Specific Duty

Specific Duty is one of the methods of customs duty calculation. It refers to a fixed amount of duty levied on imported and exported goods based on their measurement units (such as weight, quantity, volume, length, etc.), rather than a percentage of the goods' value. The calculation formula is: Duty Payable = Number of Measurement Units × Specific Duty Rate per Unit. It is commonly used for bulk, homogeneous, and standardized commodities such as crude oil, steel, grain, and alcoholic beverages, and can avoid instability in duty revenue caused by price fluctuations. Note: Specific Duty may result in a relatively high actual tax burden for low-value goods and a lighter burden for high-value goods, so it is often used in combination with Ad Valorem Duty (e.g., alternative duty or compound duty). The difference from Ad Valorem Duty is that Ad Valorem Duty is levied as a percentage of the goods' value and is greatly affected by price, while Specific Duty is unrelated to price and only related to quantity. In foreign trade quotations and cost accounting, it is necessary to clarify which calculation method the importing country adopts in order to accurately estimate tariff costs.