To import from China, you check your own country’s import rules, work out the landed cost, find and verify a supplier, agree terms and pay safely, inspect the goods before they leave the factory, ship them, and clear customs at home. The process is the same whether you bring in a few cartons or a full container. What changes is the detail.

Three things change the answers along the way: what you sell, where you’re importing it to, and how big your order is. If you already know your product, Step 2 shows how it shapes the rules you face. For your country’s registration, taxes and product rules, go to the country table. For a first small order, see the small business section.

Steps to Import from China at a Glance

The process of importing goods from China takes ten steps. Each step in the table links to its section below.

What Is the Best Way to Import from China?

The best way depends on three things: your order size, how complex the product is, and how much time you’ll put into the China side. Importers use one of three routes:

You don’t need to travel to China. A video call shows you the factory floor, a third-party firm audits the factory and inspects the goods, and an agent visits suppliers and markets for you.

How to Import from China Without an Agent

Importing directly from China without an agent means you deal with the factory or platform yourself and do every job an agent would do:

• Find and shortlist suppliers (Step 4)
• Verify each supplier before you pay (Step 5)
• Negotiate price, MOQ, samples and terms (Step 6)
• Arrange an inspection before shipment (Step 8)
• Book freight with a forwarder or courier (Step 9)

Using a China Sourcing Agent

A sourcing agent works for you on the China side. A good agent handles:

• Finding and verifying factories
• Negotiating prices and terms
• Samples and product changes
• Production follow-up and inspection
• Combining orders from several suppliers into one shipment
• Booking freight and preparing the export documents

Use an agent when you buy from several suppliers, order a custom product, place your first order, or can’t get to China yourself. Agents carry their own risks: some side with the factory, and some take commissions from it that you never see. Vet an agent the way you vet a supplier (Step 5); who does what shows where an agent’s job ends and a forwarder’s or broker’s begins.

Want a sourcing agent to handle the China side for you? Contact HiSourcing!

Buying Through a Trading Company

A trading company, or import-export company, buys from factories and resells to you, and it handles the export. You pay the factory price plus its markup, and you rarely deal with the factory itself. A trading company is the right choice for small orders that mix products from many factories, where no single factory would take the order.

Who Does What: Supplier, Freight Forwarder, Customs Broker and You

A typical shipment involves five or six parties, but the legal responsibility for the import stays with you, the importer.

Handing a job to someone else doesn’t hand over your responsibility. Customs holds the importer accountable for the declaration and the duty, whoever filed the paperwork. The same goes for agents and DDP deals: if the goods are declared in your name, or held at the border, the problem is still yours, so check what a DDP quote covers before you accept it (Step 9).

Step 1: Check Your Country’s Import Rules

Check three layers of rules before you order: you as the importer (registration), your product (standards, certification and restrictions), and each shipment (documents). Clearing one layer doesn’t clear the others.

Register as an Importer

You need an importer registration before your first shipment clears customs, and every country in the table below requires one. The name changes by country: an EORI number in the UK, an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) in India, an EIN or other importer number in the US. The table at the end of this step lists the number each country uses.

Do I Need a License to Import from China?

No, not for most goods. Countries license specific goods, not importing itself: the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Pakistan, for example, have no general import license. Controlled goods such as food, medicines, chemicals and weapons need their own license, permit or certification. The importer number is free or cheap: the UK’s EORI number is free, and India’s IEC costs ₹500 plus taxes. That fee doesn’t cover product licenses, customs brokers or other start-up costs. For the product rules in your country, see the “Product compliance” column in the table below and your country guide.

Restricted and Prohibited Goods

Every country publishes its own list of banned goods and goods that need a permit. These categories need a permit or approval almost everywhere:

• Food, and plant and animal products
• Medicines and cosmetics
• Batteries and other dangerous goods
• Counterfeit goods, which are banned and seized

Check your country’s list before you order. Branded goods are the biggest trap: customs will hold an entire shipment over a few items that look counterfeit. If you don’t own the brand, don’t order it without written authorization from the brand owner.

Product Standards and Labeling

The certificates you need depend on the product category, and your country decides how the country-of-origin marking must appear on the goods and packaging.

• Check before you pay. Find out what your product needs before you place the order, not when the goods arrive.
• Match the certificate to your product. Suppliers routinely hand over certificates issued for another market, another batch or another model. Check that it names the exact model you’re buying.
• Expect platforms to ask too. Marketplaces ask for certificates before they let you list a product.
• Know the hard categories. Batteries, electronics, toys, baby products and anything that touches food are the hardest categories for a first-time importer.

Import Rules by Country

Each country has its own registration, tax and product rules. The table gives one fact for each, and the country guides walk through the full process.

The table reflects the rules as of October 2026. Check your country guide and your government’s official pages before you ship.

Step 2: Decide What to Import

What you sell decides which rules you have to meet (Step 1), what the goods will cost to land, and how they can ship. So choose the product with all three in mind, not just the factory price.

Before you commit to a production order, make sure people will buy the product. Test it first with a small amount of stock from a local wholesaler. At small volumes, buying locally is cheaper than importing yourself, because every shipment carries fixed charges. Once the product sells, import it directly. Our guide to the most profitable things to import from China lists product ideas by category, with the certificates each one needs.

Step 3: Calculate the Cost to Import from China

Your real cost is the landed cost: the product price plus transport inside China, international freight, insurance, import duty, import VAT or GST, customs clearance and port charges, and inspection. Work it out for your own order size before you pay a deposit.

How Much Does It Cost to Import from China?

There’s no single figure. The cost depends on your country, your HS code, your shipping method and your order size, so budget for each line in this table:

If your quote is a FOB price, the main freight, any insurance you buy and the charges at your end still come on top.

Duty isn’t charged on the same value everywhere. The US, Canada, Australia and South Africa leave international freight and insurance out of the customs value, which is roughly the FOB value. The UK, India and Pakistan include freight and insurance to their border, roughly the CIF value, and Kenya does the same for sea freight. FOB and CIF are only shorthand here; your customs authority’s valuation rules decide the exact figure. Import VAT or GST is then charged on the customs value plus duty.

Here’s what that does to the bill on the same shipment. You pay the freight and insurance either way; the difference is whether customs counts them in the value it taxes.

The rates are assumed to show the method. Your own rates depend on your country and HS code.

Watch for these five costs when you build the budget:

• Hidden charges. Bank wire fees, port storage, demurrage, and freight marked up inside a platform’s shipping quote are easy to miss. Ask your forwarder for an itemized quote.
• Fixed charges per shipment. Charges such as customs entry, document handling, terminal and warehouse fees are billed per shipment, with minimum charges, so on a small order they make each unit much more expensive. On an LCL quote, the ocean freight is only a small part of the total.
• Courier quotes. A door-to-door express quote leaves out duty and VAT. The courier pays them at the border and bills you, plus a handling fee.
• The wrong volume. Price the repeat order you plan to place, not the MOQ trial order. Per-unit freight and fees change a lot between the two.
• No buffer. On small orders the landed cost ends up far above the factory price, so leave room in the budget for charges you didn’t plan for.

Find Your HS Code

Your HS code sets your duty rate, so find it before you price the order. The first six digits are harmonized internationally, and each country adds its own digits after that, as set out in the WCO’s HS Convention. Look the code up in your own country’s official tariff, such as the Harmonized Tariff Schedule in the US, the UK Trade Tariff or the EU’s TARIC database. Don’t copy the code from your supplier’s export documents: China’s code and yours match only at the first six digits. If your product could fit more than one heading, ask your customs broker to confirm the code.

Do You Pay Import Tax on Goods from China?

Yes. You pay the import duty set for your HS code, and eight of the nine countries in our table also charge an import-stage tax such as VAT, GST or sales tax. The rates depend on your country and your HS code, and the country table in Step 1 shows which tax each country charges. The US has no federal import VAT, but as of October 2026 many goods from China carry extra duty layers on top of the normal rate, depending on their HTS code; see What’s Changed.

Step 4: Find Suppliers in China

To find reliable suppliers in China, search B2B platforms, wholesale markets and trade fairs, then verify every shortlisted supplier before you pay (Step 5). How you ask matters as much as where you look:

• Send a spec sheet. Attach a spec sheet to your inquiry and say exactly what you need. A clear inquiry gets a clear answer; a vague one gets a template reply.
• Start wide, then narrow. We suggest contacting 10 to 15 suppliers and narrowing them to 3 to 5 that you check in detail.
• Show you’re a serious buyer. Say that you’re a business, give your expected quantities and repeat demand, and ask specific questions. Slow replies are normal, so contact several suppliers at once.

Best Websites to Import from China

For wholesale and custom orders, start with an export B2B platform such as Alibaba.com, Made-in-China.com or Global Sources. Whether you call them B2B platforms or China importation sites and apps, they come in three types:

Global Sources is a B2B sourcing platform and trade show organizer based in Hong Kong, founded in 1971, with a strong focus on electronics. Our guide to China wholesale websites compares the main platforms.

To place an order step by step, see how to buy from Alibaba, or how to buy from 1688 through an agent.

Wholesale Markets

To buy wholesale from China in person, go to a wholesale market such as Yiwu or Guangzhou. Markets suit buyers who want many small product lines, ready-made stock and the chance to see goods in person. Go to the market or industrial cluster that specializes in your product, because each region is strongest in particular categories. Our overview of China’s wholesale markets lists them by product, and our guide to the Yiwu market explains how to buy there.

Factories and Trade Fairs

Contacting factories directly and visiting trade fairs are the two main offline routes, and many good factories don’t sell on any platform. The Canton Fair (the China Import and Export Fair) is held in Guangzhou twice a year, in spring and fall. The fall 2026 session, the 140th, runs in three phases: October 15–19, October 23–27 and October 31–November 4. For more ways to source products offline, see our sourcing guide.

Step 5: Verify Chinese Suppliers

Before you pay any supplier, check at least three things: its business license and registered business scope, whether it’s really a factory, and whether it can actually make your product. Run these checks on every shortlisted supplier:

• Business license and scope. Ask for the license and check that the company name and business scope match what the supplier claims. Our guide to buying direct from manufacturers explains how to check a Chinese business license.
• A factory visit. Visit in person, send someone, or ask for a live video tour of the production floor.
• Reputation. Look at transaction history, reviews and how long the company has been trading. Platform badges such as “Verified Supplier” or “Gold Supplier” are paid memberships: treat them as a starting point, not proof.
• Test reports. Ask for test reports for your product, then confirm them with the lab that issued them.

Factories, trading companies and wholesalers each have trade-offs:

Walk away, or slow down, if you see any of these red flags:

• The supplier won’t allow a factory visit or a video tour
• The price is far below what other suppliers quote
• You’re asked to pay a personal account or use Western Union
• The supplier can’t send a sample
• Answers change from one message to the next

Ask Who Will Export Your Goods

A factory doesn’t always export in its own name: shipping through a trading company or export agent is legal and common. Before you pay the deposit, ask two questions and put the answers in the contract:

• Whose name goes on the export declaration? If the goods are held in China, the exporter has to deal with Chinese customs, and that isn’t always the company you signed the contract with.
• What value will be declared for export? If the export value doesn’t match the invoice you give your own customs authority, the mismatch draws extra checks at the border.

Vet Sourcing Agents and Freight Forwarders Too

Check every party that touches your money or your goods, not only the factory:

• Identity. Get the full company name, and make sure the bank account you pay is in that same name.
• Scope in writing. Get a written list of what’s included and what isn’t, and agree in advance who pays if extra charges come up.
• References. Ask for clients you can contact.
• Public answers. Be careful with anyone who can’t answer questions in the open and only asks you to “DM me.” Our guide to how to vet a sourcing agent lists the questions to ask.

Step 6: Order Samples and Negotiate with Your Supplier

Before the production order, approve a sample, agree the price and lead time, choose your Incoterm, and put all of it into the contract.

Samples

Approve a sample before the production order, and use it as the standard for everything that follows.

• Sample more than one supplier. Order samples from 2 to 3 shortlisted suppliers before you commit to one.
• Keep a golden sample. Once you approve a sample, keep one yourself and leave a signed one at the factory. It becomes the standard the production goods are checked against.
• Expect to pay more per sample. A sample costs far more than the unit price of a production order, because it carries the setup and development work. Ask to have the sample fee credited against your first order; most suppliers agree.
• Don’t treat a good sample as a promise. Factories do switch materials or parts after the sample is approved, and a good first order doesn’t guarantee a good second one. Inspect production against the golden sample (Step 8).

Price, MOQ and Lead Time

Agree the price, MOQ and lead time in writing before production starts.

• Start with a trial order. Ask whether the supplier will accept a smaller first order, and get the lead time confirmed in writing.
• Check how the MOQ is counted. The MOQ applies to each color or style, not to the order as a whole, unless you agree otherwise. Standard products have lower minimums than custom ones.

Choose Your Incoterms: EXW, FOB, CIF or DDP

Your Incoterm decides who pays for each part of the shipment and where the risk passes to you. These are the four you’ll meet in Chinese quotes, under Incoterms 2020:

• Cheap freight costs you later. When the supplier arranges shipping, a low freight price gets made up with inflated charges at the destination port, and you can’t choose the forwarder. For transparent costs, buy FOB or EXW and use your own forwarder.
• Write FOB costs into the order. Under FOB, the seller pays the normal costs until the goods are loaded on board, including the loading. State this in the purchase order so the bill of lading isn’t held back over origin charges.
• DDP needs extra checks. Weigh FOB vs DDP before you accept a DDP quote; Step 9 lists what to ask.

Protect Your Design and Molds

Protect a custom design before you share it, and settle who owns the molds before you pay for them.

• Sign an NNN agreement. We recommend signing an NNN agreement (non-disclosure, non-use and non-circumvention) before you share a custom design with a Chinese factory.
• Settle the molds. Agree in writing who pays for the molds and who owns them.

Plan Around Chinese Holidays

Plan orders around two long breaks: the Spring Festival and National Day. In 2026 the official Spring Festival holiday ran nine days, February 15–23, and National Day ran October 1–7. The Spring Festival falls on February 6 in 2027, but the official 2027 holiday schedule hasn’t been published yet; the 2026 schedule came out in November 2025. Factories close for longer than the official holiday and restart slowly, so place orders well ahead of it.

Put It in Writing

Your purchase order and the supplier’s proforma invoice should cover:

• Unit price, quantity and payment terms
• Specifications, labeling and packaging
• Molds and who owns them
• Tolerances
• Lead time and penalties for delays
• Inspection standard (AQL)
• No subcontracting without your approval
• Warranty

Have both documents signed and stamped on every page.

Step 7: Pay Chinese Suppliers Safely

Pay a deposit up front and the balance only after the goods pass inspection, and pay only a company account in the same name as the supplier’s business license.

• Deposit and balance. The standard structure is a 30% deposit and the 70% balance after inspection or against a copy of the bill of lading.
• Pay the balance against the bill of lading. Paying against a copy of the bill of lading means you pay once the goods have actually shipped. The supplier then releases the original bill of lading, or a telex release, so you can collect the goods.
• Check the payee. Pay only an account in the same company name as the business license. If a supplier asks you to pay a different company, such as a Hong Kong exporter, or to pay outside the platform, check how the two companies are related before you pay. If an email suddenly gives new bank details, call the supplier to confirm. An approved sample doesn’t make a payment safe.
• Know what Trade Assurance covers. Trade Assurance itself is free and covers the terms of orders placed and paid on Alibaba.com. As of October 2026, you can claim a refund within 30 days of delivery, or 60 days for Enterprise buyers. It protects you well against non-delivery and much less in quality disputes, so watch the deadline.
• Paying in Chinese yuan. As of October 2026, a Wise Business account can send CNY to a business account in mainland China at a CIPS member bank, and it can also send USD. Accounts in Nigeria and South Africa can’t use this CNY business payment route.
• PayPal’s currency markup. As of October 2026, when a PayPal payment involves a currency conversion, PayPal adds a markup to the base exchange rate: 4% for US business accounts and 3% in the UK.
• Currency risk. The exchange rate moves between the deposit and the balance, and if your currency weakens, the balance costs you more. Agree up front which currency the price is quoted in. For large orders, ask your bank for a forward contract to lock in the rate.
• Larger orders. For large orders you can also use documentary collection (D/P), where your bank hands over the shipping documents only when you pay, or a letter of credit, where the bank pays the supplier only against the agreed documents.

Step 8: Inspect Goods Before Shipment

Book a pre-shipment inspection before you pay the balance, and have the inspector check the goods against your golden sample and the standards in your contract. There are four points to inspect, and every order needs at least the pre-shipment one:

• AQL sampling. Inspectors check a random sample from the order using AQL tables based on ISO 2859-1, described on the ISO 2859-1 page. For consumer goods, the standard setting is 0 for critical defects, 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor. That’s an industry convention, not a requirement of the standard. Our inspection checklist shows what to put in your own.
• Who inspects. A third-party inspection company or your sourcing agent, not the supplier. HiSourcing’s quality inspection team checks goods in the factory before you pay the balance.
• Cost. Third-party inspection companies publish prices of roughly US$240 to US$300 per inspector-day as of October 2026. One inspector-day doesn’t mean an order needs only one day, and lab testing costs extra.
• Pick the samples yourself. You or someone you appoint should pull the units for testing and inspection from the finished goods. Don’t let the supplier choose them or send them.
• Inspect before an Amazon warehouse. If the goods go straight into an Amazon fulfillment center, inspect before they ship. Problems are much harder to fix once the stock is in the warehouse.
• Act on the result. Every inspection ends in a pass, minor issues or a fail, and each one has a next step:
  • Pass: Pay the balance.
  • Minor issues: The factory reworks or removes the defective units on the spot.
  • Fail: The factory reworks the goods and you book a re-inspection. Write into the contract that the supplier pays for re-inspection. Hold the balance until the goods pass, or negotiate a discount and accept them as they are.

