale mustn’t be subject to any condition or consideration where a value can’t be determined;

  • there mustn’t be any restrictions in the sale about how the buyer will dispose of or use the item, except for those:

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o imposed by law;

o that limit where the item can be sold;

o that don’t have a substantial effect on the item’s value.

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Examples of items where you can’t use the transaction value method include:

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  • gifts;

  • free samples;

  • anything on consignment;

  • anything imported by a company branch that isn’t a separate legal entity to the seller;

  • Items that were imported under a hire or leasing contract.

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Other valuation methods

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If you can’t use the transaction value method, you should use the first possible method of the following five.

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Method 2 – transaction value of identical goods (“identical goods method”)

Based on the transaction value of identical items brought into the Cook Islands at the same time (or nearly). You must have proof of the identical items’ value.

 

Method 3 – transaction value of similar goods (“similar goods method”)

Based on the transaction value of similar items brought into the Cook Islands at the same time (or nearly). You must have proof of the similar items’ value.

 

Method 4 – deductive value

Applies if the imported goods are sold in the Cook Islands within 90 days of arriving in the country. The resale price of the item in the Cook Islands is reduced to the Customs value if the item had initially been sold for export to the Cook Islands.

 

Method 5 - computed value

Based on the production cost of the imported goods, plus an amount for profit and general expenses. This method is generally restricted to cases where you have access to the producer’s factory costs and profit margins. You must get our approval first if you want to use this method.

 

Method 6 - residual basis of valuation

If you cannot use any of the methods above, you can interpret – within reason – one of them to get the Customs value of an item. Depending on the items, how they are imported and the documents you have, you might be able to determine their Customs value based on:

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  • the valid list price of the items. “list price” is what the seller in the country of export would charge a buyer in the Cook Islands;

  • a valuation from an independent assessor.

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The insurance value of an item is not acceptable for determining residual value.

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Methods you CANNOT USE

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You cannot determine a Customs value by choosing:

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  • the selling price of items made in the Cook Islands;

  • a system which looks for the higher of 2 alternative values;

  • the item’s price on the domestic market, in the country you exported from;

  • the item’s production cost(s), other than using production values already worked out for identical or similar items;

  • the sale price of the item to a country other than the Cook Islands;

  • minimum Customs values;

  • arbitrary or made-up values

Import Payments – How to pay your import duties

Customs payments of import duties as well as other Customs charges can be made directly by cash, cheque or Eftpos at the main office, Customs House.

 

For Online payment and banking options - Click here:

Customs Deferred Payment Facility

The deferred payment facility allows for the payment defer of Customs charges. This payment facility is best suited for regular importers in larger quantities within a month period.

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You can:

  • defer paying Customs charges for a month;

  • pay in all Customs charges with a single payment;

  • clear and receive cargo faster instead of waiting for payments to be made first.

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Listed requirements when applying for the Customs Deferred Payment Facility:

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All documents listed above must be emailed to Customs for approval processing.

Customs Import/Application Forms

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