Lazada bans imports on smartphones, tablets and over Php10k orders

Lazada has sent out a notice to sellers that due to an updated policy from the Bureau of Customs (BoC), listing on smartphones and tablets will be banned from the platform if they are cross-border unit. This means that if the listing will be shipped from outside the Philippines (usually, China and Hong Kong), it will be banned from Lazada.

Likewise, if the total order value of items ordered from cross-border merchants exceeds Php10k, they will also be restricted.

This aligns with the Customs policy regarding taxes and fees for shipments with values exceeding Php10,000USD 170INR 14,446EUR 162CNY 1,241. Since Lazada’s platform does not currently have the ability to calculate the Customs and Import Taxes within the platform and integrate that with the total charges to the customer, the default approach is to simply just ban these orders.

For items such as smartphones and tablets, the complete ban on cross-border shipments might also have to do with required NTC permits but, if that is the case, then this should also have been extended to other electronic devices with wireless connectivity, such as laptops, smartwatches, routers, etc.

We tried ordering from the POCO Official Global Store since they’re the ones affected by this Lazada restriction and all smartphones listing have been removed. However, a combined order of smartwatches worth Php13k was added to our cart and ready for payment but was eventually canceled by the merchant.

In contrast, Amazon Shopping currently has a built-in facility to compute Customs and Import Tax if the total order exceeds Php10,000USD 170INR 14,446EUR 162CNY 1,241.

We’re still getting additional feedback from Lazada and affected merchants to get a better picture of this development.