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Does South Korea charge customs duty or VAT on an original painting imported from Brazil?

According to the Korea Customs Service, duty on an imported painting depends on its HS classification, so check the rate in the KCS tariff table. Korea's VAT Act sets 10%, but its Enforcement Decree lists paintings among goods covered by the import VAT exemption. Customs assesses each shipment at declaration; the Decree text is no ruling.

Vibrant Awakening (100 x 150 cm), acrylic on canvas, shown in an interior visualisation — Alyne Perfeito, Perfeito Studio — Vibrant Awakening (100 × 150 cm), Luminous Rebirth series, shown in an interior visualisation. Perfeito Studio.

Is an original painting subject to customs duty in South Korea?

Customs duty on an imported painting depends on how the piece is classified in the Harmonized System (HS), the international goods nomenclature on which national tariffs are built. In the HS, Chapter 97 covers works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques, and heading 97.01 covers paintings, drawings and pastels executed entirely by hand. The rate that applies is read from the tariff schedule for that classification, and it is not stated on this page: the Korea Customs Service (KCS) publishes the schedule through its customs-law portal, CLIP, and a buyer should check the rate there, or ask a customs broker, before relying on any figure.

Two points follow from the wording of the heading. First, "executed entirely by hand" describes how the work was made, not its size or value. Second, the tariff rate is one entry in a longer list: KCS describes basic, provisional, flexible and conventional tariff rates, with a stated order of priority and with measures such as anti-dumping duties applied first regardless of level. Which rate is applied to a specific consignment is determined by customs on the declaration.

What does import VAT do to a painting?

Customs duty is a separate question from VAT. In the English translation of the Value-Added Tax Act published by the Korea Legislation Research Institute (the Korean text is the authoritative one), the tax rate is 10 percent, and for imports the tax base is the taxable value for customs duties plus the customs duties and certain other taxes. VAT on imported goods is collected by the head of a customs house under the Customs Act.

The Act also lists goods whose importation is exempt. Article 27 (15) covers "duty-free or duty-reducible goods other than those under subparagraphs 6 through 13, which are prescribed by Presidential Decree." The Enforcement Decree then lists those goods, and item 17 of that list includes "paintings and calligraphic works, prints, sculptures, statues, collections, samples, and other similar goods." Read together, the statutory text places paintings among goods exempt from import VAT rather than among goods charged at 10%. That is a reading of the legal text, not a ruling on a particular shipment. The item as published carries no value ceiling or age condition, but how Korea Customs applies it to a given consignment, and on what declared value, is for Korea Customs to assess on the documents presented.

Who declares the painting, and how?

KCS states that import clearance is a declaration made by the importer, filed electronically through its UNI-PASS system, and that the declarant is a customs broker or the owner of the goods. The basic document is the import declaration form, with additional documents such as an invoice, a packing list and a bill of lading where applicable.

The procedure depends on how the painting travels, according to KCS's page on overseas purchases:

Express cargo. KCS describes three levels: a list declaration for goods up to USD 150, a simplified declaration for goods priced between USD 150 and USD 2,000, and a general import declaration for goods above USD 2,000 or goods excluded from the simpler routes.
Postal items. KCS lists goods valued above USD 1,000, goods brought in for sale and goods with restricted import among those that require a general import declaration, made through a customs broker.
General carrier. The general import clearance procedure applies.

KCS also states that, for personal imports of e-commerce goods, foreigners must enter a "Personal Customs Clearance Code" rather than a foreign registration number or passport number. For how a broker works in practice, see what a customs broker does when art crosses a border; that page describes the United States, so the Korean procedure above is the reference for this destination.

What the studio provides, and where it stops

Perfeito Studio ships internationally, quoted on request and paid by the buyer, as are any import duties or taxes in the destination country. Each acquisition is direct from the artist and includes the original painting, a signed Certificate of Authenticity with the technical record and the internal Archive ID, a fiscal invoice or official receipt, and professional packaging. The studio does not quote Korean duty or tax figures. For shipping in general, see shipping original art internationally from Brazil and the studio's shipping guide for the United States and Europe.

This text is informational and is not tax or customs advice; confirm with the customs authority or a broker.

From the studio

Vibrant Awakening, from the Luminous Rebirth series (2025), is 100 x 150 cm, acrylic on canvas, built from broad gestures and translucent layers by hand. When I read the wording of the tariff heading, "executed entirely by hand," that is the description I recognise in this painting, and it is why the certificate records the medium and the dimensions precisely. I am not a customs broker and I cannot tell a buyer in Korea what will be assessed on arrival; I can describe the object accurately, and Korea Customs or a broker applies the rule.

Frequently asked

Does South Korea charge VAT and customs duty on an original painting imported from Brazil?

Korea's Value-Added Tax Act sets a 10 percent rate, but its Enforcement Decree lists paintings among goods covered by the import VAT exemption. Customs duty depends on the HS classification of the piece, with hand-painted works falling under heading 97.01; the rate should be checked in the tariff table on the KCS customs-law portal (CLIP) or with a customs broker. Korea Customs assesses each consignment on the documents presented, so this is a description of the rules, not a quote.

Is an original painting treated differently from a print when it enters South Korea?

The tariff uses different headings. In the Harmonized System, heading 97.01 covers paintings, drawings and pastels executed entirely by hand, while 97.02 covers original engravings, prints and lithographs. The VAT Decree names paintings and prints in the same item, but the item does not say how a specific piece such as an edition or multiple is classified; that is decided by Korea Customs at declaration.

Who declares the painting to Korea Customs: the buyer, the seller or the carrier?

KCS states that the declarant of an import is a customs broker or the owner of the goods, filing electronically through UNI-PASS. For express cargo, the express company's clearance procedure applies, and for postal items the recipient pays any dutiable amount to have the item cleared; general import declarations for post are made through a customs broker.

What documents usually accompany a painting entering South Korea?

KCS lists the import declaration form as the basic document, with additional documents such as an invoice, a packing list and a bill of lading where applicable. From the studio, each acquisition includes a fiscal invoice or official receipt and a signed Certificate of Authenticity with the technical record and Archive ID. For personal e-commerce imports, KCS also asks foreigners for a Personal Customs Clearance Code.

Do I need a customs broker to receive a painting in South Korea?

It depends on the route and value. KCS says postal items valued above USD 1,000 require a general import declaration made through a customs broker, and that express cargo above USD 2,000 needs a general import declaration. Importers can also declare as the owner of the goods. Which route applies to a particular shipment is a question for the carrier, a broker or Korea Customs.

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