You’re expecting an international delivery via DHL and have received an “On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” status update.
What type of fees are these and do you have to pay them?
Let’s take a look…
Summary: On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees
This update from DHL basically means that your package is being held until specific fees are paid. Normally, these are tax and duties charges levied on the shipment by customs.
On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees – Guide
If you are seeing the “On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” update, it means that your package has been flagged by customs as tax and/or duties owed.
This means that DHL will not be able to deliver the item until these specific fees have been paid.
Unfortunately, this can also include broker charges for arranging clearance too.
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What To Do After an “On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” Alert?
Unfornatunetly you may have received this update with no supporting details telling you what the fees are and how much needs to be paid.
This is a common issue that is probably why you have reached this article in the first place.
However, as the “On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” update is triggered related to customs and/or brokerage fees, if no specific price information is included with the update, you will need to contact DHL to find out exactly how much the charges are, and how to pay them.
- Related Content: Payment is Received and Recorded for Shipment Related Fees
The Missing Payment Button On Mobile
Unfortunately, to add to the confusion, DHL customers have experienced issues where a pay now button is available when viewing the tracking page on a desktop, but not on mobile.
This means that if you are using your mobile to rectify the problem, you will have no choice but to contact DHL in order to pay the charges.
Conversely, if you are using a laptop and the pay now button is visible, you will be able to proceed to payment without having to contact DHL directly.
That being said, if you believe that the charges have been added in error, you will still need to contact a representative (or even the sender of the package), before making any payment.
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What Happens After an ”On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” Alert?
Once you take steps to pay the charges that have been levied on the shipment, the item will be released so that DHL (or an applicable 3rd party) can resume delivery.
How long it takes for a delivery to take place after that will clearly depend on the distances involved.
For example, a DHL delivery arriving from China into Europe may pass through more than one European country before being delivered to the destination address.
By way of example, I live in Croatia and when I order items from a watch vendor in Singapore, DHL transports the package by air to Belgium before it is shipped to Zagreb in Croatia.
When levies are due, I get the relevant status alert as the shipment arrives in Belgium. In other words, my package is still at least a week away even after I have paid customs taxes and duties.
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Final Words
The “On Hold Awaiting for Payment of Shipment Related Fees” alert is an annoying one to receive.
It means that customs has deemed that taxes and duties are owed on the item and delivery will not take place until they are paid.
There is very little you can do in this situation except for pay for the release. The alternative is normally the item being destroyed… an outcome that is not exactly favorable.
I’m a 25 year veteran of USPS. I’m retired now, but as the editor of Mailbox Master, I can’t quite remove myself from the carrier industry just yet. 🙂
