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Importing to China

Customs duty, VAT, and import regulations, updated 2026

Import tax
13%
VAT, standard rate on goods, with a lower rate on agricultural goods
Low-value rule
No de minimis, graduated rates
Tariff system
10-digit HS codes (China Customs)
Last verified 3 September 2026. Figures below are checked against General Administration of Customs (GACC).

Key facts at a glance

Customs authority
General Administration of Customs (GACC)
Low-value rule
No de minimis, graduated rates
Import tax
13%. VAT, standard rate on goods, with a lower rate on agricultural goods
Duty this site serves
No duty rows held for this market
Code system
10-digit HS codes (China Customs)
Currency
CNY

The low value rule

No de minimis, graduated rates. No general relief; a reduced-rate cross-border e-commerce channel applies within limits.

A separate RMB 50 exemption for personal postal articles is sometimes quoted for China. It is not verified as part of this reading and is not stated here.

Source: State Council of the People's Republic of China, English portal, announcement of the cross-border e-commerce retail import limits (Cai Guan Shui [2018] No. 49). Compare every market →

What this site prices into China

This site holds no duty row for China. It prices China in the calculator from a published category average rather than from a rate read off China's own schedule, and the result says so every time it does it. Nothing on this page is a rate for a particular commodity code, and this guide quotes none.

For comparison, the simple average MFN rate across all products is 7.5% on the 2025 profile. That is the figure the calculator falls back to where this site holds no row for the code you asked about. Source: WTO Tariff and Trade Data, China member profile: simple average MFN applied 2025, all products.

A worked shipment into China

No worked shipment is shown for China, because this site holds no duty rate of its own for this destination and will not price one from a category average as though it were a rate for a code. Use the calculator, which discloses the fallback in words every time it uses one.

What this site does not price into China

Nothing is recorded here, because this site has never opened China's tariff schedule. An absence list names the codes a market was walked for and no figure was found; China has not been walked, so the honest statement is the one above rather than a list of nothing.

Selling into China rather than buying?

There is no seller guide for China. The seller guides are written only for destinations this site prices thoroughly enough to stand behind, and China is not one of them. The destinations that do have one →

2026 tariff update

The blanket additional tariff on US origin goods stands at 10% and is currently extended to 10 November 2026 under the trade truce. The earlier retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products were removed on 10 November 2025, but the February 2025 energy and vehicle measures remain, so US LNG and coal carry 15% and US crude oil, agricultural machinery and large engine vehicles carry 10%, each on top of the blanket 10%. From 1 January 2026 provisional rates below MFN apply to 935 product categories. GACC Decree 280 replaced Decree 248 for overseas food facility registration with effect from 1 June 2026.

Source: General Administration of Customs (GACC). Last verified 3 September 2026 (2026-09-03).

Overview

China's applied tariff is lower than its reputation suggests. The WTO puts the simple average MFN rate at 7.5% and about one line in ten at zero, and from 1 January 2026 provisional rates below MFN apply to 935 product categories. The high numbers people remember attach to particular sectors and to origin, not to the schedule as a whole. US origin goods are the exception. A 10% additional tariff applies across the board, extended under the trade truce to 10 November 2026, and the February 2025 sector measures sit on top of it for energy and vehicles. No value threshold exists. Under Article 45 of the Regulations on Import and Export Duties, a consignment is exempt only where the duty works out at ¥50 or less, which is a threshold on the tax rather than on the goods. Cross-border e-commerce retail imports are handled separately: within ¥5,000 per transaction and ¥26,000 per person per year, tariff is 0% and import VAT and consumption tax are charged at 70% of the normal amount. VAT is 13% on most goods and 9% on agricultural products.

Import process

1. Goods arrive at a Chinese port such as Shanghai, Shenzhen or Guangzhou 2. The customs declaration is filed through the China International Trade Single Window, which has covered all major ports since 2018 3. GACC assesses classification, origin and duty, including any additional tariff on US origin goods 4. Inspection and quarantine is handled by GACC itself. The former CIQ bureaux were folded into customs on 20 April 2018 and no longer exist as a separate body 5. Release for low risk goods with correct paperwork is typically within 24 to 72 hours, and faster for AEO holders. Regulated or high risk cargo takes longer

Practical tips

Register the overseas facility with GACC before shipping food. The framework changed on 1 June 2026 under Decree 280, which replaced Decree 248 with risk based tiers and brought overseas cold stores into scope for the first time
US origin goods carry a 10% additional tariff, extended to 10 November 2026. LNG and coal are at 25% in total and crude oil, agricultural machinery and large engine vehicles at 20%, because the February 2025 sector rates still stack on top
Use China Bonded Trade Zones for deferred duty payment
Chinese language labels with required information are mandatory
Selling direct to Chinese consumers: the cross-border e-commerce channel carries 0% tariff and 70% of the normal VAT within ¥5,000 per order and ¥26,000 per person per year. Beyond either limit the goods are treated as general trade

Restricted and prohibited goods

Printed and recorded matter deemed harmful to political, economic, cultural or moral interests, all solid waste since 1 January 2021, used clothing, junk vehicles and used vehicle parts, and food or agricultural goods without the required certificate. Commercial encryption on the import licensing list needs a licence, though encryption built into ordinary mass market consumer products does not

What to re-check first

Each claim on this page was checked against a published source on 3 September 2026. These are the items most likely to have moved since.

US origin tariffs

The 10% blanket rate rests on a truce with an expiry date of 10 November 2026. This is the single most volatile figure on the page and it has moved repeatedly since 2025, in both directions.

Sector measures

The energy and vehicle rates from February 2025 survived the November 2025 rollback of the agricultural measures. Confirm which of the two rounds your commodity sits in before adding rates together.

Food registration

Decree 280 took effect on 1 June 2026 and its implementation guidance, Announcement 27, was published on 18 March 2026. Registrations made under Decree 248 need checking against the new tiers.

Duty threshold

The ¥50 figure is a floor on the tax payable, not a value allowance, and it is often misreported as the latter.

MFN rates

The provisional rates below MFN are set annually and 935 categories changed on 1 January 2026. Check the current year schedule rather than a prior one.

Calculate duty for China

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