Three ways to clear goods into China, compared

The table

Routes for consumer goods entering mainland China

	Personal parcel	Cross-border e-commerce	General trade
Who it is for	A person receiving goods for their own use	An overseas company selling to Chinese consumers through an e-commerce platform	A company importing stock for resale in China
Value limit	RMB 2,000 per parcel. One indivisible item may exceed it.	RMB 5,000 per order and RMB 26,000 per person per year	None
Tax	One combined rate set by the class of article. Waived when the tax due is RMB 50 or less.	Tariff 0%. Import VAT and consumption tax at 70% of the normal amount.	Full tariff for the HS code, plus import VAT and any consumption tax
Product rules	Personal use. Commercial mail must clear as cargo.	On the Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import Goods List. Personal use, no resale.	Import licensing, registration and labeling rules for the product apply
Who declares	The recipient	The overseas seller’s registered agent in China, or a customs broker it appoints	A Chinese importer of record, or its customs broker
Data sent to customs	The contents and value of the parcel	The order record, the payment record and the logistics record for each order	A customs declaration with invoice, packing list and any licenses

Route 1: Personal parcel

This route exists for people, and customs polices that line. A parcel qualifies when it is for the recipient’s own use and worth RMB 2,000 or less. A single item that cannot be divided, a laptop for example, may be worth more.

Customs charges one combined rate based on the class of article and waives the tax when the amount due is RMB 50 or less.

Use it for: gifts and personal purchases.

Do not use it for: goods you are selling. Commercial mail has to clear as cargo. A seller who ships orders as personal parcels is relying on customs not checking.

Route 2: Cross-border e-commerce

China created this route for overseas companies selling to its consumers online. It runs under two customs codes. Under 9610, called direct purchase, each order ships from abroad after the shopper pays. Under 1210, called bonded import, the seller ships stock to a bonded warehouse in China first and orders ship from there.

The tax is the same in both modes. Inside the limits, the tariff is 0%, and import VAT and consumption tax are charged at 70% of the normal amount.

The route has three conditions:

• The product is on the list. China publishes a Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import Goods List. Products off it cannot use the route.
• The sale is to a consumer, for personal use. Buyers may not resell.
• The data matches. Before each parcel is released, customs receives the order record, the payment record and the logistics record, and checks one against the others.

In return, customs treats the goods as personal-use articles. The licenses, registrations and filings required the first time a product is imported under general trade do not apply.

The seller must be a company registered outside China, and it must appoint a company registered in China as its agent. The agent registers with customs, declares the goods and shares civil liability with the seller.

Use it for: listed consumer products sold online at retail prices under RMB 5,000.

Route 3: General trade

General trade is ordinary importing. A Chinese company with import rights buys the goods or receives them on consignment, declares them, pays tariff and import VAT on the full shipment, and sells them inside China through any channel.

Nothing limits the value or the buyer. The cost is paperwork and cash. The product has to meet China’s licensing, registration and labeling rules before it arrives, and the tax is due at the border, before a single unit sells.

Use it for: products off the cross-border e-commerce list, and sales to distributors or physical stores. Items above RMB 5,000 pay the same full rates either way.

How to choose

Ask three questions in order.

Is the product on the cross-border e-commerce list? If not, the answer is general trade.

Who buys it? Consumers buying online can use cross-border e-commerce. Distributors and stores need general trade.

What does one unit sell for? Above RMB 5,000, cross-border e-commerce loses its reduced rate, and general trade removes the per-person limits.

When to switch routes

A common path starts with direct purchase under code 9610. It needs no stock in China, so a failed launch costs little.

When weekly orders become steady, move to bonded import under code 1210. Bulk freight costs less per unit than single parcels, and delivery from inside China is faster.

Move to general trade when you want to sell offline, or when shoppers start reaching their annual limits. By then you will know which products sell, and the registration work has a market to pay for it.