Customs duty from China to India: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• There’s no free trade agreement between China and India, and no shared regional pact softens the relationship either - India withdrew from RCEP negotiations in November 2019, before the 15-country pact (which includes China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia) was finalized in 2020, and has not rejoined.
• China-origin goods pay India’s full standard duty stack with no preferential reduction: Basic Customs Duty, a 10% Social Welfare Surcharge on that duty amount, then Integrated GST (IGST) on the combined total.
• China is India’s single largest source of imports, at roughly $113.5 billion in the 2025 fiscal year and $79.4 billion for just the first half of calendar 2026, up 21.8% year on year.
• China alone accounts for roughly 16.6% of all India’s imports.
• India has no general duty-free threshold for commercial e-commerce imports of any value - unlike the EU, UK, or historic US model, every dutiable shipment from China is taxed from the first rupee.

China-India Trade at a Glance

China is India’s single largest source of imports by a wide margin - roughly $113.5 billion in India’s 2025 fiscal year, and $79.4 billion for just the first half of calendar 2026 alone, up 21.8% year on year (CargoNet, citing Indian trade data). China accounts for roughly 16.6% of all of India’s imports - a scale of dependence that persists despite India’s stated “China+1” diversification efforts and domestic manufacturing incentive schemes.

Is There a Trade Deal Between China and India?

No, and there’s no shared multilateral framework easing the relationship either - a genuinely distinctive gap compared to several other major economies’ China trade. India was part of the negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the 15-country Asia-Pacific trade bloc that includes China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the 10 ASEAN states, but withdrew in November 2019, before the agreement was finalized in 2020. India has not rejoined since, and there is no separate bilateral India-China trade agreement of any kind. This means China-origin goods entering India pay the full standard duty stack, with no preferential reduction whatsoever - a meaningfully different position than the China lanes into the EU, UK, or US, all of which at least have some framework or truce in place.

How Much Will You Pay Importing from China to India?

India’s import tax structure stacks three layers on top of the CIF customs value (goods plus freight plus insurance): Basic Customs Duty (BCD, typically 0-20% for most consumer goods, though some categories run much higher), a Social Welfare Surcharge equal to 10% of the BCD amount (not of the goods value), and then Integrated GST (IGST) at 5%, 12%, 18%, or 28% depending on the product category, calculated on the combined CIF-plus-BCD-plus-surcharge total. On a representative 10% BCD / 18% IGST product, this stack works out to roughly 31% of CIF value in total tax - though the actual rate varies significantly by product.

Critically, India has no general duty-free threshold for commercial imports of any value - unlike the EU, UK, or the pre-2025 US model. A narrow exemption exists only for genuine personal gifts sent by post or courier, valued up to ₹5,000, and current customs practice explicitly excludes disguised e-commerce purchases from qualifying as gifts. Every ordinary commercial parcel from China is dutiable from the first rupee of value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does China have any trade preference into India?

No. There’s no bilateral India-China FTA, and India isn’t part of RCEP (the regional pact that does give China preferential access into Japan, South Korea, and Australia) - India withdrew from RCEP talks in 2019 and hasn’t rejoined.

Is there a minimum order value below which no duty applies?

No - India has no general low-value exemption for commercial imports. A separate, narrow gift exemption exists for genuine personal gifts up to ₹5,000, but ordinary e-commerce purchases don’t qualify for it.

How dominant is China as an import source for India?

Extremely - China is India’s single largest source of imports, accounting for roughly 16.6% of India’s total imports and running at nearly $80 billion for just the first half of 2026.

What does China mainly export to India?

Electrical machinery and electronics, mechanical machinery, and organic chemicals - including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), a category where India’s reliance on Chinese supply has drawn particular policy attention.