Send Cosmetics (Commercial) → 🇰🇷 South Korea
Can I post Cosmetics (Commercial) to South Korea?
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to South Korea; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Personal-use quantities; bulk or repeated identical shipments are treated as commercial imports
- Commercial invoice or proof of purchase showing the transaction value
Required at the destination customs authority
Full Details
Posting cosmetics to South Korea in personal quantities is permitted — registration and notification regimes govern marketing cosmetics, not personal parcels. Korea Customs Service (KCS) applies the ordinary parcel framework to an accurate CN22/CN23 declaration: import VAT/GST at 10% applies above the exemption threshold, plus duty on above-threshold consignments. Korea's de minimis threshold for customs duty and VAT exemption is USD $150 per shipment. Goods valued at $150 or below from the US under KORUS FTA previously had a $200 threshold; this was unified. Commercial samples under KRW 250,000 may also be exempt. Goods from special economic zones may have different rules. Aerosols and nail varnish are dangerous-goods limited quantities for air mail; bulk or repeated identical parcels are treated as unregistered commercial imports. Korea exempts personal imports up to USD 150 per shipment (USD 200 for US-origin shipments under KORUS); above that, duty and VAT apply on the full value, and same-day shipments are aggregated.
Keep parcels to personal quantities and declare contents specifically ('face cream', not 'gift'). Check carrier rules for aerosols and nail varnish — they are the commonly refused items in this class.
Personal-use quantities; bulk or repeated identical shipments are treated as commercial imports
- —Commercial invoice or proof of purchase showing the transaction value
Korea Post and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) jointly clear international inbound mail at the Incheon International Mail Centre. Personal-import parcels under USD 150 (FOB value) clear duty-free under the de minimis rule; above USD 150, 8% customs duty plus 10% VAT applies, computed on CIF + duty. Goods on the national prohibition list (counterfeit branded goods, narcotics, weapons, dual-use items, North Korean origin) are seized without compensation. Tobacco, alcohol, and cosmetics have separate quantity-based duty rules. KCS's UNI-PASS e-clearance portal handles all declarations; consignees must respond within 30 days to clearance notices to avoid the parcel being declared abandoned.
Sending Cosmetics (Commercial) to other countries
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇺🇸 United States
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to United States; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to United Kingdom; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇨🇦 Canada
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to Canada; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇦🇺 Australia
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to Australia; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to New Zealand; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.
Cosmetics (Commercial)
🇹🇭 Thailand
Personal-quantity cosmetics can be posted to Thailand; product registration applies to selling, not to personal parcels.