Return something you bought from abroad and the seller may refund the price, but the customs duty you already paid does not come back by itself. Korea’s Customs Act refunds duty in two ways. Article 106-2 refunds the duty when an individual’s personal-use goods, once cleared, are exported in the state in which they were imported, on condition that the steps happen within 6 months of clearance; Article 106 refunds it when goods that differ from the contract are brought into a bonded area or similar place within 1 year of clearance and exported. Enter the clearance date and the reason for the deadline; add the export date for the end of the 5-year claim period, and the duty paid for the refund.
1. Unused and returned as imported: 6 months from clearance — bring into a bonded area and export, export with customs confirmation, or, for courier and postal items with an export value of ₩2 million or less, export within 6 months and then obtain customs confirmation (Art. 106-2(1), Rule Art. 58-2).
2. Wrong goods sent: 1 year — if their nature and form are unchanged since the import declaration, bring them into a bonded area, customs post office or similar place within 1 year of clearance and export (Art. 106(1)).
3. Our example — cleared on 30 November 2026, the 6-month deadline is 31 May 2027 and the 1-year deadline 30 November 2027. Return everything on which you paid ₩30,240 of duty and ₩30,240 comes back; customs must pay within 30 days of a claim (Art. 46(1)).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. “6 months or 1 year from clearance” leaves out the first day and runs by the calendar (Customs Act Art. 8(2) → Civil Act Arts. 157 and 160). Moving an end date off a weekend or holiday applies Art. 8(3) to this period on our reading; holidays cover December 2026 to December 2027 only. The 5-year end date is our arithmetic in the same way and is not moved off weekends. Defaults are our example.
The provisions — as written
| Provision | What it says | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 106-2(1) | Where an individual’s personal-use goods whose import declaration has been accepted are exported in the state in which they were imported … 1. brought into a bonded area or a place in a free trade zone designated by the Commissioner within 6 months from acceptance of the import declaration and exported again 2. exported again within 6 months … after confirmation by the head of customs 3. courier or postal items exempt from export declaration, up to the amount set by ordinance, exported within 6 months … and then confirmed by the head of customs | “The duty paid on import shall be refunded” — the text says duty |
| Rule Art. 58-2 | “Goods up to the amount set by ordinance” in Act Art. 106-2(1)3 means goods with an export declaration value of ₩2 million or less. | The route for returns by courier or post |
| Decree Art. 124-2(1) | 1. the goods are exported with their nature or form unchanged since the import declaration 2. the head of customs accepts that the goods have not been used in Korea | Both are required — used goods lose the 6-month route |
| Art. 106(1) | Where accepted goods differ from the contract and their nature or form is unchanged … 1. imported goods: brought into a bonded area, a designated free trade zone place or a customs post office (only if brought in within 1 year from acceptance of the import declaration) and exported again | The 1-year limit is for bringing them in |
| Decree Art. 124-2(3) | 1. all the goods exported or refunded: the whole of the duty already paid 2. part of the goods: the duty on that part | The calculator’s “share returned” |
The application is set by Decree Art. 124-2(2): a form stating the item, specification, quantity, import declaration date and number and the duty to be refunded, with the import declaration certificate (or a customs certificate in its place) and proof of export — the export declaration certificate for items 1 and 2, or for courier and postal items (item 3) a bill of lading or air waybill and the seller’s proof of the refund and return.
5 years to claim, 30 days to pay
Art. 22(2) says the right to a duty refund lapses if not exercised for 5 years from the day it can be exercised. Decree Art. 7(2) sets that day: for personal-use goods under Art. 106-2(1), the day the export declaration is accepted (for goods exempt from export declaration, the day they are loaded); for goods differing from the contract under Art. 106(1), the export acceptance date or the bonded-factory entry date. On a claim, Art. 46(1) requires the head of customs to decide the refund without delay and pay it within 30 days.
