When an overseas purchase goes over the duty-free limit, a notice to pay duty and VAT arrives. When it must be paid depends on how the goods were cleared. Article 9(1) of Korea’s Customs Act sets the deadline at 15 days from acceptance of the tax declaration where a tax declaration was made, and 15 days from receipt of the payment notice where customs issued one. Pay late and Article 42 adds a late charge — but if the tax in arrears is under ₩1.5 million, the daily part does not apply, leaving 3% if you also miss the deadline on the payment notice. Enter the base date for the deadline; add the tax and payment date to estimate the late charge.
1. The deadline is 15 days — from the clearance date for a tax declaration (courier imports), or from the day the notice is received for goods customs assesses, such as post (Art. 9(1)). If the deadline is a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday or Labour Day, it moves to the next day (Art. 8(3)).
2. If late — unpaid tax × days × 22/100,000 a day, plus 3% if not paid by the notice deadline (Art. 42(1)2, Decree Art. 39(1)). If the duty in arrears (including domestic taxes) is under ₩1.5 million, there is no daily part (Art. 42(5)).
3. Our example — cleared on 30 November 2026, the deadline is 15 December 2026; with a notice received on 10 December 2026, 25 December falls on a holiday followed by a weekend, so the deadline is 28 December 2026.
Calculator
Updates as you type. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. “15 days from” leaves out the first day (Customs Act Art. 8(2) → Civil Act Art. 157). Only weekends and Korean public holidays, substitute holidays and Labour Day from December 2026 to December 2027 are included — bank and post-office closures set by the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service (Decree Art. 1-4(1)) and system outages (Art. 8(4)) cannot be known in advance and are left out. Defaults are our example. The 10% charge on a short declaration (Art. 42(1)1) and the 40% and 60% charges for wrongdoing are not modelled. Fractions of a won are dropped (our arithmetic).
The provisions — as written
| Provision | What it says | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Customs Act Art. 9(1) | 1. Where a tax declaration under Art. 38(1) is made: within 15 days from acceptance of the tax declaration / 2. Where a payment notice under Art. 39(3) is given: within 15 days from receipt of the notice / 3. Immediate release before declaration: within 15 days from the import declaration | Overseas shopping is usually item 1 (courier) or item 2 (post) |
| Customs Act Art. 9(2) | Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the taxpayer may pay the tax before the import declaration is accepted. | Paying early is allowed |
| Enforcement Rule Art. 9 | Goods on which customs assesses duty: 1. travellers’ and crew’s baggage and goods sent separately 2. postal items (except those under Act Art. 258(2)) … | For goods sent by post, the day the notice arrives is the base |
| Customs Act Art. 8(2), (3) | Periods under this Act are computed under the Civil Act. / Where a deadline falls on any of the following, the next day is the deadline: 1. Saturday and Sunday 2. public holidays and substitute holidays under the Public Holidays Act 3. Labour Day under the Labour Day Act … | 1 May, Labour Day, also moves it |
| Customs Act Art. 8(3)4, (4) · Decree Art. 1-4 | 4. Other days set by Presidential Decree / “Days set by Presidential Decree” means days the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service sets because normal payment of duty is difficult owing to closure of financial institutions (limited to those acting as Bank of Korea treasury agencies and treasury receiving agencies) or post offices, or other unavoidable reasons. / Where the national customs information system … stops and filing or payment … cannot be made by the deadline, the day after the system is restored is the deadline. | Not fixed in the calendar in advance — not in the calculator |
| Customs Act Art. 42(5) | Where the duty in arrears (including domestic taxes collected by customs) is less than ₩1.5 million, the charges under paragraph 1, item 2(a) and paragraph 3, item 2(a) do not apply. | Only the daily part goes; the 3% stays |
Article 42(1) charges two amounts when unpaid duty is collected after the statutory deadline. Item 2(a) is unpaid tax × the period from the day after the statutory deadline to the payment date × the rate set by Presidential Decree, and that period leaves out the time from the notice date to the deadline on the notice. Decree Art. 39(1) sets the rate at 22/100,000 a day. Item 2(b) is 3/100 of the tax not paid by the deadline on the payment notice, only where it is not paid in full by then. Paragraph 4 caps the period from the day after the notice deadline to payment at 5 years.
