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Tariff rules let you add custom charges into the ShipMagic rates, without touching the rules that calculate the shipping itself. Tariff rules are configured on the app’s Settings page, under Customs, Fees & Tariffs.

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Where tariffs run

Tariffs are the last step in the pricing pipeline:
This ordering matters. Because tariffs run after blending, the charge lands on the rates the customer will actually be shown — including rates that several rules combined into one. You don’t have to think about which rule produced a rate, only about the rate itself.

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Creating a rule

1

Open the section

Go to Settings and scroll to Customs, Fees & Tariffs, just below Blending. Click Add.
2

Name the rule

Give it a name you’ll recognise, such as EU low-value import duty. This is internal — customers never see it. Set Status to Enabled or Disabled.
3

Add conditions

Decide which cart items the charge is calculated on, and which destinations it applies to.
4

Set the charge

Choose an amount type, an amount, and — for fixed amounts — how often it is charged.
5

Choose the shipping rates

Apply it to every rate, or only to rates you name.

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Conditions

A tariff rule is built from conditions, the same way a shipping rule is. Rule must match decides whether an item has to satisfy All conditions or Any condition.
Product Tag and Product Type are read from your synced product data. If a product hasn’t been synced, those conditions won’t match it. See Syncing Products.

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The charge

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Amount type

Amounts are in your store’s currency and are not converted.

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Charge basis

Charge basis appears only for Fixed amount. The two percentage types produce the same total however you slice them, so there is nothing to choose. Take a cart of three lines — two of them tagged electronics, one tagged apparel — with a rule of Product Tag equals electronics, apparel and a fixed charge of €3:

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Which shipping rates it applies to

Apply the tariff to All shipping rates, or name the ones you want. A charge is only ever added if that rate is in the final list returned to checkout, so a rule naming a rate that didn’t survive blending simply does nothing.

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Showing the charge to the customer

Shopify’s rate API has no separate line for surcharges, so the tariff is added into the shipping rate’s price. If you want the customer to know why, fill in Add to rate description. The token {amount} is replaced with the charge:
That appears beneath the rate name at checkout, alongside any rate description you’ve already set.

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Using several rules together

Every rule that matches is applied, and the charges add up. Percentages are always calculated against the rate’s price before any tariff was added, so the order your rules happen to be listed in never changes the total.

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Example: the EU low-value import duty

From 1 July 2026 the EU applies a flat €3 customs duty per item on low-value e-commerce consignments. Here is one way to set that up:

Rate blending

What runs immediately before tariffs.

Syncing products

Required for tag and type conditions.

Rate descriptions

The text the tariff description is appended to.

Country and province codes

The codes to use in a destination condition.