Media Release - Karere Uira

The Cook Islands Customs Service advises the public, importers and all stakeholders that the HS2022 Tariff has been approved by the Executive Council and came into effect on 10 December 2025. The tariff aligns with international trade standards and includes updated duty rates and concessions. Key Update: Tobacco products – Excise duty rates have been amended to provide for an annual increase of $125.50 per 1,000 cigarettes or per kilogram of tobacco for the first three years,

Date: Friday 16 August “Just over 2kg of cannabis has been seized in Aitutaki, in what Police are praising as a well-executed operation by Cook Islands Customs Service. The discovery of the cannabis was made during a search on Wednesday 7 August by Customs at the port in Arutanga, concealed in cargo from New Zealand. Police were notified of the seizure and Rarotonga Detectives were dispatched to the island on Thursday with search warrants. Commander of CIB Detective I

The RMD - Cook Islands Customs Service (CICS) successfully completed a 4-day declarant training course with 19 successful participants. The training was held from 11-14 June 2024 at the Edgewater Resort and was made possible by funding from the PACER Plus Implementation Unit. The declarant training covered five main modules, Customs Legal Environment, Rules of Origin (PACER Plus Trade Agreement), Customs Tariff, Customs Valuation and the use of the current CICS automated syst

The Cook Islands Customs Service is seeking expressions of interest to participate in the Customs Declarant and Broker Course to be held over a 4 day period from Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th of June, 9am – 3pm (dependent on numbers). The course will be hosted by the Cook Islands Customs Service and is targeted at businesses that regularly import or export goods, or broker companies, who wish to register as a user of the Customs automated system (ASYCUDA World) in order to c

We wish to remind all visitors that it is mandatory for ALL marine craft (including yachts) visiting the Cook Islands to arrive at and depart from a designated Customs port. Customs, Immigration, Bio-Security and Te Marae Ora (Health) formalities must be completed at these ports before any further travel is undertaken in the Cook Islands. Any failure to comply with these regulations, is an offence under the Customs Revenue and Border Protection Act 2012. DESIGNATED CUSTOMS

To all Customs Clients – Importers, declarants and brokers. Please be advised that fruit drinks consisting of a quantity of fruit juice, water and other ingredients are beverages of tariff heading 22.02, not fruit juices of tariff heading 2009. We base this advice on the World Customs Organisation Customs Tariff Explanatory Notes. The Customs Tariff Explanatory Notes for heading 2009 state: ‘the addition of water to a fruit juice, or the addition to a concentrated juice of

Starlink kits are subject to the same rules as all imports to the Cook Islands. There is no import duty payable on the kits, but they are subject to 15% VAT on importation. If imported through normal channels such as mail, courier or freight systems importers will pay 15% VAT on the price of the kits plus the costs of bringing them to the Cook Islands. There will also be associated costs such as import entry fees and Customs Brokers charges which will vary according to tr

This is a reminder to all our CCA License Holders for the manufacture of excisable goods. As of 1 January 2024, all excise declarations are to be lodged into the ASYCUDA World (AW) system. Please note that January excise declarations and payments are due by the 20 February 2024. Payments will not be accepted without an ED4 excise declaration in the ASYCUDA system. This is a start of a new system for excise declarations and payments. These arrangements will be enforced