Anyone who shops from overseas sites into Korea knows the “150 dollars, 200 from the US” rule. Yet stories keep coming of duty on a 199-dollar order, or of two separate orders taxed together. That is because what the 150 dollars measures, which goods drop out of the 200-dollar concession and when orders are combined each sit in a different rule. We read the Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act and two Korea Customs Service notices as written.
1. The 150 dollars is “the goods price without freight.” Rule article 45 exempts personal-use goods whose goods price — the customs value minus freight and the like — is 150 dollars or less. Customs says this includes taxes, inland freight and insurance within the sending country.
2. The US 200 dollars is the “list clearance” threshold. Article 9 of the express-cargo notice sets list clearance at 150 dollars (200 dollars for goods under the Korea–US FTA concession), and 12 categories including medicines, health supplements, food and alcohol are excluded from it.
3. Combining means “same seller, same purchase date.” Article 68 of the import clearance notice combines a single waybill that was split, and goods bought from the same overseas supplier on the same date but brought in separately.
150 dollars of what?
Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act, article 45 (small-value goods exempt from duty) (2) Goods exempt from duty under article 94, item 4 of the Act are as follows: 1. goods whose goods price (the customs value determined under articles 30 to 35 of the Act minus the amount under the main text of article 30(1)6 …) is 150 US dollars or less and which are recognised as for personal use; however, goods imported repeatedly or in split lots that meet criteria set by the Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service are excluded.
Article 30(1)6 of the Customs Act covers freight, insurance and similar costs up to the port of import. So the threshold is not your total payment but the amount without international shipping. The Korea Customs Service help centre adds that the list-clearance amount includes, with the goods price, taxes, inland freight and insurance “within the sending country”. If a US store added sales tax or local shipping, the amount measured rises accordingly.
The US 200 dollars — the door called list clearance
Article 9 of the Notice on Import Clearance of Express Cargo splits express shipments three ways by value.
| Goods price | Clearance | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 150 dollars or less (200 dollars for Korea–US FTA concession goods) | List clearance | The courier’s manifest replaces an import declaration |
| Above that, up to 2,000 dollars | Simplified declaration | Import declaration by a simplified method |
| Over 2,000 dollars | Full declaration | Import declaration under article 241(1) of the Act |
Customs describes list clearance as a system in which the import declaration is waived and no customs duty or VAT is charged, with a threshold of “150 dollars (200 dollars from the US) or less.” The familiar “200 dollars duty-free from the US” is about passing through this door.
The 12 categories excluded from the concession
Article 9(2) of the same notice requires an import declaration, whatever the value, for the goods excluded from list clearance in Annex 1.
- Medicines
- Herbal medicine materials
- Wildlife products
- Agricultural, livestock and fishery goods subject to quarantine
- Health functional foods (supplements)
- Goods suspected of infringing intellectual property
- Food, alcohol and tobacco
- Cosmetics (only functional, placenta- or steroid-containing, or of unknown ingredients)
- Goods whose waybill details were added by a manifest correction
- Goods with inaccurate name, price or recipient details
- Certain broadcasting and communications equipment under the Radio Waves Act decree
- Any other goods the customs office finds unsuitable for list clearance
Customs says that once list clearance is excluded an import declaration is needed, so duty and VAT are charged if the goods price exceeds 150 dollars. And if excluded goods are mixed into one parcel, the whole shipment loses list clearance. In other words, 180 dollars of supplements from the US are judged against 150 dollars, not the 200-dollar concession.
Quantity limits too — 6 bottles of supplements
It is not only about value. Annex 11, to which article 67 of the Notice on Import Clearance points, sets the quantity accepted as personal use by item.
| Item | Duty-free range | Annex note (gist) |
|---|---|---|
| Health functional foods | 6 bottles in total | Beyond that, a reasonable amount backed by a Korean doctor’s opinion |
| Medicines | 6 bottles in total | Over 6 bottles, 3 months’ dosage |
| Alcohol | 1 bottle (1 litre or less) | Liquor tax and education tax still apply |
| Perfume | 60ml | Other units converted to ml |
| Cigarettes | 200 sticks | Individual consumption and tobacco taxes apply |
The table reproduces part of Annex 11. The annex also covers farm and fishery goods (sesame oil and honey 5kg each, for example), herbal materials and medicines open to misuse (only the quantity on a Korean prescription), and adds that goods restricted by other laws may be refused even within the duty-free range.
