NZ Customs Release

Issue

823

13 March 2026

Middle East security situation

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued updated advice for New Zealanders living and travelling in the Middle East.
 
Visit the SafeTravel website for the latest updates.

Most used small craft won't meet requirements for duty free entry 

Customs wishes to advise that most used vessels, including those that sail to New Zealand under their own power or arrive on a transport vessel after being used overseas, will not meet the direct shipment requirements for duty free entry.

These provisions require goods to travel directly from the place of manufacture to New Zealand without being imported into another country not party to the agreement.

As part of the clearance process, importers will be expected to verify any preferential duty rate claims. If these claims cannot be verified, then the normal duty rate of 5% will be used.

More information is available on our website.

New Biosecurity and Customs Goods Management Levies

Further regulations have been made to give effect to the Biosecurity and Customs goods management levies announced in March 2025.

The new levy structure will take effect on 1 April 2026. It makes the way the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Customs recover costs fairer for levy payers and for taxpayers.

You can read the regulations:
- Customs and Excise (Goods Management Levies) Order 2025
- Customs and Excise (Postal Articles) Amendment Regulations 2025
- Biosecurity (Import Levies and Commercial Vessel Levy) Order 2026 
- Customs and Excise (Goods Management Levies) Amendment Order 2026.
  
To help your business prepare, you can download our industry information packs from our website at Goods Fees – 2026 changes. 

For more information, email trade.programme@customs.govt.nz.

Ministry for Primary Industries support for Food Importers

The Food Importer Advice team at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is dedicated to supporting food importers, agents, food businesses and others in the food industry.

The team have a range of helpful resources and a contact form available on the MPI website: Get Help With Importing Food.

Stay up to date on food importing rules and subscribe to Food Importer News. The newsletter provides updates about the rules for importing food under the Food Act 2014. It is a valuable source of information for anyone who imports food for sale, or those who work with food importers. Visit Food importer news webpage to subscribe and read past updates.

DTR Sea project mailbox to close

This notice is to advise that the DTR (Domestic Transhipment Request) Sea Project mailbox (DTR@mpi.govt.nz) will be permanently closed on 13 March 2026. DTRs have been mandated for the sea pathway across various groups throughout 2023/2024, and all submitters, ports, and shipping lines are now fully onboarded and DTR compliant.

From 13 March 2026, any emails sent to this mailbox will receive an automated response directing users to contact TSW User Support at Tswusersupport@customs.govt.nz as part of transitioning to a business-as-usual support model. 

Please refer to the DTR Sea Information page on the Customs website which includes helpful guidance.
 
Thank you for your support and collaboration throughout the DTR Sea Project. 

MFAT Market Intelligence Reports

The latest edition of the weekly global trade and economic update for New Zealand businesses has been published.