customs duty
1
3.5
- noun
- /ˈkʌstəmz ˈdjuːti/
:
derecho de aduana
- Before traveling, make sure to check if there are any customs duties on the items you plan to bring back.
- pay customs duty
- exempt from customs duties
Examples
-
The EC cannot borrow or run a deficit, and its revenues largely come from value-added taxes and customs duties.
Academic text (1992) -
Goods produced and imported by a foreign investor who invested more than $50 million are exempt from customs duties.
Academic text (2016) -
Russian vessels had to pay customs duties for new equipment, which were not allowed to include nuclear weapons for fleet aircraft.
Academic text (2004) -
Almost all capital goods and raw materials can be imported without a license on payment of customs duties.
Academic text (1994) -
A free trade zone among the states was created by dismantling customs duties and other barriers that would frustrate the exchange of goods and services.
Academic text (2004) -
Various types of new technological equipment are exempt from customs duties and value-added taxation (VAT).
Academic text (2016) -
In Brazil, for example, President Collor has instituted economic reforms to eliminate import restrictions gradually and reduce customs duties, thereby increasing market competition.
Academic text (1990) -
Cross-border smuggling circumvents Pakistan's customs duties and sales tax, with consequent impacts on revenue collection and the undercutting of local producers.
Academic text (2004) -
The company was surprised by the high customs duty on the electronics they imported.
-
Importing luxury goods often incurs a significant customs duty that affects the final price.
Synonyms
270
5.6
A tax on goods brought into or sent out of a country
131
7.8
Money a government charges on goods brought into a country
71
3.0
A tax you pay on goods brought into or sent out of a country
1
4.1
A tax the government charges on goods brought into a country
1
9.6
A tax on goods brought into a country
1
6.0
A tax on imports to stop them being sold for less than their normal price
1
2.8
A tax the government charges on goods brought into or taken out of a country
1
8.6
A tax on imported goods to reduce unfair government help to foreign companies
A tax on goods brought into a country mainly to raise government money
A tax on cheap imported goods to protect local businesses
A tax paid when goods enter a town or city
How High
1
3.5
- Formal
73
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituent words directly relate to taxes/charges on traded goods, so combining 'customs' (border/tariff authority or charges) with 'duty' (a government tax) yields the meaning 'tax on imported/exported goods'. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows straightforward noun + noun semantic composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Customs duty comes from the scene at a port where customs officers stopped goods and collected a duty, a required payment. So, it means a 'tax' on goods that enter or leave a country.