Step 9: Ship Your Goods from China

How you ship goods from China depends on volume, value and urgency: express for small parcels, air freight for urgent cargo, sea freight for volume, and rail as another option to Europe.

Shipping Methods: Express, Air, Sea and Rail

For shipping from China, express and air are the fastest options, sea freight takes weeks but costs the least per unit at volume, and rail to Europe sits between sea and air on transit time.

Transit times are only a guide, as of October 2026; check the quote for your own route. Our guide to shipping times compares them in more detail.

• Cargo insurance. Under CIF, the seller only has to buy minimum cover (Institute Cargo Clauses C) for at least 110% of the contract value. For wider cover, buy your own policy or ask for ICC (A) cover.
• Batteries and chemicals. Lithium batteries shipped on their own fly on cargo aircraft only, and lithium-ion batteries shipped alone have a limit on their state of charge. Make sure the supplier can provide the battery’s UN 38.3 test summary, and that chemicals come with a safety data sheet (SDS), under the rules in the IATA lithium battery guidance. Carriers add their own rules on top: DHL Express, for example, ships lithium batteries only for pre-approved accounts. Tell your forwarder what the goods are before you book.

What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship from China?

For larger volumes, sea freight is the cheapest way to ship from China, and consolidating goods from several suppliers into one shipment cuts the cost further. Your shipping cost from China depends on:

• Weight and volume
• Shipping method and route
• Peak seasons
• Charges at the origin and destination ports

To compare prices, ask 2 to 3 forwarders for an itemized quote, and give each one the same cargo details and the same Incoterm.

Importing Containers: FCL vs LCL

With FCL (full container load), you book a whole container. With LCL (less than container load), your goods share a container with other shippers’ cargo.

These are a carrier’s published example specifications; how much fits depends on your cartons and packing.

• When to compare. LCL suits shipments under about 15 m³. As your volume gets close to that, get an all-in quote for both LCL and a 20ft container and compare them.
• Pack for handling. LCL cargo is loaded and unloaded several times, so pack it more strongly than you would for a full container.

Do You Need a Freight Forwarder?

For air, sea and rail shipments, yes; for small parcels, an express courier is enough. A forwarder books space with carriers and moves your goods (who does what). Choose one that knows your route, can handle customs at your end, gives itemized quotes and replies quickly. It depends on the shipment:

• Small parcels. Express couriers clear the goods for you, so you don’t need a forwarder.
• Supplier-arranged freight. Letting the supplier ship is fine if you control the details. Ask which Incoterm applies, and get the tracking number and the release (telex release) details.
• Small volumes. At small volumes, a forwarder’s quote comes in higher than freight the factory arranges. Once your volumes grow, your own forwarder becomes the cheaper and more transparent option.
• Say you’re a business. Tell forwarders you’re importing for a business so they quote the right service.

Sourcing agents can book freight and prepare the export documents for you; HiSourcing’s shipping service works alongside your forwarder or arranges the freight itself.

Consolidating Goods from Multiple Suppliers

If you buy from several suppliers, have them deliver to one warehouse in China. There the goods are checked against your order and inspected before they ship together. One consolidated shipment costs less than several separate express parcels, and it lets you inspect everything at once. HiSourcing runs a China warehouse in Yiwu for this.

DDP and Door-to-Door Shipping

DDP shipping from China (Delivered Duty Paid) is convenient: the seller delivers to the named destination and handles import clearance and duty. The catch: you don’t see what was declared, or in whose name, unless you ask. Before you accept a DDP quote, ask:

1. Who is the importer?
2. Which HS code and declared value will be used?
3. Is the import declared by a licensed customs broker?
4. Will you get the customs documents in your name afterward?
5. Who pays if customs inspects the goods, charges storage or reassesses the duty?
6. What does the quote include, and what does it leave out?

• Cheap per-kg deals. Most cheap per-kg “taxes included” DDP parcels are cheap because the value is under-declared. If customs finds out, it’s your goods that get held.
• VAT or GST registration. If you’re registered for VAT or GST, confirm who acts as the legal importer and whether you’ll receive import tax documents that support a claim.

Step 10: Clear Customs and Receive Your Goods

Your documents need to be ready before the goods arrive. You or your customs broker then declare the goods, and customs releases them once the declaration is accepted and the duty and tax are paid or deferred.

What Documents Are Required to Import from China?

For most shipments you need a commercial invoice, a packing list and a bill of lading or air waybill, plus any certificates your product requires:

These five errors cause most document problems:

• The invoice amount doesn’t match the declared value
• The HS code is wrong
• The country of origin is missing
• The consignee name doesn’t match the bill of lading
• The Incoterm on the invoice doesn’t match the actual deal

Make sure the consignee on your documents is the same company or person registered as the importer. Describe the goods specifically, not with a model number alone. Your country guide lists any extra shipping documents your country requires.

Customs Brokers and Customs Clearance

Customs clearance has five stages: declaration, assessment of duty and tax, payment, inspection if the shipment is selected, and release.

• You stay responsible. The importer is responsible for an accurate declaration, even when a customs broker files it.
• A broker can’t fix the supplier’s mistakes. A good broker checks your documents and flags problems, but only the supplier can correct the documents it issued. If a supplier’s documents keep coming back wrong, change supplier.
• Who handles which side. Sourcing agents, HiSourcing included, prepare the export documents on the China side. Customs clearance in your country is done by you or your licensed customs broker.

How Do You Pay Import Duties and VAT?

You pay duty and tax to whoever clears the goods: the courier for parcels, or your customs broker or forwarder for freight.

• Who collects. For small parcels, the courier pays the duty and tax and bills you. For freight, your customs broker or forwarder invoices you. Either way, customs won’t release the goods until you pay, unless you use a deferment scheme.
• How much. See Step 3.
• Who pays. Under DDP the seller pays the import duty and tax; under EXW, FOB and CIF, you do.
• Paying later. Some countries let registered businesses defer or account for import tax later, such as postponed VAT accounting in the UK and the deferred GST scheme in Australia. Your country guide explains the options.

What If Customs Holds or Revalues Your Shipment?

Answer customs quickly, with documents that back up your declaration.

• Inspections happen. Customs selects shipments at random or by risk. An inspection adds days and fees.
• Customs can reject your value. Keep proof of payment that matches the invoice, and show the goods, freight and insurance as separate amounts on the invoice.
• Never under-declare. Don’t accept an offer from a supplier or forwarder to declare a lower value. If customs finds it, the importer is the one held responsible. When a rival’s landed price looks impossibly low, this is usually how they got there: an under-declared value or the wrong HS code.
• Branded goods. Goods that look counterfeit get the whole shipment held (Step 1).

Tracking, Arrival and Receiving Your Shipment

Track the shipment, collect it promptly and check it before you sign.

• Track and collect. Follow the shipment, and collect it soon after the arrival notice comes in.
• Free time at the port. Ports give you a few free days of storage, then charge by the day. How many depends on the port and your forwarder. There are two daily charges: demurrage when the container stays at the terminal past the free time, and detention when you’ve taken the container out and haven’t returned it empty in time.
• Check the goods before you sign. When the goods arrive:
  • Photograph the delivery before you sign for it
  • Count the cartons against the packing list
  • Check the container seals
  • Open and spot-check some cartons
  • Report any damage within the time limit in your insurance policy

How to Start Importing from China as a Small Business

You can import from China with a small budget. The key is to prove the product and your sales channel with a small trial order before you scale up.

• Keep the first order small. Place a trial order, use low-MOQ platforms, and let an agent consolidate goods from several suppliers.
• Prove demand first. Test the product with local stock before you import (Step 2). At small volumes, the fixed charges on each shipment wipe out the price difference (Step 3).
• Start with a standard product. Make your first order a standard product, not a custom one. Custom work adds molds, longer lead times and more ways for the order to go wrong.
• Ship the first order properly. Send your first real order as a small, correctly declared LCL shipment, and keep express for samples. A trial order is still a commercial import, so declare it under your importer number, not as a personal parcel. Cheap “taxes included” parcels that cut corners get first batches held, and one held shipment wipes out all the savings.

If you sell on Amazon, TikTok Shop or another marketplace, plan for the platform’s rules too:

• Certificates. Marketplaces ask for product certificates before you can list (Step 1).
• Labels done in China. Put the platform’s barcodes and box labels on before the goods leave the factory. Amazon stopped offering FBA prep and item labeling in the US from January 1, 2026, and in Canada from July 1, 2026. HiSourcing can handle FNSKU labeling in China before shipment.
• Shipping straight to the warehouse. You can ship from China directly to Amazon FBA warehouses, but Amazon won’t act as the importer; you or your service provider must be the importer of record.
• Inspection first. Inspect the goods before they ship to the warehouse (Step 8).

How Much Money Do You Need to Start Importing from China?

There’s no fixed amount. It depends on the supplier’s MOQ, your samples, freight, and the duty and tax on your product. Budget for:

• Samples
• The first order
• Inspection
• Freight
• Import duty and VAT or GST
• Customs clearance and port charges
• A buffer for charges you didn’t expect

Common Mistakes When Importing from China

Most of these mistakes happen before you pay. These are the ten we see most in first orders, and each one is easy to avoid:

1. Not verifying the supplier. Check the business license, the factory and the bank account before any payment (Step 5).
2. Skipping samples. Approve a sample, and keep a golden sample, before the production order (Step 6).
3. Comparing unit prices only. Compare landed costs, including the hidden charges (Step 3).
4. Ignoring compliance and certification. Find out what your product needs to be legal to sell (Step 1).
5. Agreeing things only verbally. Put the specifications, deadlines and inspection standard into the purchase order (Step 6).
6. Forgetting Chinese holidays. Order well before the Spring Festival and National Day (Step 6).
7. Checking the rules after paying. Check product rules before the deposit, not when the goods arrive (Step 1).
8. Treating a good sample as a guarantee. Keep a golden sample (Step 6) and inspect the production goods against it (Step 8).
9. Assuming “shipping included” or DDP covers everything. Ask who pays the duty and tax, and who is responsible to customs (Step 9).
10. Under-declaring the value. Don’t do it, and don’t accept it when a supplier or forwarder offers (Step 10).

What’s Changed for Importers in 2025–2026

As of October 2026, the tariff and parcel rules that changed most for importing from China are in the US and the EU:

• US de minimis. Goods from China lost the US$800 duty-free de minimis treatment on May 2, 2025, and the exemption was suspended for all countries from August 29, 2025. It remains suspended, and US law repeals it permanently from July 1, 2027. See the de minimis suspension order on the suspension.
• EU low-value parcels. Since July 1, 2026, the EU no longer waives customs duty on parcels valued under €150. Instead, it charges a temporary €3 per item, where an item means each type of product: five T-shirts count as one item, a T-shirt and a watch count as two. The flat duty is set to apply until July 1, 2028, and it’s a customs duty, separate from VAT. The European Commission explains it in its €3 low-value parcel duty notice.
• US tariffs on Chinese goods. The IEEPA tariffs stopped being collected on February 24, 2026, and the temporary 10% Section 122 surcharge expired on July 24, 2026. From that date, a 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor tariff applies to goods from China, with listed exceptions, on top of the earlier Section 301 tariffs, which remain in force. There’s no single rate for all Chinese goods, so check each layer against your HTS code; the US guide in the country table covers this in detail.
• Where to check for updates. Tariffs change often. Check your own customs authority’s tariff, and for the US, the USTR Section 301 actions and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule linked in Step 3.

How HiSourcing Can Help You Import from China

HiSourcing is a sourcing agent based in Yiwu, China, and has handled the China side of imports for businesses since 2017. We can take care of:

• Finding and verifying factories through our sourcing service
• Negotiating prices and terms
• Samples, product customization, packaging and labels
• Production follow-up and quality inspection
• Warehousing and consolidating orders from several suppliers
• Booking shipments and preparing export documents

What we don’t do is clear goods through customs in your country. That’s done by you or your licensed customs broker. We prepare the export paperwork and work with your freight forwarder and broker, so the shipment arrives ready to clear. Every China-side step in this guide, from finding suppliers to shipping, is work you can hand to us.

Ready to import from China? Contact Us and Get a Free Quote.

FAQs

Is Importing from China Worth It?

It’s worth it if the product still makes a profit after the full landed cost, not just the factory price. Work out that cost first (Step 3), then test the product with a small trial order before you scale up.

Can I Still Buy Things Directly from China?

Yes. What has changed is the cost and the paperwork, not whether you can import. The US ended duty-free de minimis treatment for goods from China, and the EU now charges duty on low-value parcels. See What’s Changed for the details.

How Long Does Shipping from China Take?

Express takes about 1 to 3 days, air freight about 8 to 10 days, and sea freight from a few weeks to well over a month, depending on the route. The shipping methods table in Step 9 compares the options.

Is It Safe to Buy from Alibaba?

Yes, if you verify the supplier and use a payment method with protection. Trade Assurance covers orders placed and paid on Alibaba.com, with a deadline for refund claims (Step 7). Our guide on whether Alibaba is safe covers the checks in detail.

Is Alibaba the Same as AliExpress?

No. Both are run by Alibaba Group, but Alibaba.com is a wholesale marketplace where you request quotes and negotiate, while AliExpress sells small retail orders shipped straight to you. 1688 is a separate wholesale site for buyers inside China, and buyers abroad need an agent or forwarder to ship from it. Our comparison of Alibaba and AliExpress prices explains the gap.

Do I Need a Company to Import from China?

No. In most countries an individual or sole trader can import once registered as an importer. In the US, for example, CBP accepts a Social Security number as the importer number, and in the UK a sole trader can get an EORI number. A company still helps: it limits your liability, and suppliers take businesses more seriously. The country table lists what each country requires.

Can I Pay Chinese Suppliers in My Own Currency?

Yes. Your bank or payment provider converts your currency into the one on the supplier’s invoice, almost always US dollars or yuan, so watch the conversion cost. A Wise Business account can pay business accounts in mainland China in CNY or USD, though not from every country (Step 7), and PayPal adds a markup when it converts currency.

What Is Mini Importation?

Mini importation is a term used in Nigeria for buying small quantities from China to resell. The Nigeria guide linked in the country table covers how it works.

What Is the 0.1% Rule in China?

It’s a threshold in China’s rare earth export controls, set out in MOFCOM Announcement No. 61 of 2025. It covers certain items made outside China that contain Chinese rare earths worth 0.1% or more of their value, when they’re exported to a third country. It doesn’t apply to ordinary goods you import from China, and as of October 2026 it’s suspended until November 10, 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Most goods don’t need an import license, but every commercial importer needs a Business Number (BN) with an RM import-export account and a CARM registration.
• Goods made in China pay Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) duty plus 5% GST at the border, and some also face surtaxes or anti-dumping duties.
• Count the hidden costs before you order: courier brokerage fees, customs broker fees and destination port charges.
• Write Canada’s labelling and certification rules into your spec sheet before production starts.
• DDP is convenient, but it isn’t risk-free if your BN is used or you’re in fact the importer.

If you’re working out how to import to Canada from China, the steps are the same whether you’re bringing in a few cartons for an online store or a full container for a retail business. This guide covers the paperwork, costs and rules for importing goods and products from China to Canada, for small businesses and e-commerce sellers on their first few orders.

Here’s how to import from China to Canada in seven steps:

1. Register your business to import goods into Canada
2. Check Canada’s import requirements for your product
3. Find your HS code and duty rate
4. Calculate the cost to import from China to Canada
5. Find and vet a reliable Chinese supplier
6. Choose a shipping method from China to Canada
7. Clear Canadian customs

Current tariffs, product rules, a checklist, and FAQs follow the steps.

Step 1: Register Your Business to Import Goods into Canada

Before your first order, set up your identity as an importer: a BN with an RM import-export account, a CARM registration and, only if you want to pay later, financial security.

Do You Need an Import License in Canada?

No, not for most goods. Canada has no general import license. What a commercial importer needs is a Business Number with an RM import-export account, which is what people usually mean by an “import license.”

Only controlled or regulated products need a permit. Examples include goods on the Import Control List, such as certain steel products and, since 2026, Chinese electric vehicles; food, plants and animals regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA); and fireworks, which need a Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) permit. Step 2 shows how to check your product.

How to Get an Import-Export Number (BN + RM Account)

Register your BN with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) through Business Registration Online, then open the RM import-export account in the CARM Client Portal. The CBSA page Register for or modify an import-export program account covers both.

1. Sign in to your CRA account, which Business Registration Online has required since July 14, 2026.
2. Choose Add account, then Business account, then Register a business. Eligible online registrations get a BN on the spot.
3. Add the RM account in the CARM Client Portal. Most resident importers can also get a BN directly through CARM.
4. Non-resident businesses apply to the CRA first.

The full number has 15 characters: the 9-digit BN, then RM and four digits, for example 123456789RM0001. Processing times aren’t guaranteed, so register well before your first shipment. You need it whenever you import goods to resell, even as an individual, but not for goods for your own personal use.

How Much Does an Import/Export License Cost in Canada?

The government’s registration pages don’t list a fee for a BN or an RM import-export account. Customs brokers and registration services may charge to set them up, and regulated goods pay a permit fee. Permits issued by Global Affairs Canada cost CAD 15 to CAD 31, depending on the value of the goods. Permits issued by an authorized person cost CAD 10 to CAD 26, plus that person’s service fee.

Register for the CARM Client Portal

CARM (the CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management system) is how the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) assesses and collects duties and taxes on commercial imports, and every commercial importer must register. It became the official system on October 21, 2024, and the Commercial Accounting Declaration (CAD) replaced the old B3 form. There’s no exemption for small importers. The account and the payment deadline are yours as the importer, even when a broker files your entries.

In CARM, you:

• Register your business and link your BN and RM account
• If you’ve imported before, confirm your business when you register by answering validation questions, such as the 14-digit transaction number and total duties and taxes of a recent import, your last payment or your last statement balance. Your customs broker can supply these numbers.
• Delegate authority to your customs broker in the portal. A signed paper authorization alone isn’t enough.
• Receive a monthly Statement of Account on the 25th, covering goods released from the 18th of the previous month to the 17th of the current month
• Pay by the due date, 10 weekdays (holidays included) after the 17th

Do You Need a Customs Bond Under CARM?

