The US buyer says the sample is duty-free under $800: does a Hong Kong company parcel still clear that way

Bottom line:

CBP has indefinitely suspended the de minimis exemption for merchandise valued at $800 or less. It applies to all modes, including the international post, unless a separate exception applies. A Hong Kong company dispatch and a DHL booking do not, by themselves, put that exemption back.
“Duty-free sample” in an inquiry usually folds three ledgers into one sentence: whether the sample fee is waived, who pays freight, and whether import duty still applies. Writing Gift / Sample $1, or splitting two invoices under $800, does not restore the paused exemption.
Informal entry (common threshold $2,500) is a filing procedure, not a tax holiday. Duty follows the tariff heading, origin and entered value. Current text is on CBP’s e-commerce FAQ.

The inquiry is often half a sentence: “Sample is under $800, no duty, just DHL it.” If sales replies “samples are duty-free,” the buyer hears: you deliver, no tax, and if something goes wrong you own it. The forwarder then adds “low-value informal clearance,” and the order looks closed.

Whether you charge for the sample, and how you freeze the spec, is in the sample policy. Who stands as importer is in US IOR. If the invoice says sample and the value is under $800, whether US Customs still treats it as duty-free is below.

1. “Duty-free sample” in the inquiry is usually three different bills

You can discuss the three separately. Do not accept them as one verbal package.

What the buyer says	What they are actually asking	If you say yes too early
The sample is free	Whether the sample fee is waived, and whether it credits a bulk order	Screenshotted as unlimited free samples — see the sample policy
Just send it	Who pays air freight, which carrier, who is consignee	Freight lands on the factory first; path is in air samples
Under $800, no duty / samples are exempt	Whether import duty still applies, who is IOR, who pays the estimate	A duty bill or a hold at arrival; Customs asks who is on the entry, not the chat

The first bill is between you and the buyer. The second is freight. The third is US Customs. A forwarder’s “all-in including duty” does not erase the third because the invoice says Sample.

2. The $800 exemption is suspended — express and post both count

CBP states that the de minimis exemption for merchandise valued at $800 or less is indefinitely suspended, for all modes including the international postal network, unless a separate authority excepts it. After the suspension, low-value goods use formal or informal entry and pay applicable duty, tax and fees.

A Hong Kong licence, an Alibaba.com storefront and a DHL waybill are not that separate exception. Mainland production with a Hong Kong seller on the contract is usually still declared on the place of manufacture. Naming a Hong Kong company as Shipper does not turn the goods into “non-China” for duty.

Articles accompanying travelers, and bona fide gifts that meet the regulation, sit under other CBP text. “Send a sample, then we talk bulk” is commercial. Do not borrow the traveler or unpaid-gift opening.

3. Gift, $1, or two invoices will not bring the exemption back

CBP’s bona fide gift is narrow: the donor already owned the article in full and gave it outright, with no purchase, barter or “buy this and we throw that in.” A confirmation piece, a prototype or a production-representative sample sent to win an order is not that gift.

What teams write	What sales hopes	What Customs sees
Gift / no commercial value	A gift pays no duty	A sample tied to an inquiry and a quote is usually not an unpaid gift
Sample USD 1	A low value recreates the exemption	Entered value must be supportable; a low figure is a declaration problem, not a technique
Two parcels, each under $800	Each parcel earns a new exemption	The exemption itself is paused; splitting does not restore it and often breaks Trade Assurance
Forwarder says Type 86 / old informal parcel	The old lane is still open	Follow CBP’s current entry types; an old screenshot is not proof the lane remains

Invoice, packing list and chat have to tell one story. The contract says an $80 sample fee and the entry says a $1 gift — the four flows split first. If the piece is held, split documents from exam; see cargo held at destination.

4. Informal entry at $2,500 is not a duty-free window

Informal entry is about how you file, not about duty going to zero. Shipments valued at $2,500 or less may, if eligible, use informal procedures. Shipments over $2,500, or those under quota or antidumping / countervailing duty, usually need formal entry. CBP also states that low-value goods still owe applicable amounts on classification, origin and entered value.

Entry Type 13 is a CBP test of electronic informal filing for mail. It is voluntary. The filer must have the right to make entry (owner, purchaser, or a designated licensed broker) and a bond. A test lane is not a tax holiday, and it does not automatically cover commercial express.

Rates, whether Section 301 applies, and whether antidumping is in play will change. For a number, have a licensed broker issue a written estimate on this consignment’s heading, origin and entered value, and date it.