How the calculator works — our reading
| Line | Arithmetic | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 6 (or 12) calendar months from the day after clearance | If the last month has no such day, its last day (Civil Act Art. 160(3)) |
| Weekends and holidays | An end date on a weekend, holiday or Labour Day moves to the next day | Our reading applying Art. 8(3) — send well ahead |
| Claim period end | 5 years from the day after the export acceptance or loading date | The bonded-factory entry date is not modelled |
| Duty refunded | duty paid × share returned | Customs sets the actual amount for a partial return |
Four cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Result | Worth noting (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Cleared 2026-11-30, unused as imported | 6-month deadline 2027-05-31 (Mon) | Counting starts on 1 December, the start of a month, so it ends on the last day of May (Civil Act Art. 160(1)) |
| Cleared 2026-08-30, unused as imported | 2027-02-28 (Sun) → 03-01 (Independence Movement Day) → 2027-03-02 (Tue) | No 31 February, so the last day (Art. 160(3)), then past the weekend and holiday |
| Cleared 2026-11-30, goods differ from the contract | 1-year deadline 2027-11-30 (Tue) | The limit for bringing them in |
| Duty ₩30,240, export accepted 2027-01-12 | All returned: ₩30,240; half: ₩15,120 · claim period ends 2032-01-12 | ₩30,240 is the duty in the first example of the duty and VAT calculator |
Before you send it back
- Has it been used? — Decree Art. 124-2(1)2 requires customs to accept that it has not been used in Korea.
- Has its packaging or form changed? — its nature or form must be as at the import declaration (item 1 of the same paragraph, Art. 106(1)).
- Which route? — simply posting it back falls under item 3 (₩2 million or less), and customs confirmation must still follow export within 6 months.
- The seller’s refund proof — item 3 needs the seller’s proof of the refund and return.
Read next
- How much tax was paid — overseas shopping duty and VAT calculator.
- If not yet paid, by when — customs duty payment deadline calculator.
- The US$150 limit and combined taxation — Overseas shopping: US$150, US$200 from the US.
Checklist
- ☐ Keep the import declaration certificate (or customs certificate) and declaration number
- ☐ Find the clearance date — put the 6-month and 1-year deadlines in your diary
- ☐ Keep it unused and in its original packaging
- ☐ Keep the export declaration certificate, or the waybill and the seller’s refund proof
- ☐ Apply for the refund within 5 years of export or loading
Questions that remain
Do I get the VAT back too?
Arts. 106-2(1) and 106(1) say “the duty shall be refunded”. Art. 4(1) gives the Customs Act priority for refunds of VAT and other domestic taxes collected by customs, but from the provisions we read we did not conclude that import VAT is refunded with the duty. Ask customs when you apply. The calculator covers duty only.
What if the seller’s return window is shorter?
The seller’s return policy and the duty refund deadline are separate matters. The 6 months and 1 year here are duty-refund conditions.
What if it has to be destroyed rather than exported?
Art. 106(3) refunds the duty on goods differing from the contract where destruction instead of export is accepted as unavoidable, the goods are brought into a bonded area within 1 year of clearance, and they are destroyed with customs’ prior approval.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Customs Act Arts. 4, 8, 22, 46, 106 and 106-2 — original (current text, in force 2 October 2026, Act No. 21490; checked 10 November 2026). Domestic tax refunds, periods and deadlines, 5-year refund claim, refund within 30 days, goods differing from the contract (1 year), personal-use goods (6 months).
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Customs Act Arts. 7 and 124-2 — original (in force 1 July 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36140; checked 10 November 2026). When the refund claim can be exercised; personal-use goods conditions, documents and amount.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Rule of the Customs Act Art. 58-2 — original (in force 31 July 2026, Ordinance No. 42; checked 10 November 2026). Export declaration value of ₩2 million or less.
- Korea Law Information Center — Civil Act Arts. 157 and 160 — original (in force 17 March 2026, Act No. 21454; checked 10 November 2026). First day excluded, calendar computation and month ends.
- Not read. The Commissioner’s customs confirmation procedure (notice), the list of designated free trade zone places, Decree Art. 246(3)1 (exemption from export declaration), any rule on refunding import VAT, the detail of Art. 106-2(2) (in-flight and duty-free refunds), and whether Civil Act Art. 161 applies to the end of the claim period.
- What we added. The defaults and examples, applying Art. 8(3) to the 6-month and 1-year end dates, the claim-period arithmetic, working a partial return as a share, and the “worth noting” column.
Where to check further
- The customs office that cleared the goods — confirmation before export and the refund application.
- Your courier or customs broker — the import declaration certificate and filing the export declaration for the return.
Written on 10 November 2026. The provisions are reproduced from the originals; the explanations and arithmetic are ours.