Only if you want Release Prior to Payment (RPP), where your goods are released first and you pay later on your monthly statement. Without security, you can still import. You just pay duties and taxes at release.

For RPP, the security is based on the highest monthly amount owed on your RM account in the past 12 months. New importers estimate it from what they expect to import.

• Customs bond or other security agreement: 50% of that amount, with a minimum of CAD 5,000 per RM account
• Cash deposit: 100% of that amount, with no minimum
• Maximum: CAD 10 million per RM account

Since May 20, 2025, importers can no longer rely on their customs broker’s security. If you import only a few shipments a year, paying at release is usually simpler than posting a bond.

Step 2: Check Canada’s Import Requirements for Your Product

Before you order, confirm three things: the product is allowed into Canada, you have any permit it needs, and it meets Canada’s rules for products sold here.

What Items Cannot Be Imported into Canada?

They fall into two groups: goods that are prohibited outright, and goods that can come in only with a permit or authorization.

Prohibited goods are listed in Customs Tariff items 9897, 9898 and 9899 and explained in the CBSA’s D9 memoranda. They include:

• Counterfeit coins, and goods marked with a false country of origin or trademark
• Used mattresses imported for commercial use
• Goods made wholly or partly by forced labour or child labour
• Certain used motor vehicles
• Firearms and weapons under item 9898, and obscene material and hate propaganda under 9899

Restricted goods need a permit or authorization from a federal department. Supply-managed farm products, food, drugs, medical devices, fireworks and endangered species are common examples, and the next section lists the departments.

The CBSA can detain suspected counterfeit goods, usually for up to 10 working days, while the rights holder decides whether to take legal action. If a product carries a brand you don’t own, get written authorization from the brand owner before you order.

Permits from Other Government Departments (Health Canada, CFIA, Transport Canada)

Some products need a permit, license or registration from another department on top of normal CBSA clearance. The table shows the main ones. To check your own product, use the CBSA’s “Other government import requirements” list.

Product-specific rules are in the product section below.

Product Safety, Labelling and Certification Rules

Consumer products sold in Canada must comply with the CCPSA, and key label information must be in English and French. These points trip up first-time importers most:

• Importer obligations. Don’t import consumer products that are dangerous or don’t comply. Keep supplier and customer records for 6 years after the end of the year they relate to. Report an incident to Health Canada within 2 days, with a written report within 10 days.
• Bilingual labels. On prepackaged products, the product name and net quantity must be in English and French, while the dealer’s name and address can be in either language, such as “Imported by / Importé par.” This also applies to private label goods and repackaging.
• Category rules. Clothing, electrical products, wireless devices and other categories have their own rules, covered in the product section.
• Wood packaging. Solid wood pallets, crates and dunnage from China must be treated to ISPM-15 and carry the IPPC mark. A phytosanitary certificate can’t replace the mark for wood packaging from China. See D-98-08: Entry requirements for wood packaging material into Canada.
• Your spec sheet. Write bilingual labels, certification marks and the shipping mark for each carton into your spec sheet and purchase contract before production starts. Getting labels right in the factory costs far less than relabelling in a Canadian warehouse.

Step 3: Find Your HS Code and Duty Rate

Your HS code decides how much duty you pay. It also tells you whether a permit, surtax or anti-dumping duty applies, so confirm it before you compare supplier quotes.

What Is an HS Code?

An HS code is the number customs authorities use to classify products under the international Harmonized System. Canada’s version has 10 digits: the first 6 are the international HS code, the first 8 form the Canadian tariff item that sets the duty rate, and the last 2 are a statistical suffix. You declare all 10 digits. Building block toys, for example, are classified under 9503.00.90.40.

How to Find Your Product’s HS Code in the Canadian Customs Tariff

Look your product up in the CBSA’s current Customs Tariff 2026, working down from chapter to heading to subheading until you reach a 10-digit number.

1. Find the chapter that covers your product. Furniture and lighting, for example, are in Chapter 94.
2. Narrow it down to the 4-digit heading and the 6-digit subheading.
3. Choose the 8-digit tariff item, where the MFN duty rate is listed.
4. Add the 2-digit statistical suffix to get the full 10-digit number.

Don’t copy your supplier’s code beyond the first 6 digits. The extra digits on Chinese export documents are China’s own subdivisions and won’t match Canada’s tariff. If your product could fit under more than one heading, ask a customs broker to confirm the classification before you order.

Which Tariff Rate Applies to Goods from China?

Goods made in PRC/China pay the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rate. Canada has no free trade agreement with China, and China has not been eligible for the General Preferential Tariff (GPT) since January 1, 2015.

The MFN rate is only the starting point. Some Chinese products also face surtaxes, a temporary safeguard surtax or anti-dumping and countervailing duties, which are covered in current tariffs on Chinese imports. Duty depends on where the goods were made, not where they were shipped from.

Duty Rates for Common Products Imported from China

The table lists 10-digit codes and MFN rates for common products imported from China, under the tariff in force since September 1, 2026. Check the classification for your own product before you order.

Rates checked against the Customs Tariff on October 12, 2026.

These codes are for the example specifications shown. A product with a different material, use or construction can fall under a different code and rate, so confirm the classification for your exact product.

Step 4: Calculate the Cost to Import from China to Canada

Your real cost to import from China to Canada is your landed cost:

product cost + freight + insurance + duty + GST + customs clearance fees + other charges such as port fees, storage, delivery and, if you use one, a sourcing agent.

MFN duty on common products ranges from free to 18% (see the duty rate table). On small orders, freight and fees often cost more than the duty.

Import Duties from China to Canada

Duty = value for duty × duty rate.

Value for duty starts from the transaction price, meaning what you paid the supplier. Freight and insurance from the place of direct shipment to Canada are excluded if they’re shown separately, while costs before that point are included. The place of direct shipment can be the port, the factory or a warehouse. If you buy FOB Ningbo, for example, the price already covers getting the goods to the port, and the ocean freight is excluded.

Convert a foreign-currency invoice at the Bank of Canada exchange rate for the date of direct shipment, not the date you paid, the invoice date or the day you clear customs. Surtaxes and anti-dumping duties are added on top of regular duty, and GST is then charged on the total.

Import Taxes: GST, HST and PST (and How to Claim Them Back)

Commercial imports pay 5% GST at the border, calculated on the value for duty plus duty, surtaxes, anti-dumping duties and excise taxes. A common mistake is treating your province’s full HST rate as “GST.” At the border, it’s 5%.

The provincial part of HST generally isn’t collected at the border on commercial goods. If you’re a GST/HST registrant using the goods at least 90% in your commercial activities, you usually don’t need to self-assess it; otherwise you do. In British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, you self-assess PST or RST on taxable goods you use yourself, while goods bought for resale are exempt. A Quebec QST registrant importing only for commercial activities doesn’t pay QST up front.

HST rates include the 5% federal GST.

Claiming it back: if you’re a GST/HST registrant, you can usually claim the GST paid at import as an input tax credit (ITC), as long as the goods are for your commercial activities and you keep records such as the CAD, payment records and invoices. Being the importer of record isn’t enough on its own, and a DDP buyer can’t claim GST just because the seller’s invoice says taxes are included. For registrants, import GST is mostly a cash-flow cost rather than a real one.

Shipping, Insurance and Customs Clearance Fees

A customs broker typically charges from CAD 50 to CAD 105 or more to clear a standard commercial shipment, and brokers that price by value can charge up to around CAD 300. Extra tariff lines, extra invoices and goods that need another department’s approval cost more. Courier companies have their own brokerage fees, covered in hidden costs below.

Freight is usually the biggest variable. It depends on the shipping method, volume and season, and the shipping comparison table gives typical ranges.

Cargo insurance typically costs about 0.2% to 0.5% of the CIF value of the goods, with cover usually set at 110% of CIF value. Read the policy to see what’s actually covered.

Hidden Costs: Courier Brokerage, Port Charges and Customs Exams

Beyond duty and tax, these four costs catch new importers most often.

1. Courier brokerage fees. UPS, FedEx and DHL clear your parcel by default and bill you for it. UPS express services, for example, charge 3.7% of duties and taxes or CAD 12, whichever is higher, while UPS Standard charges by value, such as CAD 141.30 for goods worth CAD 1,600.01 to CAD 2,500. Canada Post charges CAD 9.95 per taxable item. How to avoid it: compare courier fees, or arrange your own broker before shipping.
2. Destination charges. A CIF or “to port” quote stops at the port, leaving document fees, terminal charges, CFS charges for LCL cargo and trucking to you. How to avoid it: get destination charges in writing before you book.
3. Customs exams. The CBSA can examine any shipment, and being a first-time importer is one of its risk indicators, though it publishes no exam rate for new importers. For sea containers, the facility’s unloading, drayage and storage charges reach you through the carrier and can run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. How to reduce the risk: send complete, accurate documents (see Step 7).
4. Demurrage, detention and storage. These separate charges can all hit one container, and free time can be short: 24 hours for shipping line containers at CPKC’s Toronto (Vaughan) and Montreal (Lachine) terminals. How to avoid it: line up your broker and trucking before arrival.

Example: Landed Cost Calculation

Here’s the math for two example orders: a small courier shipment and a larger LCL sea shipment. All inputs are assumptions, including the exchange rate, so use your own quotes and the Bank of Canada rate for your shipping date.

Example 1: 40 LED wall lights by express courier, delivered to Ontario

If you’re a GST/HST registrant, the CAD 29.96 GST is usually recoverable as an ITC, bringing the net cost to CAD 865.64.

Example 2: Wooden bedroom furniture by LCL sea freight, FOB Ningbo to Vancouver

These beds and dressers aren’t fixed cabinets or steel derivatives, so no surtax applies, but adding upholstered seating or mattresses could bring in anti-dumping duties. Freight is about 28% of the small order’s landed cost, but only about 11% of the LCL order’s. In both cases, a registrant can usually recover the GST, but not the duty.

Before you order, get a quote for every line in these tables, including destination charges and any testing or certification your product needs. If a line is still missing, your landed cost isn’t complete.

What Items Are Exempt from Import Duty in Canada?

Many products are already duty-free, with an MFN rate of “Free” in the Customs Tariff. Smartphones, Bluetooth speakers, building block toys and plastic injection moulding machines are examples. Duty-free doesn’t mean GST-free, though.

• Low-value parcels: mail and courier shipments from China are free of duty and tax only if the value for duty is CAD 20 or less; above that, everything is charged.
• GST-free goods: Schedule VII of the Excise Tax Act covers goods such as basic groceries, certain prescription drugs and medical devices, and feminine hygiene products, each with conditions.
• Drawback: duty on goods re-exported in the same condition can be claimed back after export, within 4 years of release.
• Faulty goods: defective, lower-quality or wrong goods can qualify for a duty refund under section 76 of the Customs Act, with written notice within 4 years for non-perishables. GST is recovered as an ITC, not through drawback.

Step 5: Find and Vet a Reliable Chinese Supplier

Choosing a supplier comes down to five questions: where to look, whether to use an agent, how to verify the company, how to check quality and how to pay. This is the core of sourcing products from China.

Where to Find Reliable Manufacturers and Suppliers in China

Most Canadian importers find suppliers through one of three channels.

• Online B2B platforms. Alibaba is the usual starting point for overseas buyers, with English listings, a huge supplier base and payment protection on the platform. The catch is that many sellers are trading companies, and quality varies widely. 1688 often has lower prices, but it’s in Chinese and needs Chinese payment methods, so overseas buyers usually go through a 1688 sourcing agent.
• Trade fairs and wholesale markets. Trade fairs and wholesale markets let you see products and meet suppliers in person. The Yiwu market is a common source of small consumer goods in mixed, smaller quantities. You need to travel, or have someone on the ground, like a Yiwu sourcing agent.
• Sourcing agents. An agent finds and checks factories for you and manages the order in China. The next section explains when that’s worth it.

Should You Use a Sourcing Agent to Import from China?

It depends on how complex your order is and how much experience you have. A sourcing agent handles the China side of an import: finding and vetting factories, negotiating, managing samples, following production, inspecting quality, consolidating goods, booking shipment, and preparing export documents.

Agents usually charge a commission on the order value, a fixed fee per order or project, or a monthly retainer. Sourcing agent fees vary as much in scope as in price, so compare what each quote includes.

An agent is usually worth it when:

• You buy from several suppliers and want one shipment
• The product is custom-made or sold under your own brand
• It’s your first order with a new factory
• You can’t travel to China to check suppliers or goods

Buying direct is often enough for a standard product from a single supplier, paid through a protected method such as Alibaba Trade Assurance. The Alibaba vs sourcing agent decision mostly comes down to how much time you can spend managing suppliers yourself.

Who does what in a China-to-Canada import

Canadian customs clearance is done by you as the importer, or by a licensed customs broker you authorize in the CARM Client Portal. A sourcing agent doesn’t clear goods through the CBSA.

HiSourcing, the publisher of this guide, is a sourcing agent based in Yiwu that has handled the China side of imports since 2017. Its product sourcing service covers everything from the factory search to shipment.

How to Verify a Supplier Before You Pay

Before you pay, confirm that the company is registered, that it is what it claims to be and that it can make your product.

1. Check the business license. Look up the company’s Unified Social Credit Code in China’s national enterprise credit system. The registered name should match the company on your contract and the bank account you’ll pay.
2. Factory or trading company? A factory’s business scope includes manufacturing, and it can show you a production address and equipment. Trading companies aren’t a problem in themselves, but you should know whether you’re dealing with a manufacturer or middleman.
3. See production. Ask for a live video tour, or have someone visit and audit the factory.
4. Get references. Ask for buyers you can contact, ideally in Canada or the US.
5. Know your protection. Alibaba Trade Assurance helps in a delivery or quality dispute only if you pay through the platform and the terms are written into the order.

Red flags: a price far below other quotes, pressure to pay fast, a personal bank account, no video call, or an email announcing new bank details, one of the most common scams.

Samples and Quality Inspection

Order samples first, then a small trial order, and inspect the goods before you pay the balance.

• Samples. Compare quotes from several factories, then order samples from the best few. Approve a “golden sample,” keep a signed copy on each side and refer to it in the purchase contract.
• Order size. Factories set a minimum order quantity (MOQ). Make sure you can sell that quantity in a reasonable time and have room to store it. For a first order, ask whether they’ll accept a smaller trial run, even at a higher unit price.
• Price and quality. Many importers report that squeezing the price too hard leads to cheaper materials or skipped steps. Put materials and specifications in writing.
• Pre-shipment inspection. Inspect when production is finished and packed, before the balance is paid, and early enough to leave time for rework if the goods fail. Inspectors check a random sample using AQL (Acceptance Quality Limit) sampling, which sets how many defects are acceptable for the order size.
• Inspection checklist. A quality control checklist covers specifications and dimensions, function, labels and bilingual markings, packaging and carton marks, quantity, and defect classes (critical, major and minor).

How to Pay a Chinese Supplier Safely

Most suppliers ask for a deposit before production and the balance after. A common split is a 30% deposit and a 70% balance, paid before shipment or against a copy of the bill of lading. Paying before shipment means the supplier still holds the goods. Paying against the bill of lading copy means they’ve shipped, and the supplier releases the original bill or a telex release once paid.

Paying through a sourcing agent. You usually pay the agent, and the agent pays the factory in RMB. Ask who signs the purchase contract with you: if it’s the agent, the agent answers to you for the order. Either way, the commercial invoice for Canadian customs must show the real seller and the price actually paid.

Currency and design protection. Fix the currency and price in the contract, and allow for exchange rate swings before the balance is due. For custom products, add intellectual property, confidentiality and exclusivity clauses, such as a ban on selling your design or using your moulds for others. Intellectual property protection is territorial, so register your trademark in China as well as in Canada. State in the contract how disputes will be resolved and which jurisdiction applies, and for complex custom products, keep the English and Chinese versions of the specification consistent.

Confirm any change of bank details by phone or video with someone you know before you pay. If something does go wrong, your chances of recovering your money depend on how you paid.

Step 6: Choose a Shipping Method from China to Canada

The right method depends on volume, deadline and budget. The table shows typical ranges at the time of writing. Freight rates swing sharply from month to month, so get a live quote before you order. Transit time also varies by route and season; see this guide to shipping times from China.

Costs are port to port or airport to airport and exclude destination charges, duty and clearance. In mid-2026, quotes ran at around half these levels or lower. Delivery to Toronto or Montreal adds a rail leg.

Sea Freight (FCL vs LCL)

LCL (less than container load) is priced per cubic metre, and FCL (full container load) is priced per container. With LCL, your cartons share a container with other shippers’ goods, which adds about a week for consolidation and unloading. With FCL, the container is yours from origin to destination.

As your shipment approaches about 15 m³, ask for door-to-door quotes for both LCL and a 20-foot container and compare them. That’s a rule of thumb for when to compare, not a point where FCL always wins. Remember that LCL cargo goes through a CFS warehouse in Canada, which charges for devanning, handling, release and storage.

Air Freight and Express Courier

Air freight and express courier suit small, urgent or high-value goods. Both charge by chargeable weight, which is the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight, so light, bulky cartons cost more than their scale weight suggests.

Couriers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL usually act as your customs broker by default and charge a fee for it (see hidden costs). You can ask before shipping whether to use your own broker instead. Eligible courier shipments with a value for duty up to CAD 3,300 can be cleared through the simplified Courier Low Value Shipment (CLVS) program, but that’s a clearance limit, not a tax exemption.

How to Combine Orders from Multiple Suppliers into One Shipment

When you buy from several suppliers, it usually costs less to deliver everything to one warehouse in China and ship it together than to ship each order separately.