5. How to answer: you can send the sample; write who pays the duty first

Samples can go. Duty-free should not be packed into one verbal yes. Do not collapse the three into “OK free sample to US.”

What the buyer asks	A reply that holds	Do not reply
Under $800 the sample has no duty, right?	We can arrange the sample. The US $800 exemption is currently suspended; import duty follows CBP’s current assessment. Please confirm the consignee and whether you will be IOR.	No duty — we will cover it.
Mark the invoice gift and send DHL.	This is a commercial sample. The invoice follows the agreed sample price. The carrier can be DHL. The brand of courier does not erase the duty.	Write gift and Customs will ignore it.
You ship from Hong Kong, so it should be Hong Kong goods.	The seller is a Hong Kong company. Origin is declared on the place of manufacture. Mainland production does not become duty-free because it left from Hong Kong.	Hong Kong dispatch equals US duty-free.
The forwarder said informal under $2,500 — ship it as exempt.	Informal / simplified filing is a procedure. The estimate is written and dated; after it expires we redo it. Who is IOR goes on the sample confirmation.	If the forwarder said exempt, Customs has already waived it.

Do not put “US samples duty-free” or “global duty-paid parcels” on the showcase. You may write “samples can be sent; freight and import charges follow the agreement and the current customs assessment.” A “duty-free to the US” badge on the main image will be read as a promise. Trade Assurance terms must match the quote — the same discipline as lead-time promises.

If the buyer wants the seller to take the import tax: name the IOR first, then assess DDP. Do not swap “sample fee waived” for “duty waived.” How to choose the term is in DDP/DAP.

6. After a verbal “duty-free sample,” stop and rewrite

Same day, mark “duty-free / no tax / gift clearance” in the chat as not in force, and tell sales to stop shipping on that line.
Ask the buyer for three things: the receiving door and window, who is IOR, and who pays the sample fee and freight.
Without an estimate or importer details, keep the file as “draft, not for order.” If you can send and the buyer clears, write that import duty sits with the buyer.
If the piece is already in the air and the port wants duty or papers: freeze the invoice, waybill and chat on a timeline. Do not rewrite a commercial sample as Gift after the fact. If it is held, first split documents from exam.
Rewrite the sample policy itself (fee, credit against bulk) as a separate paragraph. Do not leave it inside one “everything free” sentence with the customs tax.

The Alibaba.com annual fee only buys a storefront file. It has nothing to do with the US low-value exemption. Membership still goes to ALIBABA.COM HONG KONG LIMITED. Corpable does not stand as IOR, advance duty, or guarantee a sample is exempt. Assessment follows CBP’s current handling.

Questions teams actually ask

If the invoice says Gift or Sample $1, does the sample enter the US duty-free?

A sample tied to a commercial inquiry is usually not a bona fide gift. A true gift is given outright, with no purchase attached. Relabeling a sales sample as a one-dollar gift does not restore the suspended $800 exemption and may understate entered value. Invoice at the agreed sample price.

We ship DHL from our Hong Kong company. Does that make it non-China and duty-free again?

A Hong Kong seller only names who sold the goods. Origin follows where they were made. Mainland production, Hong Kong dispatch, is usually still declared as China origin. Changing the carrier to DHL or the post does not, by itself, restore the $800 exemption. Current CBP notices govern.

If we split the shipment into two parcels under $800 each, does that work?

No. What was suspended is the exemption for this value band, not a right to recreate it by splitting. The same buyer and the same sample lot are still one commercial transaction. Split invoices also break documents and Trade Assurance matching.

The forwarder says informal entry under $2,500 is still duty-free. Is that right?

No. Informal entry is a filing procedure. The common threshold is $2,500 or less in value. It is not a tax holiday. CBP states that low-value goods still owe applicable duty, tax and fees on classification, origin and entered value. Entry Type 13 is a test for postal informal filing, not a duty-free window.

May the showcase say “US samples duty-free / duty-paid to the door”?

Do not use it as a default selling point. Sample fee, freight and import duty are three ledgers. How to charge the sample is in the sample policy. Who stands as importer is in the US IOR page. The showcase may say “samples can be sent; import charges follow the destination customs assessment.”

Can Corpable clear the sample or guarantee it enters duty-free?

No. An advisor can sit with you on the reply. We do not stand as US importer, advance duty, or guarantee a sample is exempt or a fixed tax amount. Estimates go through the buyer’s or your nominated licensed broker. Final amounts follow CBP’s current assessment.