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China → Korea clearance guide

Overview

  • · Small-consignment exemption: goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, or US$200 for US-origin goods under KORUS. Express consignments are split by goods value into list clearance (US$150 or less, US$200 from the United States), simplified import declaration (over US$150 up to US$2,000) and full import declaration (over US$2,000); shipments from the same sender on the same day, or one bill of lading split up, are aggregated.
  • · Import VAT is 10%, charged on the customs value plus duty plus any individual consumption or liquor tax.
  • · A customs broker is not mandatory. The importer may self-file in UNI-PASS, and an individual needs a personal customs clearance code.
  • · FTA preference needs a certificate or declaration of origin: KORUS for U.S. origin, the Korea-China FTA or RCEP for Chinese origin. Korea and Taiwan have no agreement, so the basic or WTO rate applies.
  • · Whether a product requirement applies depends on the HS code. Food, cosmetics, electrical goods and radio equipment must clear their agency requirement before customs clearance can proceed.

Procedure

China export side

An exporter must first complete customs registration as a consignee or consignor of imported and exported goods through the China International Trade Single Window. The separate foreign trade operator registration was abolished with the 2022 amendment to the Foreign Trade Law and has not been required since 2022-12-30. The export goods declaration may be filed by the consignor directly or by an entrusted registered customs broker.

Most goods carry no export duty. Art. 10 of the Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China (in force 2024-12-01) provides for an export rate on export duty and allows provisional rates for defined periods, but only a short list in the annually published Import and Export Tariff actually carries one. Exported goods are zero-rated for VAT under art. 10(4) of the Value-Added Tax Law (in force 2026-01-01), unless the State Council provides otherwise, and qualifying exporters can claim an export refund at the rate published for the commodity code.

Export controls rest on the Export Control Law and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items (State Council Decree 792, promulgated 2024-10-19 and in force 2024-12-01). Art. 4 of those Regulations makes the State Council's commerce department (MOFCOM) the responsible authority; art. 11 requires MOFCOM to draw up, adjust and publish the dual-use export control list; and art. 15 provides three licence forms — individual licence, general licence and registration filing — with a 45-working-day review period. Listed items need a dual-use item and technology export licence, and MOFCOM and GACC publish a Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licensing each year (the 2026 edition was published on 2025-12-31 as Announcement 2025 No. 91 and applies from 2026-01-01). The regulatory condition code attached to the commodity code is the starting point for working out whether a licence, inspection or quarantine applies.

Goods on the statutory inspection catalogue must undergo customs inspection and quarantine before export. Where the buyer wants a preferential rate at destination, customs or the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) issues the corresponding certificate of origin, for example under RCEP or the Korea-China FTA, or an ECFA certificate of origin for early harvest goods going to Taiwan.

Korea import side

Import clearance in Korea is handled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) through its electronic system, UNI-PASS. Goods that arrive are reported on discharge, moved into a bonded area, declared, assessed and then released with an import declaration certificate (수입신고필증). A declaration may also be filed before arrival, or even before the vessel departs, when speed matters.

Duty is assessed on the CIF customs value, and import VAT of 10% is charged on top. Depending on the product, individual consumption tax, liquor tax, education tax and the special rural development tax may also apply. Small self-use consignments can instead be assessed at the simplified combined rate (간이세율) under Article 81 of the Customs Act.

The small-consignment exemption applies to goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, raised to US$200 for goods originating in the United States under KORUS. The basis is Customs Act art. 94(4), Enforcement Rules art. 45(2)1, and the Notice on Import Clearance Administration (KCS Notice 2024-43) art. 67 and Annex 11. The goods value includes the price of the goods plus any tax, inland freight and insurance incurred in the sending country, but excludes the international shipping charge to Korea. Where goods that arrived on one bill of lading or air waybill are split, or goods bought from the same overseas supplier on the same day are split, the values are aggregated for assessment (Notice art. 68).

The importer may file directly (자가통관) or appoint a licensed customs broker (관세사). An individual importer needs a personal customs clearance code (개인통관고유부호). Product requirements under the Food Sanitation Act, the Cosmetics Act, the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act (KC marking) and the Radio Waves Act are checked as part of the declaration.

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Sources: Korea Customs Service: Import clearance · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (Easy Law): overseas direct purchase, duty and VAT calculation · Korea Law Information Center: Customs Act and its Enforcement Rules · Korea Customs Service UNI-PASS · Korea Customs Service FTA Portal · Korean Agency for Technology and Standards: product safety certification · Ministry of Food and Drug Safety · Korea Customs Service: express consignment clearance (list / simplified / full declaration thresholds) · Korea Customs Service: traveller baggage clearance (allowances, voluntary-declaration reduction, penalties) · Korea Customs Service: 2025 FTA frequently asked cases (deadline for retroactive preference claims) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (easylaw): overseas direct purchase — medicines and health functional foods · Korea Law Information Centre: Customs Act article 81, Enforcement Decree article 96 and Annex 2 (simplified tariff rates) · China International Trade Single Window · GACC online service guide: enterprise registration and declaration · General Administration of Customs of China · Ministry of Commerce of China · State Taxation Administration: export VAT refund · China Council for the Promotion of International Trade · State Council: Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items (State Council Decree 792, in force 2024-12-01) · MOFCOM: 2026 Catalogue of Dual-Use Items and Technologies Subject to Import and Export Licensing (MOFCOM/GACC Announcement 2025 No. 91) · State Council Gazette: Provisions on the Declaration of Import and Export Goods (GACC Decree 277, in force 2025-05-01) · Ministry of Finance, Tariff Department: Tariff Law of the People's Republic of China (in force 2024-12-01) · China MOJ — Regulations for the Implementation of the Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law (State Council Order 447, rev. 2013), Art. 3 on the inspection catalogue