How the calculator works — our reading
| Line | Arithmetic | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | base date + 15 days, moved past weekends, holidays and Labour Day | First day left out (Civil Act Art. 157) |
| Days counted | day after the deadline to payment, less notice date to notice deadline | Days beyond 5 years after the notice deadline also left out |
| Daily charge | tax × days × 22 ÷ 100,000 | Nil if the tax is under ₩1.5 million |
| 3% charge | tax × 3% if paid after the notice deadline | Only when a notice deadline is entered |
Four cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Courier, cleared 2026-11-30 | Deadline 2026-12-15 (Tue) | The 15th day counting from 1 December |
| Post, notice received 2026-12-10 | 12-25 (holiday) → 12-26 (Sat) → 12-27 (Sun) → deadline 2026-12-28 (Mon) | Three days later |
| Courier, cleared 2027-04-16 | 05-01 (Labour Day, Sat) → 05-02 (Sun) → 05-03 (substitute holiday) → deadline 2027-05-04 (Tue) | Art. 8(3)3, Labour Day |
| Tax ₩71,064, deadline 12-15, notice 12-28 with notice deadline 2027-01-07, paid 2027-01-20 | Daily part nil (under ₩1.5 million) + 3% ₩2,131 | 71,064 × 3% = 2,131.92 → fraction dropped |
From ₩1.5 million the daily part applies. Say the tax is ₩2,000,000, the deadline 15 December 2026, a notice on 28 December 2026 with a notice deadline of 7 January 2027, and payment on 20 January 2027: 36 days from the day after the deadline to payment, less the 11 days from notice to notice deadline, gives 25 days, a daily part of 2,000,000 × 25 × 22 ÷ 100,000 = ₩11,000, a 3% part of ₩60,000, ₩71,000 in all (our example). Paid on 14 January 2027 with no notice, only 30 days’ worth, ₩13,200, applies.
Not missing the deadline
- Which day is the clearance date — the “acceptance date” in the courier’s or broker’s notice is the base, not the day the parcel arrives.
- You may pay early — Art. 9(2) allows payment before clearance.
- If something stops you paying — Art. 10 lets customs extend a deadline by up to 1 year where a natural disaster or another reason set by Presidential Decree makes payment impossible.
Read next
- How much the tax is — overseas shopping duty and VAT calculator.
- On a return — return customs refund calculator.
- The Civil Act period rules — legal period calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Find the clearance date or notice date on the payment notice
- ☐ If day 15 is a weekend or holiday, move to the next working day
- ☐ If a payment notice came, check its own deadline
- ☐ From ₩1.5 million, remember each late day adds to the charge
Questions that remain
It came by courier but I received a payment notice. Which deadline applies?
Art. 9(1) separates a tax declaration from a payment notice. If customs sent a notice to collect after the statutory deadline (item 1) passed, the time from the notice date to the notice deadline is left out of the daily count, and missing the notice deadline adds 3% (Art. 42(1)2). That is what the notice fields in the calculator are for.
Is the ₩1.5 million duty only, or duty plus VAT?
Art. 42(5) says “duty in arrears (including domestic taxes collected by customs)”. The calculator asks for duty and VAT together.
Can I put the deadline off if I cannot pay in time?
Customs Act Art. 10 lets the head of customs extend a deadline by up to one year where payment by the deadline is found impossible because of a natural disaster or other reasons set by presidential decree (security may be required). Decree Art. 2(1) lists: serious loss of property from war, fire or other disaster or theft; significant loss in business; a business in serious crisis; and reasons the head of customs finds equivalent. An application stating the tax, declaration date and number, goods and the reason and period must reach customs before the deadline ends (para. 3), and customs issues a payment notice when it extends (para. 4). If the extended deadline is missed the extension can be withdrawn, with a new notice giving up to 15 days (paras. 6 and 7).
Can monthly payment be used for online shopping?
Monthly payment under Customs Act Art. 9(3) needs customs approval under Decree Art. 1-5, applied for with records of tax payment and import and export performance; approval lasts until the last day of the month containing the day two years after approval, and can be withdrawn if duty is not paid within 15 days after a deadline (para. 4, item 1). As a scheme for businesses with an import record, we do not read it as a route for a single personal order (our reading — the Commissioner’s approval criteria were not read).
What if the calculator’s dates differ from the customs notice?
Follow the dates on the notice or e-notice. The calculator is our estimate showing the statutory arithmetic.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Customs Act Arts. 8, 9, 10, 38, 39 and 42 — original (current text, in force 2 October 2026, Act No. 21490; checked 10 November 2026). Period and deadline computation, 15-day deadline, extension, declaration and assessment, late charges (under ₩1.5 million excluded, 5-year cap).
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Customs Act Arts. 1-4, 1-5, 2 and 39 — original (in force 1 July 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36140; checked 10 November 2026, Arts. 1-4, 1-5 and 2 read again on 10 November). Days set by the Commissioner and system outages, monthly-payment approval, extension reasons and application, late-charge rate 22/100,000 a day.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act Art. 9 — original (in force 31 July 2026, Ordinance No. 42; checked 10 November 2026). Goods assessed by customs (baggage, post and others).
- Korea Law Information Center — Civil Act Arts. 157, 159 and 161 — original (in force 17 March 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 10 November 2026). First day excluded, period ends at the end of the last day, next day if it is a Saturday or holiday.
- Not read. The Commissioner’s approval criteria for monthly payment, the days the Commissioner has actually set as difficult for payment, the Commissioner’s standard for extensions (Decree Art. 2(2)), the notice procedure in the decree, and holidays from 2028.
- What we added. The defaults and examples, dropping fractions of a won, reading the tax field as duty plus VAT, and the “worth noting” column.
Where to check further
- Korea Customs Service UNI-PASS — the clearance date and tax due.
- Your courier or customs broker — the payment notice and the actual deadline.
Written on 10 November 2026. The provisions are reproduced from the originals; the explanations and arithmetic are ours.
