Bonaire Customs Tax Overview

Bonaire is a special municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but it is not inside the European Union for customs or VAT purposes. It runs its own fiscal regime under the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland (BCN). For an importer the headline is short: import duty is 0%, and the charge that actually lands on your shipment is ABB.

How Bonaire's customs status works

Bonaire forms the BES islands together with Sint Eustatius and Saba. Three consequences matter in practice:

Outside the EU customs territory. Goods cleared on Bonaire are not in free circulation within the EU, and EU-internal free-movement rules do not apply to them.
Outside the EU VAT area. Dutch BTW (VAT) is not charged on Bonaire. There is no VAT line on an import entry there.
Currency is the US dollar. The USD became legal tender in the BES islands on 1 January 2011, so customs value, ABB and your freight quotation are all settled in dollars.

Import duty

Duty rate: nil

Rate: the import duty rate for the Caribbean Netherlands is set at 0% for all goods.
Authority: the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland (BCN) assesses and collects it.
What this means for landed cost: do not budget a duty line for Bonaire. Budget ABB plus destination port, terminal and clearance charges instead - those, not duty, are where the money goes.

ABB - the general expenditure tax

What ABB is

Full name: algemene bestedingsbelasting. It replaces VAT on the island and is the tax an importer should actually plan for.
Rate on Bonaire: 8% on goods (services are taxed at a lower rate).
Basis: the customs value - normally the price paid for the goods plus freight and insurance up to the first point of arrival on the island.
No recovery: ABB is not a credit-invoice VAT and there is no input-tax recovery mechanism, so what is paid on import is a real cost to the importer.

Special cases

Passenger cars: 25% ABB on import. Zero-emission (electric) cars are 0%.
Excise goods: alcohol, tobacco and fuel also carry excise duties, which are included in the customs value when ABB is calculated.

Excise duties

On Bonaire: excise duties apply to excise goods on import, principally fuel, alcohol and tobacco.
Neighbouring islands: on Saba and Sint Eustatius excise is charged on petrol only.
Timing: excise is levied at the point of import, so it is settled as part of the same entry as ABB.

Traveller allowances are not a commercial regime

Bonaire grants personal-use allowances to arriving travellers, and those allowances are claimed at Flamingo International Airport. They do not apply to commercial cargo, which is assessed on the declared customs value regardless of quantity. If you are importing for resale, the ABB rules above are the ones that govern your entry.

What this means for a shipment from China

No EU duty, no EU VAT: ignore any landed-cost template that applies Dutch BTW or EU duty rates to Bonaire.
Budget ABB at 8% on the customs value (goods + freight + insurance to first arrival), plus excise where applicable.
Declare the value properly. ABB is assessed on the declared customs value, so an understated or vague invoice does not save tax - it delays clearance and invites reassessment.
Documents to prepare: commercial invoice, packing list, and the bill of lading (sea) or air waybill (air), plus a certificate of origin if your buyer asks for one.
Freight basis: our China-Bonaire services are port-to-port, airport-to-airport or depot-only - the consignee lodges the entry and settles ABB on the island.