Taiwan → China clearance guide
Overview
- · Cross-border e-commerce retail import: RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 per person per year; within the limits the tariff is 0% and VAT and consumption tax are levied at 70% of the statutory amount.
- · Import VAT is 13% as standard and 9% for listed goods such as grain, edible oil, books and agricultural products; consumption tax applies to listed goods, with high-end cosmetics at 15%.
- · The consignee needs customs registration; foreign trade operator registration was abolished from 2022-12-30. The company may self-declare or entrust a registered customs broker.
- · Overseas food manufacturers must complete GACC Decree 248 registration through CIFER before their goods can be imported.
- · Products in the CCC catalogue need a compulsory product certification certificate; cosmetics need NMPA registration or filing and a Chinese label.
Procedure
Taiwan export side
Exports from Taiwan are also cleared by the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The export declaration is transmitted through the Customs-Port-Trade Single Window and routed as C1 (release without review), C2 (document review) or C3 (physical examination). Ordinary goods carry no export duty, but the trade promotion service fee is still payable.
To export in a company's own name, the company must first register as an exporter and importer with the International Trade Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which includes an English company name pre-check and the registration itself. A company without registration can work through a registered trader or a customs broker, but the exporter shown on the declaration changes accordingly.
Whether goods are controlled is read from the export regulation column of the commodity classification table. Strategic high-tech commodities (SHTC) need an export permit from the International Trade Administration; certain agricultural, fishery and livestock products need quarantine from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, and goods on the export inspection list must be presented to the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection.
The release record of the export declaration is what supports the zero-rated business tax return and any drawback of tax on raw materials. If the buyer wants a preferential rate at destination, the exporter supplies the corresponding certificate of origin: goods on the ECFA early harvest list going to mainland China use an ECFA certificate of origin, while Taiwan has no free trade agreement with Korea or the United States.
China import side
Imports into mainland China are administered by the General Administration of Customs (GACC), with declarations filed through the China International Trade Single Window. The consignee must first complete customs registration as a consignee or consignor of imported and exported goods. 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. Once registered, a company may declare itself or entrust a registered customs broker.
Duty is assessed on the CIF dutiable value under the Import and Export Tariff, which sets MFN rates, agreement rates, general rates and provisional rates published annually. Goods of Korean origin may use either the Korea-China FTA or RCEP rate; goods from Taiwan on the ECFA early harvest list use the ECFA arrangement; goods of U.S. origin normally take the MFN rate. Import VAT is 13% as standard and 9% for listed goods such as grain, edible vegetable oil, books and agricultural products. Consumption tax applies to the goods listed in the Provisional Regulations on Consumption Tax; high-end cosmetics are taxed at 15%, while ordinary cosmetics have been outside the consumption tax since 2016-10-01.
Cross-border e-commerce retail imports have their own regime: the single-transaction limit is RMB 5,000 and the annual limit per person is RMB 26,000. Within those limits the tariff rate is set at 0% and import VAT and consumption tax are levied at 70% of the statutory amount. Where the price exceeds the single-transaction limit but stays under the annual limit and the order contains a single item, ordinary goods rates apply in full. Personal articles arriving by post outside that channel are taxed under the postal article tax.
Border requirements are substantial. Overseas manufacturers of imported food must be registered through the CIFER system under GACC Decree 248, and the registration number must appear on the packaging. Products in the compulsory certification catalogue need a CCC certificate. Cosmetics need NMPA registration or filing and a Chinese label. Animals, plants and their products need a quarantine permit and are subject to inspection.
Priority categories on this lane
Pick an HS code
Other lanes
Sources: People's Daily Overseas Edition: how cross-border e-commerce retail imports are taxed (customs Q&A) · MOFCOM policy database: Notice on improving the tax policy for cross-border e-commerce retail imports · State Taxation Administration: Notice on adjusting the consumption tax policy for cosmetics · GACC online service guide: enterprise registration and declaration · China International Trade Single Window · General Administration of Customs of China · State Administration for Market Regulation · Customs-Port-Trade Single Window · Customs Administration: import and export regulations for goods · International Trade Administration: commodity classification system notes · International Trade Administration · Ministry of Finance: updated ECFA early harvest list tariff concordance · Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection