China Customs Duty

Key Takeaways

• The default regime for an ordinary international parcel is the Personal Postal Article Tax - 13%, 20%, or 50% of the goods value depending on category, with tax owed of RMB 50 or less waived entirely.
• The postal regime only applies up to a RMB 2,000 per-shipment goods-value cap, raised from RMB 1,000 on 1 December 2024.
• Orders through a registered Cross-Border E-Commerce (CBEC) platform instead get 0% duty and VAT + consumption tax at just 70% of the standard rate, within RMB 5,000 per-transaction and RMB 26,000 per-year limits.
• There’s no single standard courier handling fee in China - it varies by carrier and is often folded into service pricing rather than itemized separately.

The Two Regimes, Compared

	Personal postal tax (default)	CBEC (registered platforms only)
Rate	13% / 20% / 50% by category	0% duty; VAT + consumption tax at 70% of statutory rate
Effective tax on a typical item	~9-13% for general goods	~9.1% (13% VAT × 70%)
Value cap	RMB 2,000 per shipment	RMB 5,000 per transaction, RMB 26,000 per year
Exemption	Tax owed ≤ RMB 50 is waived	None below the caps - reduced rate applies throughout

The general goods/apparel band (20%) is the most common case for typical online shopping - electronics, food, and pharmaceuticals sit at the lower 13% band, while alcohol, tobacco, and luxury goods sit at 50%.

How to Tell Which Regime Applies

CBEC treatment requires the store to sell through a customs-registered bonded-warehouse or direct-mail channel, with order, payment, and logistics data matched and reported to Chinese customs (known as “三单对碰,” or three-document matching). An ordinary international parcel - the kind most smaller overseas stores send - defaults to the personal postal tax regime instead. If you’re not certain which applies, the postal regime is the safer assumption.

Worked Example

A RMB 1,400 jacket bought through an ordinary international parcel, in the 20% postal band:

• Postal tax: 1,400 × 20% = RMB 280 (well above the RMB 50 waiver, so it applies in full)
• Total: RMB 1,680

The same jacket through a registered CBEC platform:

• VAT + consumption tax: 1,400 × 13% × 0.7 = RMB 127.40
• Duty: RMB 0 (suspended under CBEC)
• Total: RMB 1,527.40

The CBEC route saves roughly RMB 150 on this example - one reason larger platforms invest in registering for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my order is under RMB 50 in tax owed?

It’s waived entirely under the personal postal tax regime - you pay nothing beyond the goods price and shipping.

What happens if my order exceeds the value cap?

Above RMB 2,000 (postal) or RMB 5,000 per transaction / RMB 26,000 per year (CBEC), the order no longer qualifies for either simplified regime and needs formal customs clearance at standard general-trade rates instead - a different, more involved process this guide doesn’t cover.

Is there a standard courier fee for customs clearance in China?

No single standard figure exists - it varies by carrier and is frequently built into the service price rather than shown as a separate line item.