U.S.-based tax compliance automation firm Avalara yesterday announced that its cloud-based cross-border compliance capabilities will be used in the duty and import tax feature of Shopify’s newly launched end-to-end cross-border solution, Shopify Markets.
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With Avalara Cross-Border Estimated, a new patent-pending feature of Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border natively available in Shopify Markets, merchants will be able to calculate the appropriate duty and import taxes at checkout, without requiring tariff codes. The feature uses Avalara’s artificial intelligence engine and global compliance content database to generate landed cost pricing, determining duty and import tax requirements for more than 180 countries.
Moreover, Avalara says it provides customers with landed cost estimates in the cart in real-time, to reduce unexpected costs at delivery.
“The power and promise of the internet was for businesses to reach customers anywhere, anytime. Ecommerce makes that a reality for buyers and sellers,” said Scott McFarlane, chief executive officer and co-founder at Avalara. “However, cross-border commerce comes with increased compliance complexity that can create risk for merchants. Shopify Markets provides merchants with the automated duty and import tax capabilities of Avalara’s cross-border solutions to streamline the checkout process and provide estimates to customers in cart, minimizing surprise costs, and reducing compliance risk.”
Avalara also announced the expansion of its cross-border capabilities with the acquisition of Quebec-based 3CE Technologies, a company that provides harmonized system (HS) commodity classification codes and verification solutions to private businesses and government agencies. Through the acquisition of 3CE, Avalara expands its current cross-border compliance offerings by further automating its HS code classification services and self-service capabilities for businesses of all sizes, in addition to serving customers in government and manufacturing.
“This acquisition brings together best-in-class HS classification technology to automate the onerous process of identifying and mapping codes for cross-border transactions. As part of Avalara’s cross-border team, we are committed to removing barriers to global commerce for businesses of all sizes,” said Randy Rotchin, president and chief executive officer of 3CE Technologies.