China Customs: Import & Export Prohibited Items & Duties

Whether you are shipping items from the United States to China or from China to the United States, the prohibited items and tariffs stipulated by Chinese customs are key concerns. Violating relevant regulations may result in your prohibited items being confiscated; you may be fined, held accountable, or suffer other significant losses.

Below is a guide to Chinese customs prohibited items and tariffs, summarized by Seapoe based on relevant regulations of the General Administration of Customs of China and our company's years of experience in carrying personal belongings.

From the United States to China: Items Prohibited from Entry by Chinese Customs and Tariffs

Items Restricted from Entry by Chinese Customs

1. Radio transceivers and secure communication devices;
2. Tobacco and alcohol;
3. Endangered and precious animals and plants (including specimens) and their seeds and propagating materials;
4. National currency;
5. Other items restricted from entry by customs.

Items Prohibited from Entry by Chinese Customs

1. All kinds of weapons, imitation weapons, ammunition, and explosives;
2. Counterfeit currency and counterfeit negotiable securities;
3. Printed materials, films, photographs, records, movies, tapes, video tapes, laser discs, computer storage media, and other items harmful to China's politics, economy, culture, or morality;
4. All kinds of highly toxic poisons;
5. Opium, morphine, heroin, cannabis, and other narcotics and psychotropic drugs that can cause addiction;
6. Animals, plants, and their products carrying dangerous pathogens, pests, and other harmful organisms;
7. Food, drugs, or other items that are harmful to human and animal health, come from epidemic areas, or can spread diseases.

China's Tariff Policy

Although items shipped back to China by Seapoe's customers are generally for personal use rather than commercial purposes, this does not mean you can freely ship things back to China without paying tariffs. Legally, all items entering China must be declared and taxed according to regulations. China currently has four types of tariffs: export goods tariffs, import goods tariffs, import adjustment taxes, and import duties levied on inbound passenger baggage and personal postal items.

I. Shipping Luggage and Parcels Back to China

The value limit for mailed express items and parcels is 1,000 yuan, and customs conducts random inspections. For identical parcels, some people get taxed and some do not—it largely depends on luck.

The larger and heavier the parcel, the higher the declared value, and the greater the quantity of items, the higher the probability of inspection; the smaller and lighter the parcel, the lower the value, and the fewer the items, the lower the probability of inspection. Parcels over 8 pounds have a significantly increased chance of being taxed; parcels exceeding USD 400 have a significantly increased chance of being taxed (for a single indivisible item) or even returned (for multiple items).

For small luggage and parcels shipped back to China from the United States, Seapoe integrates advantageous channels to provide door-to-door transportation services for small items returning to China, charged by the box, with favorable prices and high cost-effectiveness.

II. Shipping Furniture and Large Luggage Back to China by Sea

For personal-use furniture, large luggage, and similar items, Seapoe has stable and reliable customs clearance experience and capability with Chinese customs, assisting customers in smoothly clearing customs in the vast majority of cases.

From China to the United States: Items Prohibited from Exit by Chinese Customs

Items Restricted from Exit by Chinese Customs

1. All items listed within the scope of prohibited entry;
2. Manuscripts, printed materials, films, photographs, records, movies, tapes, video tapes, laser discs, computer storage media, and other items involving state secrets;
3. Precious cultural relics and other cultural items prohibited from exit;
4. Endangered and precious animals and plants (including specimens) and their seeds and propagating materials.

Items Prohibited from Exit by Chinese Customs

1. Gold, silver, and other precious metals and their products;
2. National currency;
3. Foreign currencies and their negotiable securities;
4. Radio transceivers and secure communication devices;
5. Precious Chinese medicinal materials;
6. Ordinary cultural relics;
7. Other items restricted from exit by customs.

● US customs prohibited items and tariffs:
US Customs: Prohibited Items & Import Duties

● Learn more about Chinese customs policies:
General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China