Reviewed November 9, 2026

De Minimis Is Gone: What Importers File Now That the 800 Dollar Exemption Is Suspended

Every commercial shipment now needs a formal or informal entry with 10-digit HTS codes, duties and fees, whatever its value. The 800 dollar de minimis exemption under Section 321 was suspended for all countries on August 29, 2025, upheld by the Court of International Trade on August 13, 2026, and repealed by statute effective July 1, 2027. There is no value low enough to qualify anymore.

For years, a shipment valued at 800 dollars or less entered the United States duty-free and without a formal entry, under Section 321 of the Tariff Act. That era ended on August 29, 2025, when an executive order suspended the exemption for all countries. The Court of International Trade upheld the suspension on August 13, 2026, and Congress has already written the permanent repeal into law, effective July 1, 2027.

The practical consequence is simple and expensive: every commercial shipment now needs an entry, with 10-digit HTS codes, duties and fees, whatever its value. The importers still filing as if the exemption exists are the ones whose shipments are being held, returned, or charged after the fact.

What ended, and when

The exemption came from Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930, codified at 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C). It let goods valued at 800 dollars or less, imported by one person on one day, enter free of duties and import taxes. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 raised the limit from 200 to 800 dollars, and e-commerce grew up around it.

The suspension arrived in stages. Executive orders in early 2025 suspended it first for China and Hong Kong, effective May 2, 2025, then for all countries, effective August 29, 2025, under Executive Order 14324. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the suspension in regulations published in the Federal Register on June 24, 2026, writing it into 19 CFR 10.151 and 19 CFR 145.31.

The court case settled the legal question. On August 13, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade held in Axle of Dearborn v. Department of Commerce that the President had authority to suspend the exemption, because the exemption is by its own terms a privilege, and suspending it imposes no new duty, only the tariffs Congress already enacted. The statutory repeal follows on July 1, 2027, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, section 70531. After that date the exemption disappears as a matter of law, not executive discretion.

What importers file now

Every non-postal shipment, whatever its value, now needs a formal or informal entry filed in ACE, the Automated Commercial Environment, with 10-digit HTS codes, duties and fees. Informal entry survives as the main path: 19 CFR 143.21 still covers shipments not exceeding 2,500 dollars in value. The entry is the same process that used to apply only above 800 dollars, and it now applies to everything.

The HTS code matters more than it used to, because the duty now applies to the whole shipment. A wrong code is not a rounding error anymore. It is the difference between the correct duty and an overpayment, or between compliance and a penalty. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also establishes civil penalties of up to 5,000 dollars for a first violation and 10,000 for each subsequent violation involving improper Section 321 entry, effective August 3, 2025.

The postal route closed too. Until July 24, 2026, mail passed without a CBP entry while carriers collected a duty on CBP's behalf. That arrangement ended, and a real postal informal entry process took its place. There is no country that still qualifies and no value low enough to qualify, including international mail.

The cost math importers keep getting wrong

The first mistake is pricing as if the exemption still exists. A product that was viable at a 20 dollar landed cost with no duty is not viable at the same price with a 25% duty, and the merchants who have not repriced are absorbing the duty on every order. The landed cost model has to be rebuilt from the invoice, freight, brokerage, duty and receiving, divided by units, against the invoice price.

The second mistake is consolidating the wrong way. Some sellers responded by ordering bigger shipments to spread the fixed entry cost, which ties up cash in inventory and increases the risk if the product does not sell. The right response is to consolidate intelligently: fewer, larger entries where the product turns over reliably, and a hard look at whether a low-value product is still worth importing at all.

The third mistake is assuming the exemption will come back. Nothing in motion today restores it. The court upheld the suspension, the regulation is written into the CFR, and the statute repeals it in July 2027. An importer planning around a return of de minimis is planning around an event that has no legal path. Plan for the entry, the duty and the code, and price accordingly.

Frequently asked questions

Is the de minimis exemption still available for any country?

No. The 800 dollar exemption under Section 321 is suspended for every commercial shipment, from every country, arriving by every mode, including international mail. There is no country that still qualifies and no value low enough to qualify.

What is the difference between formal and informal entry now?

Both are filed in ACE with HTS codes, duties and fees. Informal entry covers shipments not exceeding 2,500 dollars in value under 19 CFR 143.21, and it is the main path for low-value shipments now that de minimis is gone. Formal entry applies above that threshold and carries more requirements.

When does the de minimis exemption end permanently?

July 1, 2027. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, section 70531, repeals 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) outright on that date. Until then the exemption is suspended by executive order and regulation. After that date it disappears as a matter of law.

What happens if I keep filing under Section 321?

The entry will be rejected, the shipment can be held or returned, and the civil penalties apply: up to 5,000 dollars for a first violation and 10,000 for each subsequent violation involving improper Section 321 entry. File a formal or informal entry with the correct HTS code instead.