Combining — “bought the same day,” not “arrived the same day”
Notice on Import Clearance, article 68 (criteria for combined taxation) Under the proviso to Rule article 45(2)1, where any of the following applies and the combined goods price exceeds the criteria in article 67, the customs office shall exclude the goods from exemption and tax them together: 1. goods arriving on a single bill of lading or air waybill that are split to fit the exemption; 2. <deleted>; 3. goods bought from the same overseas supplier on the same date that are brought in split to fit the exemption.
Two grounds for combining remain in the text: a split waybill, and items bought from the same seller on the same day brought in separately. Goods from different stores that happen to arrive on the same day are not in the wording of either item. When goods are combined, express cargo whose total exceeds 150 dollars loses list clearance and goes through a full declaration (article 69).
Four cases to check against
| Case (example) | Reading of the rules | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| US store trainers 180 dollars + international shipping 25 dollars | Goods price 180 ≤ 200 → list clearance | Rule art. 45 · express notice art. 9 |
| US store supplements, 4 bottles, 180 dollars | Supplements excluded from list clearance → over 150, so duty and VAT | Express notice Annex 1 · Customs guidance |
| Two 90-dollar orders from the same seller on the same day | Total 180 > 150 → combined taxation | Import notice art. 68 item 3 |
| 90 dollars each from two sellers, arriving the same day | Neither item of art. 68 applies → judged separately | Import notice art. 68 |
Amounts and items are examples. The first row assumes the trainers are not excluded goods and meet the Korea–US FTA concession conditions; the third assumes a non-US seller. The exchange rate used to convert to won is not covered here. Check actual tax by item with the Korea Customs Service’s estimated-tax tool for overseas purchases.
Questions that remain
If I use a coupon, is the discounted price the base?
The Customs help centre has a separate entry, whether discounts apply to the customs value of overseas purchases. We did not reproduce its details, so check that entry.
Why do I need a personal customs clearance code?
Item 10 of Annex 1 to the express notice excludes from list clearance manifests with inaccurate recipient identifiers and other details. Getting it right is a condition of fast clearance.
Does paying by card add separate fees?
Yes, separate from taxes. How overseas card fees are built up is in overseas payment fees.
Sources
- Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act [in force 31 Jul 2026] [Ministry of Economy and Finance Ordinance No. 42] — original text (checked 29 September 2026). Source for article 45(2)1 (goods price of 150 dollars, freight excluded, split-import proviso).
- Notice on Import Clearance of Express Cargo [KCS Notice No. 2025-69, in force 22 Dec 2025] — notice text. Source for article 9 (150, 200 and 2,000 dollars) and Annex 1, goods excluded from list clearance (12 categories).
- Notice on Import Clearance [KCS Notice No. 2025-66, in force 17 Dec 2025] — notice text. Source for articles 67, 68 (two grounds, item 2 deleted) and 69, and Annex 11, personal-use criteria (6 bottles, 1 bottle, 60ml, 200 sticks).
- Korea Customs Service help centre FAQ — what list clearance is and its range (no duty or VAT; sending-country taxes, inland freight and insurance included; whole shipment excluded if mixed) and the small-value exemption (limit 150 dollars).
- Our own working. The amounts and readings in the four cases are examples we built against the rules.
Where to check further
- Estimated tax — Korea Customs Service estimated tax for overseas purchases.
- Clearance progress — cargo clearance status on the KCS UNI-PASS service.
- Korea Customs Service help centre — dial 125 in Korea.
Written on 29 September 2026. Rules and annexes are from the National Law Information Center; the table layout and examples are ours.
