OlaChina

Shipping From China: Incoterms, Customs and Duties for First-Timers

Solutions
Jul 6, 2026
A CMA CGM container ship loaded with containers under port gantry cranes, illustrating shipping from China

Shipping from China is the moment your order stops being a spreadsheet and turns into pallets, paperwork, and a ticking clock. Most first-time importers underestimate this stage. They negotiate the unit price for weeks, then freeze when the factory asks a simple question: FOB or EXW? So this guide walks the whole move — how goods leave a Chinese port, which transport mode fits your cargo, the Incoterms that decide who pays and who carries the risk, the documents customs will demand, and how duties get calculated once the box lands in your country. Practical, in order, no jargon left unexplained.

Pick Your Transport Mode First

Before Incoterms, before forwarders, decide how the goods actually travel. Four routes dominate shipping from China, and each suits a different weight, budget, and deadline.

  • Sea LCL (Less than Container Load): your cargo shares a container with other shippers. Cheapest per unit for small volumes, but slower and handled more.
  • Sea FCL (Full Container Load): you book a whole 20ft or 40ft box. Best once you fill roughly 15 cubic metres or more.
  • Air freight: fast, days not weeks, but priced by weight. Sensible for light, urgent, or high-value goods.
  • Rail: the China–Europe rail lines sit between sea and air on both speed and cost, a middle option worth quoting.
  • Express courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS): door to door for samples and small parcels, with customs often bundled in.

A quick rule of thumb. Under about 100 kg, express or air usually wins. Over that, get a sea quote. And remember volumetric weight — a big, light box can cost more by air than its scale weight suggests.

Choosing a Freight Forwarder

You almost certainly need a freight forwarder. They book the vessel or flight, handle export clearance in China, arrange documents, and often coordinate import clearance at the far end. Think of them as the project manager for your cargo.

So how do you pick one? Ask for an all-in quote, not just the ocean freight, because the small line items — origin handling, documentation, destination fees — are where surprises hide. Confirm they handle your destination country regularly. Check they can advise on customs, not just move boxes. And get the quote in writing. A good forwarder shortens the whole journey of shipping from China; a vague one adds cost at every handoff.

Incoterms: Who Pays, Who Carries the Risk

Incoterms are the shorthand that splits responsibility between you and your supplier. They are published by the International Chamber of Commerce, and the current set is Incoterms 2020 (International Chamber of Commerce, 2019). Each rule answers two questions: who pays which costs, and at what point the risk of loss or damage passes from seller to buyer (International Trade Administration, n.d.). Four terms cover most shipping from China.

EXW (Ex Works)

The seller just makes the goods available at their factory door. Everything after that — inland transport, export clearance, freight, insurance, import — is on you. Cheapest headline price, most work and most risk for a first-timer. Handle with care.

FOB (Free on Board)

The most common term for sea shipping from China. The supplier delivers the goods, cleared for export, onto the vessel at a Chinese port. Risk passes to you once they are aboard. You control the main freight through your own forwarder, which usually gives better rates and visibility. For many beginners, FOB is the sweet spot.

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)

Here the seller pays freight and insurance to your destination port. Simpler on paper. But you inherit control late, and destination charges can be padded. CIF suits small shipments where you would rather not manage the ocean leg yourself.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

Maximum seller responsibility. The supplier delivers to your door with duties and taxes paid (International Trade Administration, n.d.). Tempting for its simplicity. Yet DDP hides the cost breakdown, and if the seller under-declares value to cut duty, the legal exposure can land on you. Ask for a transparent DDP or avoid it.

The Documents Customs Will Demand

Paperwork moves cargo. Get these wrong and your container sits at the port racking up storage. Four documents form the core of shipping from China.

  • Commercial invoice: states the goods, quantities, and declared value. Customs uses it to assess duty, so it must match reality.
  • Packing list: itemises cartons, weights, and dimensions. It lets customs and the forwarder verify the load.
  • Bill of lading (B/L) — or air waybill for air: the carrier’s contract and title document. The original often controls who can collect the goods.
  • Certificate of origin: proves where the goods were made. It can unlock reduced duty under a trade agreement, so it is worth requesting.

Your supplier and forwarder prepare most of these. Still, read them before the vessel sails. A typo in the consignee name or a mismatched value between invoice and B/L is a classic cause of delay. Confirming quality before shipment matters just as much — our guide to China order quality control covers the pre-shipment inspection that stops bad stock leaving the factory.

Export Clearance in China

On the China side, goods must clear customs to leave. The General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) oversees export declarations, inspection, and release (General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, n.d.). In practice your supplier or forwarder files the export declaration, so a first-time importer rarely touches this directly.

One point worth knowing: if your goods pass through a bonded or free-trade zone, handling can differ. If that route interests you, our overview of China’s free trade zones explains how bonded logistics work and when they help.

Import Clearance and Calculating Duties

Now the harder half — the destination country. When the goods arrive, they clear import customs there, and you (or your customs broker) pay whatever duties and taxes apply. This is where shipping from China gets country-specific, because every nation sets its own rates.

The calculation follows a pattern, though. It starts with the HS code — the Harmonized System classification that every traded product carries. The World Customs Organization maintains this global nomenclature, and your product’s code determines its duty rate (World Customs Organization, 2022). Get the code right; a wrong one means the wrong duty and possible penalties.

From there, a rough sequence:

  1. Find your product’s HS code and look up the duty rate for imports from China in your country’s tariff schedule.
  2. Apply that rate to the customs value — usually the goods value, sometimes plus freight and insurance, depending on your country’s rules.
  3. Add import taxes. Many countries then charge VAT or GST on the total of value plus duty.
  4. Include any extra fees — merchandise processing, anti-dumping duties on specific goods, or a customs broker’s charge.

Always check your own government’s customs authority for the exact rate. A single HS code can carry very different duties between, say, the EU, the US, and Australia. So estimate landed cost before you order, not after the invoice lands.

Where This Fits in Your Import Journey

Shipping from China sits near the end of the sourcing path. Here is what surrounds it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is FOB or EXW better for a first-time importer?

FOB, usually. Under FOB the supplier clears the goods for export and loads them onto the vessel, which removes the trickiest China-side steps from your plate. EXW puts every task on you from the factory door, so leave it until you know the process well.

How long does sea shipping from China take?

It varies by destination. Transit to the US west coast often runs a couple of weeks, while Europe can take five to six weeks port to port. Add time for booking, consolidation on LCL, and customs at both ends. Air freight cuts this to days.

Who pays the import duties?

The importer of record — normally you — pays duties and import taxes in the destination country, unless you agree DDP terms where the seller covers them. Even under DDP, insist on a clear breakdown so the declared value is accurate and lawful.

Do I need a freight forwarder and a customs broker?

For most shipments, yes. A forwarder arranges the transport and export side; a customs broker handles import clearance and duty in your country. Many forwarders offer both as one service, which keeps the handoffs clean.

References