Azerbaijan Customs warns of abuses in online orders

Azerbaijan will keep its $300 monthly duty-free import limit for goods brought in for personal use, but will tighten control over rapidly growing e-commerce, the head of the State Customs Committee said.

Shahin Baghirov said more than 1.2 million people in Azerbaijan are involved in online shopping, while the number of customs declarations has reached 18 million.

He said some users were abusing the rules by splitting orders across months or registering purchases under other people’s names to bypass the limit.

Baghirov also cited a recent case involving Temu, saying about 400 tonnes of goods were delivered to Azerbaijan without prior electronic data being provided to customs. He said it took about two weeks to identify the parcels, recipients and purpose of import.

Customs has asked the platform to provide advance shipment data so it can be integrated into Azerbaijan’s risk-management system.

Under current rules, goods sent by international post or carriers to one individual may be imported duty-free once a month if their total value does not exceed $300, excluding excise goods and vehicles.