Baby Gear Is Almost Entirely Duty-Free
By George · updated 2026-08-24 · checked against the 2026 Bahamas tariff schedule
If you are expecting, this is the one shopping category where the tariff schedule is unambiguously on your side. The Bahamas zero-rates essentially the entire infant category.
What is duty-free
- Baby clothing and accessories (6111.2090) — 0%
- Diapers and sanitary articles (9619.0010) — 0%
- Strollers, baby carriages and parts (8715.0000) — 0%
- Infant cribs and play-pens (9403.7010) — 0%
Note how deliberate the carve-outs are. Adult clothing is 20% and baby clothing is 0%. General furniture is 25% and infant cribs are 0%. These are not accidents of classification — the schedule is written to exempt them.
What it costs anyway
Duty-free is not free. Every entry still pays the processing fee and VAT on the landed cost:
- $350 stroller. No duty, $10 processing, $36 VAT. Charges $46 — 13.1%. Lands at $396.
- $60 of diapers. No duty, $10 processing, $7 VAT. Charges $17 — 28.3%. Lands at $77.
The stroller shows the best case available to any importer: 13.1% on top, which is the floor for a mid-value duty-free item. The diapers show what the $10 entry minimum does to a small consignment — 28.3% on the same 0% duty rate.
Buy diapers in bulk, in one entry
Diapers are the clearest consolidation case in the whole schedule. They are duty-free, so the entire import charge is the fixed $10 fee plus VAT — and the fixed fee is per entry.
Four monthly $60 diaper orders pay the $10 minimum four times. One $240 quarterly order pays it once: charges drop from $68 to $35. Same diapers, same duty rate, roughly half the import cost. See consolidating orders for the general version of this.
Watch the edges of the category
The exemption follows the tariff heading, not the shopping aisle. Some things sold in the baby section fall outside it:
- Toys (9503.0090) are 20%, including infant toys.
- Baby monitors are electronics — a camera-based monitor may fall under cameras (duty-free), but check rather than assume.
- Car seats are not the same heading as strollers; verify before budgeting.
- Bottle warmers and sterilisers are electric household appliances, which is the 35% neighbourhood.
When you are not sure, look the specific product up rather than assuming the whole basket is 0%.
Browse baby items people have checked and the wider duty-free list.