Purchasing from New Zealand - Import tax and duties guide

New Zealand is one of our top ten markets for our colorless H&A gems, and thus we wanted to provide a quick overview for customers to be aware of typical taxes levied during the import process for your order.

New Zealand assesses import duty on any items imported regardless of it being a commercial entity or private individual.  
This is calculated by the actual cost of the item(s), not including the cost of shipping & insurance.

For orders from BetterThanDiamond, we pay for insurance on our own, so that does not factor in.  
Shipping to New Zealand is a flat $44 fee. 

Sales Tax due - there is a GST (sales tax) of 15%.  
This is calculated against the total cost of the item(s), the cost of shipping & insurance, plus any duty and/or excise taxes.  

There is a 5% duty on jewelry items, which must be paid during the import process.  

For orders over NZD $60, an import entry transaction fee (IETF) of NZ$46.89 (GST inclusive) is also required, in addition to other fees.

An example, for an order total of USD$1,500, there would be an estimated total cost of NZD$455 in fees. 

Please note that while we present the information above based on our best efforts, government regulations can and do change...thus, we encourage you to check directly as needed with New Zealand customs as well, via their website:

New Zealand Official Customs website