1. Each supplier delivers to the consolidation warehouse.
2. The warehouse receives and counts each delivery against your order.
3. The goods are inspected, and repacked or relabelled if needed.
4. Everything ships together as one LCL or FCL shipment.

On the paperwork side, you get one consolidated packing list, but each supplier’s commercial invoice stays separate. Your broker adds each invoice to the same CAD, showing the real seller and its goods. You can’t merge several sellers into a single summary invoice with no seller details.

Consolidation doesn’t pay off when one supplier’s order already fills a container, when the goods need different routes or deadlines, or when the extra warehouse handling costs more than the freight you save.

HiSourcing runs this process at its Yiwu warehouse and can book the combined sea or air shipment for you.

Choose Your Canadian Port of Entry

Most sea freight from China enters Canada on the West Coast, at Vancouver or Prince Rupert. You can also ship all-water to Montreal or Halifax.

If a quote says “to Toronto,” your container will usually land on the West Coast and finish the trip by rail. CPKC’s schedule shows containers available in Toronto or Montreal on day 5 after loading in Vancouver, and CN averages about 4.5 to 5.5 days from Prince Rupert to Toronto. Plan around the door-to-door times in the shipping table, not the sailing time a supplier quotes.

Understand Incoterms (FOB, EXW, DDP)

Incoterms decide where costs and risk pass from your supplier to you.

• FOB (Free On Board). The supplier delivers the goods loaded on the vessel at the Chinese port, and you pay ocean freight and everything after. An FOB price is the most common choice for importers with their own forwarder.
• EXW (Ex Works). You take over at the factory, including Chinese export clearance. EXW terms put a heavy load on an overseas buyer with no one in China.
• CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight). The supplier pays freight and insurance to the Canadian port, but destination charges, broker fees and inland delivery are still yours. CIF terms are not all-inclusive.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). The seller handles delivery, duties and taxes. It needs its own checks, covered in the next section.

Is DDP Shipping from China Safe?

It can be. DDP is a legitimate Incoterm, and a foreign seller can lawfully act as the non-resident importer (NRI) in Canada. The risk is a “DDP” quote that relies on undervaluing goods or grey-market clearance. If your BN was used, or you’re in fact the importer, you can still be liable for unpaid duty and tax and for corrections.

The seller is usually the owner at release and, as an NRI, needs its own BN, RM account and CARM registration. Since January 1, 2026, the importer of record, the person who actually causes the import and the owner at release share responsibility.

Signs of fake DDP: a price far below duty-paid quotes, a request for your BN “for customs,” no clear importer of record, or a tax bill after delivery. Genuine DDP from a registered NRI can suit small or urgent shipments, such as a first batch sent to Amazon FBA in Canada.

Before you accept a DDP quote, ask:

1. Who is the importer of record, and whose BN and RM account will be used?
2. Will you get a copy of the customs declaration and proof of payment?
3. What value will duty and tax be calculated on? It should be the price you actually paid.

The choice between FOB and DDP comes down to control versus convenience.

Step 7: Clear Canadian Customs

Customs clearance is the process of declaring your goods to the CBSA, paying the duties and taxes owed and getting the goods released. You, or a customs broker you’ve authorized, submit the release request and then account for the goods in CARM. The CBSA’s Guide to importing commercial goods into Canada sets out the official process.

Documents You Need (Commercial Invoice, Bill of Lading, Packing List)

You need three basic documents: a commercial invoice, a bill of lading or air waybill, and a packing list.

For goods worth more than CAD 2,500, you don’t need a Canada Customs Invoice (CI1) as long as your commercial invoice has all the required information. You can also attach a CI1 to fill in anything missing.

For MFN goods, showing the country of origin on the commercial invoice is normally enough, and you don’t need a separate certificate of origin from a chamber of commerce. Separate proof applies to steel and aluminum melt-and-pour rules and to anti-dumping cases.

On sea shipments, the carrier releases the cargo against the original bill of lading, or against a telex release once the supplier surrenders the original, usually after you’ve paid the balance.

Should You Use a Customs Broker or Clear Customs Yourself?

You can clear customs yourself, but most commercial importers use a customs broker.

To self-clear under CARM, you register in the CARM Client Portal, submit a release request for each shipment, account for it with a CAD and pay through your CARM account. Release requests go to the CBSA electronically, so self-clearing a regular flow of shipments takes setup and practice.

A broker makes most sense if you import regularly, have many tariff lines, need permits from another department, face surtaxes or anti-dumping duties, or ship by courier, which usually acts as your broker by default.

Choosing a forwarder and broker. A Chinese forwarder is often cheaper at origin, while a Canadian forwarder handles the destination side with your broker. Either works if someone clearly owns each leg. Ask:

• Are you licensed, and what does your fee per entry include?
• What costs extra, such as more tariff lines, invoices or permits?
• Will you file my release request before arrival?
• How do you handle CARM delegation?
• Which destination charges should I expect?

For how the work splits between a sourcing agent, a forwarder and a broker, see the who does what table.

Pay Duties and Taxes and Release Your Goods

File your release request before the goods arrive. You can submit up to 45 days ahead under the Pre-Arrival Review System (PARS), or up to 90 days ahead for an Integrated Import Declaration (IID). If an eligible electronic request is in at least 1 hour before arrival, the CBSA aims to have a release or exam decision ready when the goods arrive. Filing early doesn’t stop an exam.

How you pay depends on your setup. Without security, you pay duties and taxes at release. With RPP security, the goods are released first, and you pay on your monthly CARM statement. See Do You Need a Customs Bond Under CARM?

After Release: Keep Records and Correct Errors

Keep your import records for at least 6 years.

If you have reason to believe your origin, tariff classification or value for duty was wrong, you must correct it within 90 days. Don’t wait for the CBSA to contact you. In CARM, a change made before the payment due date is a correction, and a change after the due date is an adjustment, generally allowed within 4 years.

Refunds for overpaid duty, drawback on re-exported goods and refunds for faulty goods are covered in duty exemptions.

What Are the Current Tariffs on Chinese Imports to Canada?

Last updated: October 12, 2026

As of October 12, 2026, the extra measures on Chinese goods fall into four groups: a quota system for electric vehicles, steel and aluminum surtaxes, a temporary safeguard surtax on wooden cabinets, and anti-dumping and countervailing duties. All of them apply on top of regular MFN duty and GST, not instead of them.

Chinese Electric Vehicles: Surtax Removed, Quotas and Permits Apply

Canada removed the 100% surtax on Chinese electric vehicles on March 1, 2026, replacing it with a quota and a permit for each import; vehicles within the quota pay the 6.1% MFN rate. The first quota year (March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027) allows 49,000 vehicles in two tranches of 24,500, and the second opened on September 1, 2026, with any unused first-tranche quota added.

Only Canadian-resident EV manufacturers, or a resident agent of a non-resident manufacturer, can apply, and imports without a permit are prohibited. Transport Canada’s safety rules still apply. See the notice Import of Electric Vehicles from the People’s Republic of China – Serial No. 1168.

Steel, Aluminum and Steel Derivative Surtaxes

Only one steel or aluminum surtax applies to a product, in this order:

1. 50% on steel above the tariff rate quota (since June 27, 2025, extended to June 27, 2027)
2. 25% on listed Chinese steel and aluminum products (since October 22, 2024), or listed goods with steel or aluminum melted and poured in China (since July 31, 2025)
3. 25% on steel derivatives from any country, on the product’s full value for duty (since December 26, 2025)

Upholstered metal chairs and steel modular buildings count as steel derivatives. Finance Canada’s page Canada’s tariffs: Steel and aluminum lists the products covered.

Separately, since July 31, 2026, wooden cabinets and vanities for permanent installation, and their parts, face a 25% temporary safeguard surtax for up to 200 days, with no exemption for China. The details are in Customs Notice 26-17: Certain Wood Cabinet and Vanity Goods Surtax Order.

Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties (SIMA)

Under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA), Canada charges extra duty on goods that are dumped (sold below normal value) or subsidized, and many of these measures apply to Chinese products. As of October 12, 2026, there are 36 final measures and 3 provisional measures on goods from China. These are the ones most relevant to small and mid-sized importers:

Duties on photovoltaic modules were rescinded on September 17, 2026. Whether a measure applies depends on the exact product definition and exclusions, not just the tariff code. Check the CBSA’s Measures in force for the full list.

How to Check Whether Your Product Is Affected

Check your tariff code against the surtax lists, the SIMA measures and the remission orders.

1. Confirm your 10-digit code (see Step 3).
2. Check Finance Canada’s surtax lists: steel, aluminum, steel derivatives and the cabinet safeguard.
3. Check the CBSA’s SIMA measures, including the product definitions and exclusions.
4. Check for remission. The China surtax remission order covers goods in its Schedule 1 imported from October 22, 2024 to December 31, 2026. Goods in Schedule 2 have their own periods and conditions, and some periods have already ended. Claims are due within 2 years of import, and companies registered in Canada can also ask Finance Canada for an exemption.

Canada’s counter-tariffs on US goods apply by origin, so Chinese-made goods routed through the US don’t attract them, but they still pay MFN duty, the China measures and any anti-dumping duty.

How to Import Specific Products from China to Canada

Requirements vary a lot by product. The table gives an overview, and duty rates are in the duty rate table.

Furniture

Furniture for consumers falls under the CCPSA.

• The old provincial labelling rules for upholstered furniture in Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec have been repealed. Federal textile labelling rules still apply.
• Composite wood panels, and furniture made from them, must meet the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (CANFER), in force since January 7, 2023.
• Upholstered domestic seating and mattresses face anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and wooden cabinets and vanities for permanent installation carry the 25% safeguard surtax.

A common pitfall is treating every order as “wooden furniture.” Upholstered metal chairs attract the 25% steel derivative surtax.

Clothes

Clothing must meet the Textile Labelling Act. Labels show the generic fibre names and percentages in English and French. The dealer’s name and address can be in one language, or replaced with a CA identification number. Pants, shirts and similar garments usually need a permanent label that lasts through washing.

A common pitfall is approving the garment sample but not the label. Send the label artwork, with bilingual fibre content, as part of your spec. Clothing also carries some of the highest MFN rates in the duty rate table.

Machinery

For electrical machinery, certification is the main issue. Plug-in consumer appliances need a mark from an accredited certification body, such as CSA, cUL or cETL. Industrial electrical equipment is approved under the rules of the province where it’s installed. Products covered by NRCan’s energy efficiency regulations must meet them, carry a verification mark and be reported at import. A CE mark on its own isn’t enough.

Plan the logistics early, too. A large machine bought CIF might land at Prince Rupert, be held for a customs exam, go by rail to Montreal and finish by truck, with broker, duty and storage charges along the way.

Building Materials

Building materials must meet the building, fire and plumbing codes adopted where they’ll be installed. Interior plywood, MDF, particleboard and products made from them must meet CANFER. Ask your supplier for a compliance declaration and keep it on file.

Tile, stone and other dense materials are heavy for their size, so they often hit a container’s weight limit before filling it. Plan loads by weight as well as volume. Duty rates for ceramic and PVC floor tiles are in the duty rate table.

Capsule Houses and Prefab Homes

A steel modular building, such as a capsule house or container home, is classified under 9406.20.00.00 at 6% MFN, and it’s on the steel derivative list at 25%. CSA A277 is a factory certification and inspection program, not an import permit. You still need a local building permit, site inspections and occupancy approval. If the unit has wheels or a highway trailer frame, vehicle import rules apply.

A common pitfall is buying a model with no clear path to local approval. Talk to your municipality before you order.

Tires

New highway tires must meet the Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations (CMVSS/TSD 109, 119 or 139) and carry an identification number on the sidewall. The National Safety Mark (NSM) shows Canadian compliance. A DOT mark shows US compliance and isn’t enough on its own. If you import new tires to resell, CBSA Memorandum D19-12-2 requires a declaration that they meet the Canadian standards: a written declaration from the manufacturer or its authorized representative on a paper entry, or the completed declaration fields on an electronic release request.

Electronics and Wireless Devices

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular and other radio products fall under ISED’s rules. Category I radio equipment needs ISED certification under standards such as RSS-Gen, a listing in ISED’s radio equipment list and an IC number on the label. Category II equipment is exempt from certification but must still meet the applicable standards, and a product built around an already-certified Category I radio module usually doesn’t need its own certification; RSP-100 sets out when it does. RSS-Gen Issue 6 was published on July 30, 2026, with a one-year transition period. Digital devices without radios follow ICES-003, which means a self-declaration and a label such as CAN ICES-003(A)/NMB-003(A).

A common pitfall is assuming US FCC certification covers Canada. It doesn’t. Plug-in products also need electrical safety certification (see Machinery).

Power Banks (Lithium Batteries)

Every battery model must pass UN 38.3 testing. Standalone lithium-ion batteries ship as UN3480 and can’t travel as cargo on passenger aircraft, while batteries packed with or inside equipment ship as UN3481. Consumer batteries remain subject to the CCPSA.

A common pitfall is treating UN 38.3 as a product safety certificate. It’s a transport test. Ask your supplier for the test summary and safety data sheet before you book freight, because lithium battery shipping needs a China sourcing agent for electronics or a forwarder that accepts dangerous goods.

Fireworks

You need an NRCan import permit to import fireworks, and each product must be authorized as an explosive in Canada. Packaging, bilingual labelling and dangerous goods transport rules also apply, and permit holders must report the quantities they import each year.

A common pitfall is paying a deposit before the products are authorized. Check the authorization status first, and use a forwarder that handles explosives.

Can You Import a Car from China to Canada?

For most individuals, not a recent one. Vehicles from outside the US and Mexico that are less than 15 years old and don’t meet the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) can’t be imported permanently, and they can’t be modified after arrival to meet them. The 15 years are counted from the month and year of manufacture.

• New cars: must be bought directly from the manufacturer, built to Canadian standards and pre-authorized.
• Used cars: generally only once they’re at least 15 years old.
• Electric cars: the 100% surtax is gone, but imports need a quota permit, and only manufacturers or their resident agents can apply.
• Trailers: these are regulated vehicles too, with the same restrictions.

Shipping, duty and compliance costs vary widely by vehicle, so confirm eligibility before you get quotes.

First-Time Importer Checklist

Run through this list before you place your first order.

Registration

• BN and RM import-export account set up
• CARM registration done and broker delegated
• Decided whether to pay at release or post security for RPP

Product and HS code

• Product isn’t prohibited, and any permits are in place
• Labelling, safety and certification rules written into the spec sheet
• Canadian 10-digit code confirmed, not copied from the supplier
• Surtax, safeguard and anti-dumping lists checked

Costs and supplier

• Landed cost calculated, including broker and courier fees
• Freight quote checked for destination charges
• MOQ checked against how fast you can sell and where you’ll store it
• Business license checked, and factory or trading company confirmed
• Sample approved, and inspection booked before the balance payment
• If you use a sourcing agent, confirmed what’s included: inspection, consolidation, export documents (see how to choose a sourcing agent)

Shipping and customs

• Confirmed whether the courier will clear customs for you by default
• Timeline planned on door-to-door time, not sailing time
• Importer of record confirmed, especially for DDP
• Documents checked and release request filed before arrival

After arrival

• Delivery appointment booked, with dock hours and unloading equipment (forklift or liftgate) confirmed
• Cartons counted and checked for damage before you sign, with photos and notes on the delivery receipt
• Any damage or shortage reported to the carrier and your insurer right away

FAQs about How to Import from China to Canada

Can I Import Goods into Canada for Personal Use?

Yes, and you don’t need a BN or RM account to do it. Parcels mailed or couriered from China are free of duty and tax only if the value for duty is CAD 20 or less. Above that, duty and tax apply to the full value. Traveller exemptions and the CAD 60 gift exemption are separate rules and can’t be used for goods you plan to sell. Couriers usually charge a fee for clearing your parcel (see hidden costs). For a personal shipment, you can refuse the courier’s clearance and pay the duty and tax yourself at a CBSA office that offers accounting services. Bring the tracking number, invoice and ID, then give the receipt to the courier so it can deliver.

Can I Ask My Supplier to Declare a Lower Value?

No. Undervaluing is customs fraud, and as the importer, you carry the risk. Penalties under the CBSA’s Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) start at CAD 150 for an inaccurate document and CAD 500 for not correcting value for duty within 90 days, and they rise for repeat contraventions. The goods can also be seized. A deliberate false declaration is a criminal offence, with fines of up to CAD 500,000 or up to 5 years in prison on indictment. An undervalued invoice can also reduce what you recover on an insurance claim.

Can I Ship Chinese Goods Through the U.S. to Avoid Tariffs?

No. Canada charges duty based on where goods were made, and shipping them through the US doesn’t change their Chinese origin. Chinese goods routed through the US still pay MFN duty, the China-specific measures and any anti-dumping duty in Canada. If the goods are formally imported into the US first, you may pay US duty as well, so the detour can cost more. The US import process has its own rules and tariffs on Chinese goods.

What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship from China to Canada?

It depends on volume. For small, light parcels, postal small packet or express courier is cheapest. For larger orders, sea freight costs far less per unit: LCL for smaller volumes, and FCL once you get close to about 15 m³. Compare the current ranges in the shipping table. If you buy from several suppliers, combining orders in China into one shipment usually cuts costs further.

How Long Does Shipping from China to Canada Take?

Sea freight to Vancouver takes about 14–24 days port to port, and about 22–30 days to Toronto or Montreal via a West Coast port and rail. For a full container door to door, plan on 4–7 weeks. Air freight takes about 5–12 working days door to door, and express courier about 3–7 working days. See the shipping comparison table for details.

Need Help Importing from China to Canada? How HiSourcing Can Help

HiSourcing is a sourcing agent based in Yiwu, China, and has handled the China side of imports for businesses since 2017. It can take care of:

• Finding and verifying factories
• Negotiating prices and terms
• Samples, product customization, packaging and labels
• Production follow-up and quality inspection
• Warehousing and consolidating orders from several suppliers
• Booking shipments and preparing export documents

What HiSourcing doesn’t do is clear goods through Canadian customs. That’s done by you or your licensed customs broker. HiSourcing prepares the export paperwork and works with your freight forwarder and broker, so your shipment arrives ready to clear.

