A caravan leaves the factory at one number and arrives in your yard at another, and the difference is not a single charge. Six layers sit between the two: freight and insurance, duty, import tax, clearance and port charges, inland transport, and whatever local approval the unit needs before it can be sold. Only the first is agreed with the factory. The rest land on you, the importer, and each one is calculated on a different base.

Duty follows two things the importer owns

Trailer caravans sit in heading 8716 of the tariff, with subheading 8716.10 covering caravan-type trailers for housing or camping. The heading is fixed; the rate is not. It depends on how the specific unit is classified and on the origin that can be substantiated for it. Where a free trade agreement applies, the preferential rate is available only if the goods meet that agreement's rules of origin and you hold the required origin document, such as a Form of Origin or a declaration from an approved exporter. Classification and origin are the importer's responsibility rather than the factory's, so have your customs broker confirm both in writing before the order goes ahead.

Duty is charged on one value; import tax on a larger one

The valuation basis differs by market. Australia assesses duty on an FOB-based customs value, which leaves international freight and insurance outside the duty base; many other markets work from CIF and include them. Import tax then applies to a larger figure again, because it is charged on the customs value plus duty plus transport and insurance to the first destination. The recovery treatment matters more than the headline rate: if you are registered for GST or VAT, import tax is normally recoverable as an input tax credit, while duty is not. That single difference decides whether a container's tax line is a cost or a timing item in your cash flow.

The charges that never appear in a factory quote

Broker fees, terminal handling, port service charges, biosecurity or quarantine inspection, storage and demurrage when documents run late, and inland transport to the dealership are billed against the consignment rather than the unit. Divide that group by the number of caravans in the container before you compare it with anything else. Some markets also require a vehicle import approval or type approval before a unit can be supplied or registered, which is a separate cost and calendar line that the importer carries. Two factories can quote the same FOB number and still produce two different landed costs, which is why off-road caravan price ranges are only comparable once you know the Incoterms and the origin paperwork behind them.

What to settle before the deposit

• Incoterms on the quote. FOB, CIF or DAP decides who pays freight and insurance, and it also shapes the duty base in CIF-based markets.
• Origin documentation. Ask whether the factory can issue the origin document at shipment, and what happens commercially if it arrives late.
• Invoice content. Value, currency, declared code, and a unit-by-unit breakdown that matches what is actually in the container.
• Compliance package. The chassis, electrical and brake data your market's approval process will ask you for.
• Export-side timing. Who books the vessel once the balance is paid, and how many days that adds before the unit moves.

Duty is the number importers ask about first; the origin document is the one that actually changes it. Settle both before the deposit and landed cost stops arriving as a surprise.

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