A duty is a government charge. A surcharge is your pricing decision.
LiveThese two get used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. A duty is assessed by a customs authority against an imported entry and paid by the importer of record. An import cost recovery — sometimes called a tariff surcharge — is an amount a merchant chooses to add to their own price to offset that cost. One is levied on you. The other is set by you. Describing the second as though it were the first is the single most common mistake on this subject, and it is the one with legal exposure.
Available on Shopify: this workflow is part of SkuWatch Tariff Recovery. The current app produces estimates, review states, recovery drafts, and finance CSVs; it does not change products, prices, orders, or checkout charges.
- Search intent
- Shopify merchants working out whether the amount they want to add to a product is a duty, a tax, or their own price, and what they are allowed to call it.
- Workflow input
- The estimated duty and CBP fees SkuWatch calculates for a SKU, from its HTS code, country of origin and customs value.
- Workflow output
- A clear separation between the duty you were charged at the border and the recovery amount you may choose to price in — with wording that does not misdescribe one as the other.
Who charges it, who pays it, and what you may call it
The confusion is understandable. A merchant sees their landed cost rise because of a trade action, decides to pass some of it on, and reaches for the word they just read in the news. But the two amounts have different origins, different recipients and different rules about what you may say.
The duty is assessed by a customs authority against a specific entry. Its rate comes from the tariff schedule for the classification and origin, plus any Section 301, Section 232, IEEPA or AD/CVD measure in force on the entry date. It is paid by the importer of record. SkuWatch estimates it from published official data and shows you every layer that makes it up.
The recovery amount is yours. You decide whether it exists, which products carry it, how much it is, and how it appears. It is ordinary revenue on your books — not a liability held for an authority — which is also why it refunds with the item rather than through any customs process.
Why the wording is not a style question
A buyer who sees "tariff tax" or "government fee" on a product page has been told a government levied that amount. It did not. That is the reason SkuWatch fixes the buyer-visible wording rather than leaving it to be composed per store: the line reads Import cost recovery, it explains that it helps offset changing cross-border import costs, and it states Not a government tax in the buyer's own view — not only in the merchant's admin.
SkuWatch is not a customs broker, a tax or legal advisor, a duty remittance service, or a government system. It does not guarantee a classification, a duty amount, or a recovered margin. What it does is show you the cost with its source attached, and model the recovery decision so you can make it deliberately.
How to tell which one you are actually dealing with
Catalog facts, official tariff evidence, and estimates stay separated so unresolved inputs are visible before a decision.
Levied by a government, at the border
A customs authority assesses it against an entry, on the customs value, at a rate set by the tariff schedule and any trade action in force. You pay it as the importer. It exists whether or not you ever change a price.
Set by you, on your own storefront
An import cost recovery is part of your price. You choose the amount, which products carry it, and whether to charge it at all. No authority set it and none receives it.
Say which one the buyer is looking at
If a buyer sees a line, it must not read as a government charge. "Import cost recovery" and an explicit "not a government tax" are the wording SkuWatch drafts, because a line that reads as a duty is a misrepresentation.
Live app, source-linked tariff data
The duty side of this comparison comes from the current published tariff snapshot. The recovery side remains a merchant pricing decision that SkuWatch models as a review-only draft.
2026 HTS Rev 19 · synced · Operational
Inspect data and calculator status →Frequently asked questions
Is a tariff surcharge a tax?
No. A tax or a duty is levied by a government authority. A tariff surcharge or import cost recovery is an amount a merchant adds to their own price to offset an import cost they paid. It is merchant revenue, not money held or remitted for an authority.
Does SkuWatch collect or remit duty for me?
No. SkuWatch does not act as a customs broker, does not file a customs entry, does not remit duty to any authority, and does not collect anything from your buyers. It calculates estimates from published official data and models recovery options you decide on.
Can I just call it a tariff on my product page?
Calling your own price adjustment a tariff tells a buyer a government levied it, which is not true. That is why the wording SkuWatch drafts says Import cost recovery and states plainly that it is not a government tax.
Do I still owe the duty if I add a recovery amount?
Yes. The duty is assessed against the import regardless of how you price the goods afterwards. A recovery amount offsets the cost to your margin; it does not settle or replace anything owed at the border.
Reference information only, not customs, legal, tax, or classification advice. SkuWatch does not guarantee HTS accuracy or a final duty amount; confirm material classifications and entry facts before acting.