Ready to import from China to Canada? Get a Free Quote Now!

Learning how to import from China to Kenya starts with knowing what your goods will cost once they reach your shop. To complete a first order, check the goods and supplier, price the whole journey, and prepare for clearance before you ship:

1. Choose a product and set a trial budget.
2. Check who can import it and which approvals it needs.
3. Compare suppliers and approve a sample.
4. Compare shipping costs and dates.
5. Add taxes and work out the full delivery cost.
6. Agree payment checks before sending money.
7. Match the shipment documents to the goods.
8. Confirm release, collect and check the delivery.

These steps help you compare offers and spot missing costs before you commit. Start with your product, or jump to supplier checks, documents or cargo release.

Step 1: Choose what to import from China to Kenya

Start with a product whose buyers and sales channel you can check locally, then test a quantity you can fund. For example, consider plain cotton T-shirts for a Nairobi shop; the shirt orders and figures below are hypothetical.

Give your candidate a short product record:

• Model, material and size range.
• Colours, packaging and intended use.
• Same-spec local prices, dated and checked for delivery costs.
• Buyer enquiries, pre-orders or past sales; mark untested demand.
• Supplier minimum order quantity (MOQ) and units per carton.
• Goods budget, other costs, reserve and payment dates.

A low unit price is useful only if you can sell and fund the trial quantity. Shop listings show asking prices, not completed sales.

With a budget of KES 180,000 (Kenyan shillings), subtract goods of 110,000, freight/insurance of 10,000, conformity work of 8,000, handling/clearance of 10,000, and delivery of 8,000. Only KES 34,000 remains for taxes.

Step 5 calculates taxes of KES 59,400 using the 2022 base duty rate: the budget is KES 25,400 short.

Confirm what the conformity quote covers, including any testing, before deciding whether to reduce quantity or pause. Put deposits, balances and import charges on a payment calendar; expected sales cannot fund a bill until the cash arrives.

The China sourcing guide explains the wider product-to-supplier process. You now have a product record and budget gaps to take into the import checks.

Step 2: Check the rules for importing from China to Kenya

Before importing from China to Kenya, confirm the legal importer and the rules for the exact goods. As checked in October 2026, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) import procedure calls for a licensed clearing agent, an agent who files customs declarations. It also requires the importer’s KRA PIN, their tax identification number.

An individual buyer should have the agent confirm the right setup. Using a courier or buying a sample does not by itself establish an exemption.

Get a written requirements sheet

Ask your clearing agent for a written requirements sheet, based on:

• Photos and exact model.
• Material or ingredients and function.
• New or used condition, branding, batteries or liquids.
• Quantity and value.
• Origin and intended use.
• Proposed HS code, the customs code used to classify goods.

The sheet should explain the classification, restrictions, required permits and who issues them. For the shirts, exact fabric and intended use matter more than the seller’s broad label “clothing.”

Arrange conformity before shipment

Obtain the required Certificate of Conformity (CoC) before shipping goods covered by PVoC, Kenya’s pre-export standards checks. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) PVoC manual, Version 15 dated February 2026 and hosted by IIB, sets out the importer and exporter’s duties.

Under that manual, share the Kenyan standards with the supplier and arrange assessment with an appointed contractor. It also requires a certificate of free sale: an authorised body’s proof that the product is sold legally and meets the origin country’s rules. Settle who will obtain it and what KEBS will accept.

New cotton T-shirts fall within textiles and clothing in the TÜV Rheinland product list, checked 12 October 2026. TÜV Rheinland is a KEBS-appointed inspection body; confirm whether your shipment qualifies for any exemption.

Resolve product-entry and conformity gaps before committing to production. A failed conformity report is a reason to stop shipment; exemptions for machinery, raw materials or other goods need their stated conditions checked.

You should finish with each requirement marked confirmed, not applicable with a reason, or unresolved. Send that sheet with your supplier enquiry next.

Step 3: Find and check suppliers, including Alibaba sellers

To buy from Alibaba in Kenya, compare Chinese suppliers against one written specification, then check their identity and sample. Ask each supplier for:

• Quantity by SKU, the code for each product variant.
• Materials, dimensions, tolerances, and function.
• Packaging and label artwork.
• Samples and acceptance checks.
• Goods, tooling, sample and packing prices shown separately.
• Delivery term, named place, ready date and required documents.

Check the business licence against the quotation, contract and invoice. Ask who makes and exports the goods, and where production happens. A trading company can suit the order, but name or bank-payee differences need written proof through a contact you have checked independently.

As reviewed in October 2026, Alibaba’s Verified Supplier explanation describes third-party company assessments; the badge does not verify your batch or a changed bank account.

Approve measurable sample standards before agreeing how the bulk order will be checked. For the shirts, record fabric, size measurements, seams, colour and labels, with photos. Agree defects, correction, reinspection and who pays; a good sample alone cannot approve the bulk goods.

In the shirt comparison, 300 units across three colours means 300 shirts; 300 per colour means 900. If the minimum is too high, request fewer colours, plain packing or a smaller standard order.

For a hypothetical 200-shirt trial with restocking every 6–8 weeks, shortlist factories and trading companies using the same specification. Ask each for:

• Small-order prices, plus reorder MOQ and lead time.
• Identity records, samples and access for bulk inspection.

Keep candidates that meet your order needs and cooperate with these checks. Buy directly if you can verify suppliers, handle sample shipments, follow production and coordinate consolidation yourself. If you need a sourcing agent, put the tasks you cannot handle into the scope for product sourcing services; compare that scope and its fees with your budget.

You now have a checked supplier shortlist and sample criteria. Use the supplier’s packed sizes and ready date to price transport.

Step 4: Compare shipping from China to Kenya

Shipping from China to Kenya can be charged per kg, cubic metre or container; compare the same cargo and final address. Choose a mode by its full cost and usable arrival date, not its headline rate.

How much is shipping per kg, and how long does it take?

BSI Global Logistics’s April 2026, week 4 table gives Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos and Cairo the same USD 8.06–8.80 per chargeable kg and 5–7 days. This is a shared Africa reference for general cargo over 100 kg, airport-to-airport, rather than a Nairobi-specific rate.

Treat it as a historical estimate and get a current quote, including surcharges. It excludes pickup, delivery, clearance, taxes and destination handling.

For sea planning, two carrier schedules checked in October 2026 give examples of 22–26 days: Maersk Mashariki Express lists Shanghai–Mombasa at 22 days; CMA CGM ASEA2 shows Qingdao–Mombasa at 26 days. These are separate port-to-port services, before clearance or inland delivery.

The courier figure comes from FedEx Kenya’s service page, checked in October 2026; it is a worldwide benchmark, not a verified quote for your route. For your full LCL journey and customs clearance, ask your forwarder, the company arranging transport, and your clearing agent for dated estimates for each stage.

Calculate the chargeable quantity

For air and express, compare gross weight with volume weight using the provider’s divisor, rounding and minimums. DHL’s guide to chargeable weight uses the higher figure; its air example uses 6,000 cm³/kg.

For a shipment of 200 shirts in ten cartons, each 50 × 40 × 30 cm and 6 kg:

1. Volume: 0.50 × 0.40 × 0.30 × 10 = 0.6 m³.
2. Gross weight: 6 × 10 = 60 kg.
3. With a quoted divisor of 6,000: 50 × 40 × 30 × 10 ÷ 6,000 = 100 kg.
4. Start the quote comparison at 100 chargeable kg, then apply its rounding and minimums.

Do not multiply an air rate by 60 kg here. The BSI benchmark is for loads over 100 kg, so it is not a price for this example.

Match responsibilities and destinations

Write the full term and place, such as “Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) Mombasa, Incoterms 2020.” The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which publishes the Incoterms rules, explains the different tasks under Ex Works (EXW) and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) in its trade-term guidance, reviewed in October 2026:

For the sea terms, the ICC CIF explanation, published in 2024, places risk transfer on board at origin despite the seller paying freight. FOB and CIF are sea or inland-waterway terms; choose a suitable term for air freight.

Sea cargo arriving at Mombasa can move by rail to Nairobi’s inland container depot (ICD), according to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) depot guidance. An ICD is an inland cargo terminal; confirm which party handles release and delivery from there to your shop.

Air cargo can arrive through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA); Kenya’s transport ministry describes its cargo role in its February 2026 airport update. Name the airport and final Nairobi address separately in the quote.

Get comparable totals and a delivery schedule

Send the packed cargo data, pickup and delivery addresses, ready date and trade term to each provider. Declare batteries, liquids, dangerous or oversized goods, and special handling needs.

Request separate lines for:

• Pickup, export work and origin handling.
• Consolidation and main transport.
• Insurance and surcharges.
• Destination handling and customs-agent fees.
• Government charges.
• Inland delivery, unloading, storage and container return.

Mark each line included, separately priced, excluded or unknown. Record currency, quote date, validity, the legal importer, actual clearing agent and the entry/tax evidence supplied. “All-in” only becomes useful once these details match.

Get supplier production dates, contractor testing dates, forwarder cutoffs and departures, then agent release and delivery estimates. Some tasks overlap: if shirt batches finish on days 8 and 12, documents on day 14 and the booked departure is day 17, start transport at day 17. Adding all four numbers would count overlapping work twice.

For multiple suppliers, compare waiting with split shipments, including extra receiving, storage and document costs.

You should now have offers with the same endpoint and separate stage dates. Carry the missing charges into your cost sheet next.

Step 5: Calculate Kenya import duty and total landed cost

Kenya import duty from China depends on HS classification and tariff treatment. For this China-to-Kenya import, ask the clearing agent to record:

• Entry date.
• HS code and classification reason.
• Customs value.
• Customs exchange rate.
• Each tax’s base, rate and amount.
• The legal basis for each charge.

Customs value is the value accepted by customs, which may differ from the invoice. Add each cost once, and keep unknown amounts visible.

Check the tax bases

For home-use imports, the Fees and Levies Act, version 1 July 2026, sets the import declaration fee (IDF) at 2.5% and railway development levy (RDL) at 2%. Both use customs value as the tax base. Exemptions apply under the Act.

Its Export and Investment Promotion Levy covers specified goods.

The Value Added Tax Act, version 1 July 2026, sets standard VAT at 16% on customs value plus duty and any freight, insurance or related services not already included. Check exemptions, special VAT treatment, excise (an extra tax on certain goods) and other product charges.

Use the entry period’s KRA exchange-rate schedule, checked October 2026; record bank conversion costs separately.

Reconcile the cost and remaining cash

Use one currency and delivery endpoint; record quote dates, sources and whether amounts are firm or estimated.

For 200 cotton T-shirts, assume customs accepts CIF value of KES 120,000: goods 110,000 plus freight/insurance 10,000. The East African Community Common External Tariff (EAC CET), 2022 edition, lists 25% for cotton T-shirts, HS 6109.10.00. Kenya can adjust individual rates each July through EAC gazettes; ask your agent to confirm yours for the declaration date.

Using that base rate and both Acts above:

• Duty: 120,000 × 25% = KES 30,000.
• IDF: 120,000 × 2.5% = KES 3,000.
• RDL: 120,000 × 2% = KES 2,400.
• VAT: (120,000 + 30,000) × 16% = KES 24,000.
• Total taxes: 30,000 + 3,000 + 2,400 + 24,000 = KES 59,400.

Add conformity work (8,000), handling/clearance (10,000) and delivery (8,000), all in KES. Assuming no other costs or VAT recovery: 120,000 + 59,400 + 8,000 + 10,000 + 8,000 = KES 205,400, or KES 25,400 over budget.

Per shirt: 205,400 ÷ 200 = KES 1,027; if only 190 sell, 205,400 ÷ 190 = KES 1,081.05. After a KES 36,000 deposit, total cash still needed is 205,400 − 36,000 = KES 169,400; the invoice balance alone is 120,000 − 36,000 = KES 84,000.

Keep refundable deposits, reserves and confirmed VAT recovery separate from costs. Under the VAT Act above, this recovery means input VAT that eligible registered taxpayers can deduct for taxable supplies.

Deduct selling fees, returns and other selling expenses before calling the remainder profit. Resolve unknown tax or delivery lines before setting payment dates.

Step 6: Agree payment checks before sending money

When importing from China to Kenya, tie payments to written order terms and evidence. Check the payee and agreed milestone before each payment. Before the first payment, confirm:

• Seller and bank beneficiary.
• Product specification, quantity and acceptance criteria.
• Price, currency and delivery term.
• Sample approval and production deadline.
• Inspection, correction and balance-release conditions.
• Required documents and what happens if deadlines are missed.

For Alibaba orders, Alibaba’s payment instructions direct buyers to its payment route or the bank details it supplies. Check the payee inside the order. If an email changes the account, pause and verify it through an independently confirmed contact.

As reviewed in October 2026, the platform’s Trade Assurance service links protection to its order and payment process. Check this order’s covered terms, evidence and claim deadlines; a badge or off-platform promise is not enough.

Before the balance, compare bulk inspection results with the approved shirt sample and check agreed corrections. Commercial inspection and KEBS conformity serve different purposes. A quality-control checklist helps define recorded pass/fail checks.

Keep orders, approvals, inspection records, messages and receipts together, with payment status per supplier. You now have payment conditions to check against the shipping documents.

Step 7: Prepare the documents required to import into Kenya

The documents required to import goods into Kenya must match the actual goods and legal importer. Use one shipment record to reconcile the documents before their deadlines.

Record these fields for the goods coming from China:

• Importer name and PIN; exporter identity.
• Supplier and SKU.
• Goods description and HS code.
• Quantities, carton marks and weights.
• Values and currencies.
• Trade term and named place.

For a mixed load, retain each supplier’s invoice and packing list and label cartons so they match the combined record.

The official KRA clearance checklist, assigns IDF lodgement to a licensed clearing agent after the importer obtains the pro forma invoice. Here IDF means import declaration form; the import declaration fee in the tax step is a charge.

A KenTrade TradeNet SMS post, dated 9 August 2018, lists IDF among documents lodged on its TradeNet system. According to KRA’s importation guidance, checked in October 2026, the clearing agent processes customs entries through iCMS, the Integrated Customs Management System. Ask the agent for each document reference and status.

Match the core shipment documents

Check origin and export records

COO proves origin; CoC concerns standards compliance. The KRA origin notice, dated September 2025, sets a general COO requirement with stated exceptions and accepted alternatives.

The official KRA ACD notice, dated July 2026, launched the sea-container system on 3 August 2026. It requires the draft B/L, commercial and freight invoices, and export declaration for the code.

Under the Tax Procedures Act, version 1 September 2026, retain the export declaration or accepted equivalent and supporting records for five years from importation.

For the shirt shipment, the invoice says 200 shirts in ten cartons, but the packing list says twelve cartons and the B/L names an old company. Hold approval: the packer checks the actual count, and the carrier corrects the consignee against the confirmed importer record. Update affected documents together; certificates go back to their issuer for correction.

You should now have a matched document set with owners and dates for unresolved items. Pass it to the clearing agent before arrival.

Step 8: Confirm release and check the delivery

For goods imported from China to Kenya, confirm customs, carrier and terminal release separately. Arrival and tax payment alone do not mean cargo is ready to collect.

Give the carrier your B/L, AWB or shipment reference to confirm location and arrival. Ask the clearing agent about entry and release; ask the delivery provider about collection or dispatch.

Ask the agent for:

• Entry reference and current status.
• Assessed charges and payment receipts.
• Inspection or document queries.
• Missing evidence, its owner and deadline.
• Customs release confirmation.
• Carrier/terminal release and collection arrangements.

What if the required CoC is missing?

For covered goods arriving without the required CoC, have your clearing agent contact KEBS for destination inspection before release. Kenya’s conformity inspection Order, version December 2022, requires covered goods to be held at the port or an approved warehouse for checks.

The Order sets a standard inspection fee of 5% of approved customs value, with exceptions. Approved warehouse storage also requires a separate 5% security bond.

KEBS or its appointed body issues a certificate if the goods comply; noncompliant goods must be re-exported or destroyed at the importer’s cost.

Get the accepted procedure, costs and next review date before planning collection.

Check storage and container delay charges

Record each provider’s last free date, charge-start date, daily rate and currency.

In Maersk’s 2023 explanation, demurrage concerns container time inside the terminal; detention concerns time outside it. Confirm the shipping line’s definitions and return deadline; terminal storage is a separate charge.

As checked in October 2026, official KPA cargo guidance requires clearance, payment and release steps before collection. For sea freight, confirm the delivery order, terminal or CFS availability, collection authority and vehicle; a CFS is a container freight station where cargo is handled. For air or courier, get that provider’s release and delivery status.

In the shirt example, tax has been paid but carrier release is pending. Obtain carrier release and terminal confirmation before booking a truck; the goods are not yet ready.

Check the goods before signing

Count packages, check seals and visible damage, and note differences on the delivery record before signing a clean receipt. Take photos, keep relevant packing and notify the supplier, carrier or insurer within the applicable claim deadline.

You finish with proof of delivery, an exception record if needed, and final costs to compare with your original budget.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most profitable items to import from China to Kenya?

Import profit depends on the local selling price minus all landed and selling costs, so no product is profitable for every importer. Start with Step 1’s local demand and budget checks before choosing a trial product.

Do we have Alibaba in Kenya?

No — there is no Kenya-specific Alibaba site (no Kenyan domain or help-centre entry found, October 2026); Kenyan buyers order on the global alibaba.com marketplace. Check the seller’s legal identity, assessment report and sample as described in Step 3.

Does Alibaba accept Mpesa?

No — Alibaba.com’s help centre does not list M-Pesa as a payment method (checked October 2026). Follow the platform’s official payment route, checked that month: pay through the platform or use its supplied bank details.

What can I import from China to Kenya?

Most ordinary goods can be imported if they meet Kenyan standards, you have a KRA PIN and a licensed agent handles the declaration. The official KRA customs FAQ, checked 12 October 2026, lists these prohibited examples:

• Counterfeit goods.
• Soaps and cosmetics containing mercury.
• Used tyres for passenger cars.
• Plastic articles under 30 microns.

Restricted goods, including drones, require permission. Complete Step 2’s requirements sheet for your exact product before ordering.

How much does it cost to import from China to Kenya?

The landed cost of importing goods from China to Kenya is the goods price plus freight and insurance, duty for the HS code, IDF, RDL, VAT, conformity checks, agent fees and final delivery. See Step 5 for a worked example.

Final Thoughts

Start with Step 2’s requirements sheet before paying a deposit for your first order. When deciding how to import from China to Kenya, make sure that sheet, the supplier checks and your delivery budget agree.

HiSourcing is a sourcing company in Yiwu, China, helping buyers with supplier selection, samples, production coordination, inspection and shipping coordination. Discuss your sourcing needs to get supplier options and quotations for an agreed brief. Send product specifications, quantities, existing quotes and your Kenyan delivery address.

To import goods from China into South Africa for your business, start by choosing a specific product. Confirm who will act as the importer and which requirements apply to the importer and product. Calculate the cash you need, then agree the order, shipping and customs arrangements. Before committing to a bulk order, resolve any requirements that affect whether you can import or sell the goods.

If you run a South African company or online store and are placing your first order, check whether the product can reach your customers at a workable total cost. A low supplier price is only one input. The steps below follow that check from product selection to delivery.

How to import from China to South Africa: the steps at a glance

Start with a product brief and an identified importer. You can research suppliers and ask about freight while you prepare. Neither replaces the South African checks.

1. Define the product. Your product record needs its material, intended use, model, quantity and new or used status. Research demand and comparable offers in your selling channel.
2. Check the importer and product requirements. Confirm SARS registration, the tariff classification and any applicable permits or product approvals.
3. Build the cash budget. List the supplier payment, duties, import VAT, transport and local charges separately, and ask what each quote includes.
4. Confirm the supplier’s deliverables. Agree the sample, written specification, packaging, inspection scope and payment milestones.
5. Book transport with a named destination. Confirm who handles customs, pays each charge and supplies the import records.
6. Reconcile documents before dispatch. Have the importer and clearing agent check descriptions, quantities, values and any conditional documents.
7. Complete clearance and delivery. Respond to customs queries, verify charges and arrange collection or delivery after release.

SARS’s imports guidance describes the clearance process: checking the goods declaration and supporting information, examining goods where necessary, and assessing duty and VAT. Allow for that process when planning your order. Arrival at a port is only part of the job.

What should you import from China to South Africa?

Research products that fit your sales channel, available cash and ability to check quality. Trade data can help you find established import categories, but it cannot tell you which item will sell profitably in your store.

UN Comtrade’s trade database, accessed on 29 September 2026, puts South Africa’s reported imports from China at US$23.57 billion in 2025, compared with US$21.76 billion in 2024. The largest 2025 chapters were electrical machinery and equipment (HS85, US$6.07 billion), machinery and mechanical appliances (HS84, US$4.65 billion), and vehicles and parts (HS87, US$2.05 billion). These broad categories include industrial purchases and established supply chains. If you run a small retail business, their size alone is a poor reason to choose your first product.

For a first consumer-goods order, use these narrower headings to build a shortlist. All figures below cover 2025 South African imports from China, in current US$ millions on an FOB-type basis.

Source: UN Comtrade, South Africa’s reported imports from China, 2025, retrieved 29 September 2026. SARS’s restrictions information and the agency guidance in section 3 identify which controls and authorities to check. You still need to confirm the food-contact, furniture-material and toy-safety requirements for the actual product. The information above does not establish compliance.

Use these candidates to guide your research. They are not ranked as the “best products,” and their import values cannot establish retail sell-through, profit margins or an exemption from product controls. Those values show existing trade and competition. Before choosing a product, compare a sample and a fully costed trial quantity with the prices and customer needs in your actual selling channel. For broader ideas, see products to import from China. Apply the South African checks here to your shortlist.

These annual figures are South Africa’s reported imports from China, aggregated by UN Comtrade. UN Comtrade’s valuation guidance distinguishes FOB-type values from CIF-type values, which include international freight and insurance. These figures use FOB-type values in current US dollars, as defined in its currency guidance. Chapter 99 covers goods not specified by kind and accounts for US$644.92 million in 2025. It is excluded as a product category. Four-digit headings are still too broad to give you the market size of your individual SKU.

Check your importer status and product requirements before payment

Check importer registration, an import permit and a product approval separately, even if a supplier has agreed to ship to South Africa.

Confirm the importer first. For commercial importing, follow SARS’s importer-registration guidance. The online process uses Registration, Licensing and Accreditation (RLA) in eFiling. Link the organisation profile and assign the appropriate RLA roles, then complete the application and monitor the response. The current application process tells you which supporting documents to check for your entity.

If you appoint a licensed customs clearing agent, confirm whose name and importer details will appear on the declaration. SARS’s clearing-agent guidance describes the licensed role of lodging declarations for other customs clients. The importer-registration guidance above also distinguishes EDI registration for self-submission from using an agent. A Chinese sourcing agent, a freight forwarder and the South African declaring party may do different jobs. Agree who does what before booking.

Then check the specific product. To identify controls from different authorities by tariff classification, start with SARS’s product-restrictions information. Give the clearing agent the product’s composition, function, model, origin and new/used status so you can identify the relevant controls and authorities. Establishing the applicable tariff or restrictions takes more detail than “household goods.”

The South African government’s import-permit guidance places controlled goods, used or second-hand goods, waste and scrap under ITAC import controls. Most new goods fall outside those controls, but that does not establish compliance with other product requirements. Check what your specific goods require before committing.

For clothing, textiles and footwear, SARS’s prohibited and restricted goods policy identifies labelling obligations. Obtain the applicable label requirements before approving the supplier’s artwork. For electrical goods, NRCS’s Letter of Authority procedure ties approval to products within the relevant compulsory specifications. Ask NRCS to confirm the current specification and whether your model requires a Letter of Authority. ICASA’s type-approval page covers equipment used for electronic communications, including radio apparatus, unless explicitly exempted. Approval requirements vary across electronic items, so check the approval or exemption for your actual product.

To prepare the documents below, confirm exactly what your product and entity require:

Keep the confirmed requirements and supplier deliverables in the order file.

Calculate duties, VAT and the cash needed to land your order

Budget the supplier payment, transport, taxes and local services separately. Prepare both a customs calculation and a cash budget. The customs value is an input for calculating tax, not an extra payment on top of the invoice.

Establish the customs value and applicable duties

SARS’s Method 1 valuation policy sets out South Africa’s FOB basis for customs valuation. Under the transaction-value method, the customs value includes relevant costs up to the export point, so it can differ from your factory-gate price. The policy also explains the adjustments made to the price paid or payable. To deduct international freight and insurance, you need identifiable, verifiable actual charges rather than estimates. Ask the clearing agent to reconcile your invoice and expense records to the declared customs value.

Confirm the full tariff classification, origin, import date and applicable duties. SARS’s tariff schedules distinguish ordinary customs duty from excise, environmental levies and trade-remedy duties. A percentage for a broad product category is not a confirmed rate for your order.

Where the applicable customs duty is purely ad valorem, the calculation is customs value multiplied by the rate. Specific duties or additional measures require their own inputs. Have the agent identify them before you rely on an estimate.

Calculate import VAT on its own base

SARS’s duties and taxes guidance gives the following general calculation, applicable here to ordinary taxable goods imported from China:

Added Tax Value (ATV) = customs value + 10% of customs value + non-rebated duties levied on the goods.

Import VAT = ATV × 15%.

The 10% is a statutory addition to the VAT base, not a separate freight bill or cash charge to add again. The formula differs from “duty percentage plus 15% of the supplier price.” This example applies to a standard taxable import for domestic use. Exemptions, rebates or special customs procedures need separate assessment.

Put each cost in the budget once

Use one reporting currency for the budget, while retaining each original quoted amount and currency. Keep the customs-valuation worksheet alongside it.

This budget layout combines the SARS tax and valuation rules with the carrier’s charging inputs. It is not a schedule of official fees. Keep any unquoted item open until you have its cost, rather than entering zero.

A hypothetical cash-budget example

This is an illustration, not a HiSourcing customer order or a quote. Suppose your supplier’s FOB invoice and the correctly established customs value are both R10,000 for 100 units. For this calculation, assume a purely ad valorem duty of 20%, no additional duties or levies, no relief, and the general VAT formula above. The 20% rate is used solely for this illustration, without assigning it to any product discussed here.

• Customs duty: R10,000 × 20% = R2,000.
• ATV: R10,000 + R1,000 + R2,000 = R13,000.
• Import VAT: R13,000 × 15% = R1,950.
• For this illustration, assume separately quoted freight and insurance of R1,500, plus R1,000 for all other clearance, handling and local delivery charges. These hypothetical cash amounts are not market rates.
• Illustrative cash outlay: R10,000 + R2,000 + R1,950 + R1,500 + R1,000 = R16,450, or R164.50 per unit across 100 units.

The R1,000 ATV uplift is absent from the cash total because it is not a payment. The invoice value is included once. For a real order, replace every assumed amount, confirm what each quote already includes, and list any still-unquoted costs separately.

Keep import VAT in the cash you budget. Whether you can recover it as input tax depends on your business, the transaction and your supporting records. Do not deduct it from the budget on assumption. Customs currency conversion and your actual payment conversion can also differ. Record both bases, keeping the distinction between a US-dollar quote and a rand amount clear.

Verify the order details with your Chinese supplier before payment

Use the South African checks to spell out what your supplier needs to provide. Request a sample tied to a written specification. Then agree how to check the production goods, packaging and documents against it.

Your order brief should identify the product and model, material or composition, dimensions, colour or finish, and quantity by variant. It should also include packaging, label artwork and any documents needed for the South African review. Agree which sample version is approved. If the material, model or function changes, have the relevant product checks reviewed before you accept the change.

Link each payment milestone to a deliverable: what is required to start production, what inspection happens before dispatch, and what evidence supports the next payment. In your purchase agreement, record the agreed process for defects, repairs or replacement, including the scope of any supplier warranty. A good-looking sample gives you something to compare against. It does not establish that the full production batch or its paperwork meets your order requirements.

The China sourcing process covers the broader steps for managing suppliers. Use the quality control checklist to turn your agreed product specification into an inspection brief.

HiSourcing’s Product Sourcing service can help find suppliers and quotations, coordinate samples and follow production. Its Quality Control service can check goods and coordinate the handling of identified defects. Agree the scope needed for your order and keep South African product and customs requirements with the appropriate reviewing parties.

Compare sea, air and courier quotes to your South African destination

Request comparable quotes for the same packed goods, origin, destination and readiness date. Include your delivery address so you can compare the same scope. A rate to Durban port and a rate to your Johannesburg premises cover different destinations and cannot be compared directly.

Provide actual packed dimensions and weight for each option. DHL’s LCL cost guide explains local handling charges. Its chargeable-weight explanation shows how packed volume can affect the amount billed. These explain the carrier’s charges but do not provide quotes for your route.

To assess a low rate per kilogram or cubic metre, you need the charging basis and minimums. A bulky, light article can attract volumetric charges. A small LCL order can still carry local handling costs. Compare the written total and exclusions before choosing. No fixed volume threshold or transport method is cheapest for every first order.

Ask for estimated departure and arrival dates. Confirm whether transit time ends at the port, airport or door, and what the quote assumes about clearance and local delivery. Choose a route that fits your inventory deadline and cash budget. If a quoted route misses that deadline, ask for an alternative with a comparable delivery scope and total cost. A transit estimate includes production time only if the quote explicitly says so. See shipping lead-time factors for more on that distinction.

What does a door-to-door or DDP quote cover?

Ask for the Incoterms rule, named destination and version. Then confirm the actual importer and declaring party, since local requirements still apply alongside the contract term. ICC-certified trainer Miguel Angel Bustamante Morales explains the responsibilities in an ICC Academy DAP and DDP article: the buyer handles import clearance under DAP and the seller under DDP. The author warns that local rules may prevent a foreign seller from handling it. These are the author’s views, not an official ICC position. For the wider trade-term comparison, see FOB vs DDP.

Before accepting a bundled quote, get written answers about duty and VAT, customs records, insurance, inspections, storage, delivery and unloading. Mark every amount as included, separately payable or not yet quoted. SARS’s importer-registration guidance requires a foreign importer to nominate a registered agent located in South Africa before it can be registered to import. Confirm that arrangement rather than assuming the freight company’s name settles it.

HiSourcing’s Shipping Solution service can coordinate supplier shipments, compare transport options and arrange shipping and consolidation. For your particular goods, confirm which route is available and how far the agreed delivery service extends in South Africa.

Match the documents, customs declaration and delivery responsibilities

Prepare a consistent set of records before dispatch and agree who checks and supplies each one. The importer and clearing agent should be able to follow the product from the order description through the invoice, packing details and transport documents.

Keep your commercial invoice, packing information, transport document, clearing instructions and valuation records available. Include permits, approvals or origin documents when applicable. SARS’s goods-declaration policy lists supporting documents and their conditions, including a packing list where required to verify the declaration. Lodging the declaration and providing supporting documents when requested are distinct steps under the policy. Prepare the file, but do not assume every document is automatically attached to every declaration.

Adapt the following handover plan to your actual shipment. It combines SARS document requirements with practical tasks for preparing and checking the records. Confirm with each party who will do what.

Check that names, product descriptions, quantities, currencies and transport references match across the records. Before discrepancies reach the declaration, have the responsible issuer correct them. Do not change the goods description or value simply to obtain a lower duty.

When you receive a query or an unexpected bill:

1. Identify whether it concerns a customs assessment, missing product information, transport charges or local handling/storage.
2. Match the request to the declaration reference, invoice and provider’s agreed quote.
3. Ask the responsible party how the amount was calculated or which missing document is required. Then provide the correct record through the agreed channel.
4. Before you collect the goods, confirm customs release and any separate carrier release or delivery arrangements.

SARS’s clearance guidance explains that customs can examine goods, request more information or hold them for another government department. Complete paperwork helps you prepare, but it does not guarantee clearance by a particular date. If a customs query causes a delay, update the collection plan with the clearing agent and delivery provider.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an import export licence in South Africa to import from China?

For your business order, confirm SARS importer registration. Separately, check whether your goods need an ITAC permit or a product approval. Section 3 explains the distinction. Ask the agent to name the exact requirement for your product.

How do I import clothes from China to South Africa?

Confirm the fabric composition, whether the garment is knitted or woven, the size specification and whether it is new or used. Use those details to check classification and controls. Then agree the correct labelling and approved sample with the supplier. Price the order using the applicable rates for the garments, rather than applying one “clothing duty rate” to them all.

How long does it take to import from China?

Build your estimate from sample approval, production, inspection, booking, international transit, customs and final delivery. Ask each provider which stage its quoted days cover. You need an actual supplier schedule and route quote to get a reliable end-to-end day count for your order.

How do I import furniture from China to South Africa?

Get packed dimensions and weights before comparing prices. Confirm materials, whether the furniture arrives assembled or flat-packed, and whether it is new or used. Ask the clearing agent which product or material controls apply, then agree assembly details, inspection and protective packaging before shipment.

Are shipping and clearance fees taxes?

Freight and clearing-agent service fees are separate from the SARS duty and import VAT assessment. Ask for an itemised statement showing tax amounts, provider fees and amounts paid on your behalf. Compare it with the customs records and accepted quote.

Final Thoughts

A workable first import starts with a specific product, a confirmed importing arrangement and a budget that includes the whole delivery. Match the supplier’s goods and documents to the South African requirements, then compare transport quotes on the same basis before committing.

HiSourcing is a sourcing company in China that helps e-commerce businesses and other importers find suppliers, coordinate samples, follow production, arrange inspection and coordinate shipping. To discuss support for your planned order, contact us.

References

Sources checked on 29 September 2026. Product requirements and tariff measures should be checked again for the actual goods and import date.

• UN Comtrade database — Section 2; South Africa (reporter 710), China (partner 156), imports, annual goods data, HS classification: 2024 and 2025 total trade and chapters, plus 2025 four-digit headings 3924, 6109, 6402, 9403, 9405 and 9503. Retrieved 29 September 2026; current US-dollar values on an FOB-type basis. In this extract, primaryValue equals fobvalue and cifvalue is absent; the HS2, HS4 and total rows are UN aggregates (isReported=false, isAggregate=true).
• UN Comtrade: valuation — FOB/CIF and primary-value interpretation.
• UN Comtrade: units and currency conversion — Current US-dollar values.
• UN Comtrade methodology guide — Aggregation and valuation fields.
• SARS: importer registration — Sections 3 and 6; RLA, EDI for self-submission, and the requirement for foreign importers to nominate a registered agent in South Africa.
• SARS: clearing agents — Sections 3 and 7; declaring roles.
• Government: import permits for general goods — Sections 2 and 3; ITAC controls.
• SARS: prohibited and restricted goods — Product-check starting point.
• SARS: prohibited and restricted goods policy — Clothing, textile and footwear labelling; effective 17 February 2025.
• NRCS: LOA administration procedure — Electrical compulsory-specification scope; issue 12, 6 May 2019. Confirm the current specification for the particular model.
• ICASA: type approval — Communications equipment approval and exemptions.
• SARS: tariff schedules — Section 4; current tariff and additional-duty checks.
• SARS: Method 1 valuation policy — Section 4; revision 3, effective 29 July 2022, sections 2.2.2–2.2.3 and 2.9.11; FOB valuation and the conditions for freight and insurance deductions.
• SARS: duties and taxes for importers — ATV and import VAT calculation.
• DHL: LCL cost drivers — Section 6; charging inputs, not a route quote.
• DHL: chargeable weight — Section 6; actual and volumetric weight.
• ICC Academy: DAP and DDP — Section 6; import-formality responsibilities and local restrictions. Signed explanation by Miguel Angel Bustamante Morales; the article states that the author’s views do not necessarily reflect the official position of the ICC Academy or ICC.
• SARS: goods declaration policy — Section 7; effective 14 August 2026, sections 3.11.1–3.11.2.
• SARS: imports — Clearance, queries and examination.

To import from China to UK, you check that your product is allowed and what it needs, find and vet a supplier, work out the full landed cost, agree shipping terms that make it clear who the importer is, get an EORI number (the customs ID that HMRC gives importers), and clear customs when the goods arrive. Problems start when these don’t line up: a cheap quote that leaves out import VAT, a supplier who can’t produce the documents your product needs, or a “door-to-door” deal where nobody can tell you who declared the goods.

Once freight, duty, VAT (value added tax, charged on top of any customs duty) and fees are added, China isn’t always cheaper than a UK wholesaler, so work out your landed cost before you pay a deposit.

As a sourcing agent in Yiwu, we work with Chinese suppliers on our clients’ orders. This guide follows one batch order from quote to delivery in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales); Northern Ireland has different customs and product rules, and dropshipping single orders works differently again.

Here’s the usual split on a business order. Your shipping terms can move some of these jobs to the supplier, and small online orders are simpler (both are covered below).

What Can You Import from China to UK?

Almost anything that’s legal to sell in the UK. A small group of controlled goods needs a licence, and many everyday products have to meet UK safety rules, carry the right markings or come with test reports. As the importer, you’re responsible for getting that right, so check before you pay a deposit.

Do You Need an Import Licence?

Usually not. There’s no general import licence that every importer needs to buy. Licences only cover controlled goods, such as weapons, certain chemicals, medicines, animals, plants and some foods; see the government’s import controls guidance.

Product Safety Rules and Markings

Many products need a conformity marking backed by technical documents; toys and electrical goods are two common examples. In Great Britain, CE marking is still accepted without an end date for many product rules, including toys and electrical equipment, and UKCA remains an alternative. It isn’t one rule for every product, so check your category in the UKCA and CE guidance.

A printed mark proves nothing on its own. If a supplier of custom plush toys offers to “print the CE mark for you”, ask for the declaration of conformity and the test reports behind it, and check they cover the exact product and model you’re buying. Your name and UK postal address as importer normally need to go on the product itself; packaging or accompanying documents are only allowed where the product rules say so.

Verbal reassurance doesn’t count either. A tea supplier may tell you “lots of UK wholesalers buy this from us” and still be unable to produce the documents the UK requires. A supplier’s word doesn’t meet the rule for you.

Medicines, some chemicals and other specially regulated products have their own rules and regulators. If you’re not sure how your product is classed, check with the relevant regulator before you order, and don’t rely on a seller’s assurance that it can be imported.

How to Find Reliable Suppliers in China

Find candidates through the channels below, then check each one before you pay anything. Here are five places to start:

• Alibaba.com: suited to bulk and custom orders. It lists manufacturers, trading companies and businesses that do both.
• AliExpress: retail-sized orders; useful for testing a product before you order in bulk.
• 1688.com: Alibaba Group’s domestic wholesale marketplace for buyers inside China. You’ll need a way to pay, receive the goods in China and ship them out, which is where an agent or forwarder comes in.
• Trade fairs: the Canton Fair runs spring and autumn sessions.
• A sourcing agent: someone in China who finds, checks and manages suppliers for you.

What to Check Before You Pay

• Factory or trading company: Either can work, but know which you’re dealing with. Alibaba’s Verified Supplier report, from a third-party inspector, shows the business type; it doesn’t prove your order will meet UK rules.
• Whether they can really make it: If you need a specific material, coating or test, ask what equipment they have and ask for photos or video, not just a yes.
• Documents: Can they supply the test reports and certificates your product needs, for this product?
• Samples: Pay for one if you have to; it’s the standard you’ll inspect against.
• Minimum order quantity (MOQ): The MOQ decides how much cash you tie up in stock before it decides your unit price. On a first order, a slightly higher price on a smaller quantity is often the better deal.

Write a Clear Product Spec

List materials, dimensions, tolerances, colours, packaging, labelling and how you’ll judge the finished goods, in a form you can tick off. Anything left open to interpretation is a gap the supplier will fill its own way.

Ask for FOB and DDP Quotes

Ask each supplier for two prices: FOB (they load the goods onto your ship at a named Chinese port and you arrange the rest) and DDP (they deliver to your door, duties paid). Then get your own freight forwarder to quote the FOB option. Give everyone the same details: number of cartons, gross weight, carton dimensions, collection address, your UK postcode, unloading needs and the shipping terms. Check the currency too, as exchange rates and payment fees are part of your cost.

Using a Sourcing Agent

A good sourcing agent hands over checked factory names and addresses, evidence that someone has visited or verified the factory, and samples. A spreadsheet of names and prices is not verification.

We find and verify suppliers, one dedicated manager handles your order from quote to shipment, we take small orders, and our fees are built into the unit price, with no separate commission.

How Much Does It Cost to Import from China to the UK?

Your landed cost is the goods plus freight and insurance to the UK, customs duty, import VAT, and any clearance, handling and delivery charges. Work it out per unit and compare it with a UK wholesale price.

How to Calculate Import Tax from China to the UK

Work out customs duty first, then import VAT on top. For a straightforward sea shipment like the example below, duty is charged on the customs value, which is the goods plus freight and insurance to the UK border, at the rate for your product’s commodity code. Import VAT is charged on the customs value plus the duty plus clearance and delivery costs to the goods’ first destination in the UK, and to any further UK destination already known at import. Some orders need other valuation adjustments, so check yours with your customs agent.

Look up your commodity code and rates on the government’s Trade Tariff service.

• Don’t just copy your supplier’s code. The first six digits are usually the same worldwide, but a UK import declaration normally uses a 10-digit UK code. If you’re unsure, apply to HMRC for an Advance Tariff Ruling. It says it replies in 30 to 120 days, so apply early.
• There’s no blanket “China tariff”. Whatever you’ve read about US tariffs, the UK doesn’t add an extra tariff on all Chinese goods. You pay the normal UK rate for that code.
• Some products carry extra duty. Certain Chinese ceramic tableware and kitchenware, for example, carries anti-dumping duty of 13.1% to 36.1% depending on the exporter. To claim a lower named-exporter rate, you need the exporter’s exact details and a specific invoice declaration; otherwise the highest rate applies.
• Some goods are duty-free. Many tariff lines are 0%, but VAT is separate: most goods pay 20%.

Here’s one sea-freight order worked through that way. All figures are assumed, with no other valuation adjustments, the £270 covering everything up to the final warehouse, and 20% VAT.

Also ask forwarders what triggers extra charges such as port storage, demurrage or redelivery, and who pays them.

Do You Pay VAT on Imports from China?

Yes. Import VAT, usually 20%, is due on most goods from China. Whether it’s a cost or something you get back depends on your VAT registration:

• If you’re VAT-registered, you can usually reclaim import VAT on goods you own and use for business activities that give you a right to recover VAT, normally with a C79 certificate or your monthly postponed VAT statement in your name as evidence.
• If you’re UK VAT-registered and the import qualifies, postponed VAT accounting (PVA) lets you account for import VAT on your VAT Return instead of paying it at the border. You don’t need approval, but your customs agent needs your written instructions before the declaration. See HMRC’s PVA guidance.
• If you’re not VAT-registered, import VAT is a straight cost, though you don’t charge VAT on sales. For a UK business, registration is compulsory once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the previous 12 months, or is expected to in the next 30 days alone, and some VAT on stock you still hold can then be reclaimed, within limits.

Do You Pay Tax on Alibaba, AliExpress or Temu Orders?

Yes, but how you pay depends on the order value. For non-excise goods (so not alcohol or tobacco) that are outside the UK when sold, in a consignment worth £135 or less (not counting shipping and insurance shown separately), the seller or online marketplace charges VAT at checkout and no customs duty is due. For those consignments, if you’re VAT-registered and give the seller your VAT number, they shouldn’t charge VAT; you account for it on your VAT Return under the reverse charge. Above £135, normal import VAT and customs rules apply: whether duty is due depends on the commodity code, and PVA may be available if the business and import qualify. HMRC explains the rules for direct sellers and online marketplaces.

That explains a common worry: “My DDP quote already includes taxes, so why has Alibaba added 20%?” Platform VAT and duties covered by shipping terms are different systems. Check your order record for which VAT was charged and in whose name, compare it with the DDP breakdown, and get a written answer from the seller before you confirm the order. Splitting a consignment worth more than £135 into smaller parcels to get under the limit is not allowed, and the government plans to remove the £135 duty relief by October 2028 at the latest.

Is It Worth Importing from China?

It is when your landed cost per unit clearly beats what a UK wholesaler charges, and that isn’t always the case. Bulky, low-value goods such as garden furniture can cost more landed from China than from UK stock once MOQs and sea freight are priced in, and cheap small items can lose their edge once freight and import VAT are added. Count samples and testing too, compare on the same VAT basis, and don’t pick a product because it’s on a “most profitable items” list.

Shipping from China to the UK

Pick the shipping method by size, weight and urgency. Pay even more attention to the shipping terms and the customs arrangements behind them: together they decide who arranges each leg, who pays the import taxes and whose name goes on the import declaration.

What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship from China to the UK?

For bulky or heavy goods that aren’t urgent, sea freight usually gives the lowest cost per unit: LCL (sharing a container) for smaller loads, and a full container once your volume justifies it. On small shipments, compare full quotes, because minimum and handling charges can cancel out the saving. Express and air are faster and suit samples and urgent or high-value goods.

How Long Does Shipping from China to the UK Take?

Typical door-to-door times to the UK are 3 to 7 days by express courier, 5 to 14 days by air freight and 4 to 8 weeks by sea. Transit times have shifted with route changes around the Red Sea, so treat these as a guide rather than a promise.

To get a delivery date you can plan around, ask for each stage separately: when the goods will be ready at the factory, the planned departure and arrival dates, and how long clearance and UK delivery usually take. Check where the quoted transit time starts and ends, because “20 days” port to port is not 20 days to your door.

EXW vs FOB vs DDP

These three Incoterms, the standard trade terms, decide who arranges and pays for each stage:

FOB is a sea-freight term. For a sea-freight order, compare the FOB and DDP options side by side.

How Does DDP from China Work?

Under DDP, the supplier quotes one price to your door and takes on the freight, UK import clearance, duty and import VAT. That’s what the Incoterms say. UK customs law, though, looks at whose name is on the declaration. With some courier and consolidated DDP services, the UK buyer ends up declared as the importer. If an agent declares in your name, you’re treated as the declarant and you’re liable for any customs debt, including duty on an undervalued invoice. HMRC normally has three years from when the customs debt arose to tell you about underpaid duty. And for a normal GB import, a Chinese seller that isn’t established in the UK generally needs an indirect customs representative, which declares in its own name on the seller’s behalf.

A warning sign: a DDP shipment reaches your door, the freight was cheap, and there’s no paperwork showing any import duty or VAT was paid. Before you accept a DDP quote, ask:

1. Whose EORI number goes on the declaration as importer?
2. What value will be declared, and can I see the declaration?
3. What will I receive to show duty and VAT were paid, and can I reclaim that VAT?
4. If HMRC queries the import later, who deals with it?

Vague answers can mean the low price came from leaving the risk with you. And since you generally can’t reclaim import VAT shown in someone else’s name, a VAT-registered buyer may do better with FOB and their own forwarder.

How to Choose a Freight Forwarder

Ask each forwarder whether they handle UK customs clearance, take small LCL loads and include UK delivery, what surcharges apply, and who you’ll deal with if something goes wrong. Compare two or three quotes on the same shipment details.

Then work in this order. Agree the terms and collection address with your supplier, send your forwarder the order details and ask for a quote that includes UK clearance and delivery. If the supplier is arranging freight, get the details of the forwarder handling the UK side and speak to them before the goods leave, not when they’re sitting at the port. Your customs agent will need your EORI number, commodity codes and written instructions (see the documents section below).

Consolidating Orders from Several Suppliers

If your order comes from several factories, you can collect it in one place in China and ship it together. Ask your forwarder to compare a combined shipment with separate ones, and your customs agent how it will be declared. We consolidate and repack goods from different suppliers at a 6,000㎡ warehouse in Yiwu, and consolidation and repacking are included in our quote. We can then ship by sea, air, rail or express to your door on DDP terms, to your own forwarder, or straight to Amazon’s warehouses.

Samples, Deposits and Pre-Shipment Inspection

Approve a sample, pay a deposit, and have the goods inspected before you pay the balance. Once the goods leave China, your leverage drops sharply.

• Keep the approved sample. Keep one and ask the supplier to keep another; the bulk order is checked against it.
• Pay in stages. Agree a deposit before production and the balance after inspection, before shipment. Don’t pay a new supplier everything up front.
• Inspect against your spec and the sample. Check quantities, measurements, workmanship, function, labels and packaging, and agree in advance what happens to faulty units. For high-value orders, you can also have an inspector watch the container being loaded.

Plan the whole timeline, not just transit: sampling, production, a shipping slot, the journey and customs. Chinese factories close for Chinese New Year and can take weeks to get back to normal, so confirm dates before promising stock.

Our quality control covers every order. We check goods before, during and after production and before shipment, and every unit is checked when it arrives at our warehouse. If we find a problem, we send you photos and video straight away, and faulty units don’t ship without your decision: you choose between rework or replacement by the factory, a refund, or shipping at a discount. Our payment terms are a 30% deposit, with the balance paid before shipment.

What Documents Do You Need to Import from China?

You’ll need a commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document for your shipment, any licence or certificates your product needs, and your EORI number. Confirm these are in place, or how they’ll be issued, before the goods leave China:

Do You Need an EORI Number?

Yes, if you import for your business. You need an EORI number starting with GB. It’s free and usually issued straight away, though HMRC checks can take up to five working days. Contrary to several guides, you don’t need to be VAT-registered, and sole traders can apply: you only enter a VAT number on the EORI application if you have one. Goods only for personal use that aren’t controlled don’t need an EORI.

If a supplier’s forwarder asks for your “company number or VAT number”, give them your EORI and ask who’s making the import declaration.

Working with a Customs Agent

An agent can declare in your name (direct representation), which leaves you responsible for the declaration, or in their own name on your behalf (indirect representation), which makes you both liable. Agree which in writing. For PVA, the agent needs your written instruction and VAT number before the declaration goes in.

On the China side, the supplier or its forwarder handles export clearance under FOB and DDP; under EXW, it’s your job. Either way, check the description, quantity and value on the invoice and packing list match what’s in the boxes.

How to Clear Customs and Pay Import Duty

For parcels, the courier or Royal Mail declares the goods and, if any VAT, duty or handling fee is still due from you, sends a bill before delivering. For freight, your customs agent declares the goods and either invoices you or pays through a duty deferment account, which bundles charges into one monthly direct debit.

• Paperwork problems cause delays. Missing, invalid or mismatched documents can hold up clearance, and HMRC can examine the paperwork or the goods before releasing them. If a shipment stalls, contact whoever is clearing it with your tracking number or declaration reference and ask exactly which document they need.
• Collect promptly. Goods left at the port or depot run up storage charges.
• Download your VAT evidence. If you’re VAT-registered and the import was declared in your business’s name, ask your customs agent for the declaration reference and which EORI and VAT numbers they used. Then find the import on your monthly postponed VAT statement from the Customs Declaration Service if you used PVA, or on your C79 certificate if you paid the import VAT. HMRC’s guidance says to keep customs records for at least four years and VAT records for at least six.
• Correct mistakes. Report underpaid duty to HMRC as soon as you find it. Claim back overpaid duty through HMRC’s repayment process, normally within three years. VAT-registered businesses correct overpaid import VAT on their VAT Return.

Get Your Next China Order Right

Not sure whether a DDP quote is hiding costs you’ll end up paying? Want your supplier checked and your goods inspected before you release the balance? Tell us what you’re buying and where it needs to go. Get a Quote.

FAQ

Are any goods exempt from UK import duty?

Many tariff lines have a 0% duty rate, which you can check on the Trade Tariff service. VAT is a separate question: some goods, such as most children’s clothes, are zero-rated for VAT, but most pay 20%. There are also reliefs with conditions, such as for goods you exported from the UK and are bringing back unchanged.

Can I claim back import VAT on goods from China?

Usually yes, if you’re VAT-registered, you own the goods and use them for business activities that give you a right to recover VAT, and you have evidence in your name, normally a C79 certificate or your postponed VAT statement. If a DDP seller imported the goods in their own name, you generally can’t reclaim import VAT shown on their documents.

What happens if I don’t pay import duty?

The goods aren’t released. A parcel is normally held by Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier for about three weeks and then returned to the sender. For freight, the goods stay at the port or depot until the charges are paid, and storage fees build up.

Can I import a car from China to the UK?

Yes, but it’s a separate process from importing stock. You make a customs declaration and pay the taxes, tell HMRC within 14 days of arrival, get vehicle approval, register and tax it with the DVLA, and arrange insurance before using it on the road. See the government’s guide to importing vehicles into the UK.

If you run a wholesale, retail or manufacturing business in Karachi, Lahore or anywhere else in Pakistan, you’ve probably bought Chinese goods through a local importer at some point. Importing directly cuts out that margin, but it also means you deal with the registration, payments, freight, duties and customs yourself.

China is the obvious place to start. Pakistan imported about $19.5 billion of goods from China in the fiscal year to June 2026, according to State Bank of Pakistan figures reported by Dawn. In the year before, China accounted for more than a quarter of all import payments made through Pakistani banks.

This guide walks through the seven steps of a direct import from China to Pakistan, where each one tends to go wrong, and what a real shipment of earphones costs once every duty and tax is added.

How to Import from China to Pakistan: 7 Steps at a Glance

1. Register as an importer. Get your NTN and sales tax registration, then subscribe to Pakistan Single Window (PSW).
2. Choose your products and check the rules. Confirm the item isn’t banned or restricted and find out which approvals it needs, such as PSQCA or PTA.
3. Find and verify a supplier. Shortlist on B2B platforms, check the business license, approve a sample and arrange an inspection before shipment.
4. Pay the supplier through your bank. Use a letter of credit, advance payment or another mode your bank processes under State Bank rules.
5. Ship the goods. Choose sea, air, road or express, and insure the cargo with an insurer operating in Pakistan.
6. Work out duties and taxes. Look up your product’s PCT code and add up customs duty, additional and regulatory duties, sales tax and income tax.
7. Clear customs and collect. A licensed customs agent files the goods declaration through PSW, you pay the duties, and the goods are released.

Most first-time problems happen at steps 2, 4 and 6: an approval nobody applied for, a payment that doesn’t match the paperwork, or a duty bill much higher than expected.

Step 1: Register as an Importer in Pakistan

To import goods commercially, you need three registrations:

• National Tax Number (NTN) from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), through its IRIS portal.
• Sales tax registration. FBR lists “all importers” among the persons required to register for sales tax.
• A PSW account. The State Bank’s import rules require importers to register with Pakistan Single Window, the system used to file customs declarations and link them to your bank. You’ll need your CNIC, NTN and, for a company, the SECP registration number. PSW charges a one-time subscription fee of PKR 500, verifies your identity biometrically through NADRA e-Sahulat, and the subscription runs for two years before it has to be renewed.

You then register as a trader in PSW and link your bank. No separate WeBOC user ID is needed.

No NTN yet? What you can and can’t do

Small parcels are not a way around registration. Duty relief on goods sent by post or courier only applies to consignments worth up to PKR 1,000 under section 19C of the Customs Act, and Pakistan’s e-commerce import rules cover goods for personal use, not stock for resale.

That leaves two practical options while your registrations are pending:

• Buy from a registered importer in Pakistan. You pay a margin, but the goods are legally imported and you receive a local sales tax invoice.
• Use a service that imports in its own name and delivers to you. This is how most “DDP to Pakistan” offers work. It’s fine for a trial order, but the declaration isn’t in your name, so you can’t claim the import sales tax as input tax (more in Step 5).

Don’t borrow another company’s NTN or PSW login. PSW’s terms don’t allow third-party access, and every declaration under that NTN is that company’s legal responsibility.

Step 2: Choose Your Products and Check Import Rules

What sells well

Pakistan’s biggest imports from China are electrical equipment and machinery, followed by iron and steel, organic chemicals, synthetic yarns and plastics (2024 figures compiled by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry). Demand there is proven, and so is the competition. Run any product through three filters before you contact suppliers:

• Freight against value. One cubic metre of earphones is worth far more than one cubic metre of plastic storage boxes, but both cost the same to ship by sea. Bulky, cheap goods lose their margin in freight.
• Duty and tax level. Two electronics can carry very different tax bills (see Step 6).
• Approvals. PSQCA or PTA clearance adds time and paperwork to every shipment.

Is your product allowed?

The Import Policy Order, 2022 sets what can be imported: Appendix A lists banned goods, Appendix B goods allowed only under conditions such as quarantine or testing, and Appendix C restrictions on used goods. It changes often. The government made 80 amendments in July 2026 alone, mostly adding or removing HS codes, so check your code against the current version, not a list copied into a blog in 2022.

Extra approvals by product

These are the requirements that most often catch new importers:

Earphones surprise a lot of buyers here. They are on PSQCA’s mandatory list (item 28, standard PS IEC 60268-7), so ask your supplier for test reports against that standard before you order, not after the container lands.

Step 3: Find and Verify Chinese Suppliers

B2B websites are fine for shortlisting. The mistake is stopping there: a polished storefront tells you little about who actually makes the product.

Where to find suppliers

The autumn 2026 Canton Fair runs in three phases: October 15–19 (electronics, machinery, lighting, hardware and new energy), October 23–27 (home goods, furniture, building materials and gifts) and October 31–November 4 (textiles, garments, shoes, bags, toys, office supplies and personal care).

On Alibaba, Trade Assurance only covers orders paid through Alibaba.com’s own payment process, and Pakistan limits how you can pay (see Step 4). For anything above a few cartons, ask the supplier to hand the goods to your own forwarder rather than taking the platform’s shipping option; you’ll have more control over the price.

How to verify a supplier

Before you pay a deposit, check four things:

1. Business license. Ask for a copy and look up the 18-digit Unified Social Credit Code on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn). The company name, address and business scope should match what the supplier told you.
2. Factory or trader. A business scope that only covers “sales” means a trading company. That’s not a problem in itself, but you should know.
3. The production site. Ask for a live video call walking through the production line, or send someone to visit.
4. A sample. Pay for a sample of the exact item you’ll order, in the exact packaging.

Quality control before you pay the balance

A common payment pattern with Chinese suppliers is a 30% deposit before production and 70% before shipment. That balance is your leverage, so don’t release it until the goods have been checked.

• Approve a sample and keep an identical one. Every later inspection compares the bulk goods against it.
• Check during production on large or new orders, while problems can still be fixed.
• Inspect before shipment. An inspector opens a random selection of cartons, checks quantity, workmanship, function and packaging, and sends you a report with photos. Pay the balance only after the report is clean.

Minimum orders and trade terms

Minimum order quantities usually have room to move. Ask whether the item is in stock, whether you can mix colours or sizes, or take a smaller first batch at a slightly higher unit price.

Agree the trade term (Incoterm) in writing before you pay, and know that Pakistan narrows the choice. The State Bank requires imports to be insured in Pakistan with companies operating in Pakistan, and its import rules allow FOB, FCA, FAS, CFR and CPT. EXW is allowed with conditions, and other terms, including CIF, need prior State Bank permission.

That’s why the State Bank’s own rules say imports are made on C&F (CFR) or FOB terms: buy FOB or CFR, and insure the cargo with an insurer operating in Pakistan.

Step 4: Pay Your Chinese Supplier

Commercial imports are paid through an authorized bank in Pakistan. The State Bank’s Foreign Exchange Manual allows five payment modes:

Through PSW, your payment and your customs declaration are linked electronically, so the amount, supplier and goods description must match across contract, invoice and declaration. Pay the company that actually exports the goods, not a friend’s account or a third party.

And don’t pay with a personal card: the State Bank does not permit cross-border commercial payments through cards issued to individuals. If you order on a platform such as Alibaba, show your bank the order, invoice and payment instructions first.

Step 5: Ship Your Goods from China to Pakistan

Sea, air, road or express

One OOCL service, for example, lists 23 days from Nansha to Karachi. Add time for booking, consolidation, clearance and trucking inland.

If you read that the Khunjerab Pass closes in winter, that’s out of date: it has operated year-round since December 2024.

Which method fits your shipment

There’s no official cut-off, but as a rough rule of thumb: under about 100 kg, express; a few hundred kilograms of valuable or urgent goods, air; more than two or three cubic metres, sea LCL; around 15 cubic metres, compare a full 20-foot container. Near each boundary, quote both.

How much does shipping cost?

Freight is charged on chargeable weight, not simply what the scale says:

• Air freight: length × width × height in cm ÷ 6,000 gives the volumetric weight (IATA’s general rule). You pay on whichever is higher, actual or volumetric.
• Express: the same idea, but many couriers divide by 5,000, which makes bulky parcels more expensive.
• Sea LCL: 1 cubic metre is treated as 1,000 kg, and you pay on whichever is higher.
• Sea FCL: a flat price per container, however full it is.

Take a shipment of 2 m³ weighing 300 kg. By sea LCL it’s charged as 2 freight tonnes. By air it’s charged as about 333 kg, and by express as 400 kg.

Rates move weekly. Published forwarder quotes in mid-2026 were around $75 per cubic metre for LCL to Karachi and a few dollars per kg by air, before local charges. To cut the bill, consolidate suppliers into one shipment, fill containers properly, avoid the weeks before Chinese New Year, and take empty space out of your packaging.

DDP or clear customs yourself?

With DDP (“delivered duty paid”), a forwarder quotes one price to your door and handles Pakistani customs. It’s simple for a first trial. The catch: the goods are usually declared by the forwarder or its partner, so

• you can’t claim the import sales tax as input tax, because the Sales Tax Act requires a declaration in your own name and registration number
• the forwarder decides the declared value and classification, and you have no standing if customs revalues the goods
• you hold no import documents for your bank, auditor or buyers

Clearing in your own name needs the Step 1 registrations and a licensed customs agent, but you get the paper trail and control over the tax.

How to choose a reliable freight forwarder

Ask these five questions before you book:

1. Who clears the goods in Pakistan: their own licensed agent, or someone they pass the job to?
2. What exactly does the quote include? Get Chinese export clearance, port charges, clearance fees, duty and delivery itemised.
3. For DDP, whose name is the import in?
4. Who pays if goods are lost or damaged, and what does the insurance cover?
5. Will you receive the original bill of lading or air waybill?

A forwarder who answers all five in writing is worth more than the lowest rate per kg.

Step 6: Pay Import Duty and Taxes

There’s no single “import tax from China to Pakistan”. What you pay depends on your product’s PCT code (Pakistan’s 8-digit version of the HS code) and on your own tax status. For most goods the bill is built from these parts:

Sources: FBR’s Customs Tariff 2026–27, Sales Tax Act and withholding tax rate card. If you’re registered for sales tax, the import sales tax and 3% value-addition tax count as input tax.

Check the rate for your exact code

Search your 8-digit code on PSW’s Trade Information Portal (TIPP): it lists every duty, the provincial cess and trade-agreement concessions. PSW also links to an official duty calculator. Here’s what TIPP shows for some common electronics in September 2026:

Look twice at the earphone and TV rows: both pay the 25% luxury sales tax rate, not the standard 18%. For comparison, cotton knitted T-shirts (6109.1000) carry 20% customs duty. RD rates are set per fiscal year (these run to June 30, 2027), so recheck before each order.

Importing machinery for your own factory

Many industrial machines already carry 0% customs duty, such as plastic injection moulding machines (8477.1000). Manufacturers can get further concessions under the Fifth Schedule of the Customs Act, subject to its conditions, and machinery from Chapters 84 and 85 imported for their own use is excluded from the 3% value-addition tax. None of this is automatic: claim it on the declaration with the required documents, and check the exemption rows for your code on TIPP first.

Using the China–Pakistan Free Trade Agreement

Under the second phase of the China–Pakistan FTA, implemented from January 1, 2020, the share of tariff lines at zero duty is rising in stages from 35% to 75%. That doesn’t make every Chinese product duty-free, and it never removes sales tax or income tax.

To claim the lower rate you need the China–Pakistan FTA Certificate of Origin, a specific 13-box form issued in China by Customs or by CCPIT (the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade). A general chamber-of-commerce certificate won’t do. China and Pakistan exchange origin data electronically, so the details on the certificate must match your invoice and declaration exactly.

Ask your supplier to apply for the certificate when the goods ship. China can issue one retrospectively, within a year of shipment, but Pakistan’s Customs Act expects the preference to be claimed at the time of import, so a late certificate may not get you the lower rate on goods already cleared.

Step 7: Clear Customs and Receive Your Goods

The documents you need

How clearance works

Your customs agent files a goods declaration (GD) through PSW, and the risk system routes it to one of three channels: green clears without intervention, yellow means a document check, red a physical examination. Customs assesses the value, you pay, and the goods are released.

Valuation is where many disputes start. Under section 25A of the Customs Act, customs can apply a valuation ruling for your product, and if your declared value is lower, the ruling’s value is used. Check whether a ruling exists for your product before you agree a price with the supplier.

Finding a licensed customs agent

There’s no public national directory. Ask for the agent’s licence number and issuing collectorate, and confirm it with that collectorate. Agents must validate their licence number to register on PSW, so a real one will give it straight away.

Time limits and storage charges

At Qasim International Container Terminal, ordinary import containers get five calendar days free under its 2026 tariff; after that, storage charges rise every five days. Other terminals and shipping lines set their own terms. Have documents and duty money ready before the ship arrives.

Labels and markings

If the goods carry a Pakistani business’s name or trademark, such as your own brand, section 15 of the Customs Act requires the country of origin to be shown just as conspicuously and in the same language. So have “Made in China” printed next to your brand. Packaged food needs Urdu and English labels. Put shipping marks on every carton: consignee, description, carton number and weights, so an examination count is quick.

Example: What 2,000 Earphones Really Cost to Land in Pakistan

Here is one shipment worked through with the official rates above. The goods, freight and local costs are assumptions for illustration; the duty rates are TIPP’s for PCT 8518.3000 as of September 2026, for a sales-tax-registered commercial importer on the Active Taxpayers List, clearing at Karachi. Income tax is worked out on the duty- and tax-paid value, the usual basis; your customs agent will confirm the exact figures on the day.

Two things stand out. First, duties and taxes come to about 75% of the goods’ value, mostly because earphones pay 25% sales tax. Second, not all of that is a permanent cost: if you’re registered for sales tax, the $3,245 of sales tax and the $389 of value-addition tax are input tax you offset against the sales tax you charge customers. The cash still leaves your account on the day of clearance, though, so budget for it.

What can push the number up:

• Revaluation. If customs applies a higher valuation ruling, every percentage above goes up with it.
• Storage. Missing the free period at the terminal adds charges every day.
• Examination. A red-channel check adds handling costs and days.
• Exchange rates. The rupee can move between your deposit and your clearance.

Price your products from the landed cost per unit, $9.15 here, not from the $5 factory price.

Mistakes Pakistani Importers Make

1. Declaring a lower value. Customs doesn’t have to accept your invoice. In 2024, after misdeclared specifications and forged labels on submersible motors, customs issued a new valuation ruling for the whole category. Declare the real price and keep the records that prove it.

2. A container that doesn’t match the declaration. In December 2025, customs at Karachi International Container Terminal seized a container declared as auto parts after finding undeclared refurbished laptops and quantity differences; FBR valued the goods at PKR 193 million. If a supplier adds or swaps items, you answer for it, so count before shipment.

3. Wrong country of origin. In October 2025, textile machinery declared as Chinese was found to be Indian-made with the manufacturer’s markings removed, and customs started a misdeclaration case. Origin decides duty, FTA eligibility and sometimes whether goods can enter at all.

4. Invoice games. In 2023, customs filed FIRs against two companies over alleged over-invoicing of solar panel imports, which it linked to billions of rupees moved abroad. Inflated or reduced, an invoice that doesn’t match the real deal draws attention.

5. Assuming small parcels won’t be checked. Postal and courier parcels are inspected too. In November 2025, customs in Karachi seized 79 kg of silver jewellery sent in three parcels described as fashion ornaments. Commercial goods need commercial clearance, whatever the box size.

6. Shipping before the payment is sorted. When foreign exchange was tight in late 2022, 417 containers of onions, ginger and garlic sat at Pakistani ports while banks held the import documents, and charges kept building. Agree the payment mode with your bank before the goods ship, not after they land.

How HiSourcing Can Help

HiSourcing has been sourcing from China since 2017, working from Yiwu for importers in more than 50 countries. For a Pakistani business, we handle the China side of this guide:

• Finding and checking suppliers. We compare factories, check business licenses and production sites, and negotiate prices and minimum orders.
• Quality control. We check goods before, during and after production and before shipment. Every unit is checked when it arrives at the 6,000 m² warehouse in Yiwu, and defective units don’t ship: they go back to the factory for rework or replacement.
• Consolidation and shipping. We combine goods from several suppliers into one shipment, with consolidation and repacking included in our quote, and arrange sea freight, air freight or express. We can deliver DDP or hand the goods to your own forwarder.

One dedicated manager follows your order from quotation to shipment. Quotes and consultations are free. Tell us what you want to import, and we’ll come back with suppliers, prices and a shipping plan.

FAQ

What can I import from China to Pakistan?

Most manufactured goods, as long as the code isn’t banned under Appendix A of the Import Policy Order and you meet any Appendix B conditions. Used goods are restricted under Appendix C, many electrical products need PSQCA conformity, and phones need PTA approval.

What is the customs duty rate for imports from China to Pakistan?

It depends on the PCT code. Customs duty for most goods is 0–20%, with additional and regulatory duty, sales tax (usually 18%, sometimes 25% or 10%), 3% value-addition tax and income tax on top. Check your code on TIPP.

How much does it cost to ship 1 kg from China to Pakistan?

By air, a few dollars per kg to Karachi before local charges, on the higher of actual and volumetric weight. By sea you pay per cubic metre, so heavy goods cost far less per kg. Rates change weekly, so get current quotes.

How long does shipping from China to Pakistan take?

Sea freight takes about three to four weeks port to port, plus consolidation and clearance; air freight a few days plus clearance. Road shipments through the Khunjerab Pass, now open year-round, can be quick from western China.

Is DDP shipping from China to Pakistan safe?

Fine for a trial, but the goods are usually declared in the forwarder’s name: no input tax claim, no control over the declared value, no import documents. For regular imports, clear in your own name.

Can I import from China to Pakistan without an NTN or a company?

Not commercially. Courier and postal duty relief stops at PKR 1,000, and e-commerce import rules cover personal use. Without an NTN, buy from a registered importer or a service that imports in its own name.

Do I need an import license to import from China to Pakistan?

There’s no single general import licence. You need an NTN, sales tax registration and a PSW account, plus product approvals where they apply, such as PSQCA or PTA.

What documents do I need to import goods from China to Pakistan?

A commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, and marine insurance from an insurer operating in Pakistan, plus your bank payment details through PSW. Add an FTA certificate of origin to claim lower duty, and standards documents for regulated products.