Whenever you are planning to import any products from China, then one important thing that you need to keep in mind is the import duties and customs fees. There are plenty of rules and regulations that are involved that you need to understand.
These days, most companies prefer to import from China rather than produce domestically in their own country. The main reason is that Chinese products are available at extremely low cost that nobody can manufacture in your own country.
However, while importing any goods from China, you need to know the tariffs that will depend on what products and commodities that you are importing from China to your own country say the United States.
For a new person, to know and understand China to USA import duty may be a little complicated. Therefore, in this article, we shall briefly touch upon this subject.
What an import duty is while importing from China to the USA?
It is an international rule, whenever you import anything from one country to other then you are supposed to pay certain import duty. China to USA import duty will be imposed by the government of the USA. This duty will vary from one product to another.
Therefore, whenever you are importing an item from China then you must also find out what is the tariff and also import duty. For most new buyers it can be quite confusing.
The tariff on an imported item is a percentage of the overall tax, whereas the import duty will be the exact figure of the whole tax. If you are going to import a bicycle, the tariff rate is 10%, and the import fee is $1000 if the total value of the bicycle is $10000.
While importing an item from China to US, the import duty can always be a matter of concern, as the Chinese production market is huge while the US is now a selling market because of Amazon. Therefore, it will be very essential to know your China to USA import duty while importing.
How much and also when to pay your import duty while importing from China to the USA?
The exact amount of import duty is to be paid while importing from China to USA will depend upon the actual price of that item. If the value of the item is below $800 then no duty will be charged as per the trade policy.
Therefore while importing any small value item you need not pay any fee. However, if its value is above $800 then you have to compulsorily pay the fee, and the amount will depend on what the H.S. code is.
Also, the import duty while importing from China to USA depends on a few imported items. They are divided into 2 parts by customs officer.
- Formal entry: If you are importing something from China that is worth more than $2500, you will need a surety bond in order to get clearance first from the customs department.
These types of imports are known as Formal Entries. The Customs Department would classify this item as commercial because the asset’s value is high. You will collect your delivery well before filing your import duty, fees, and taxes in case the Customs Entry Bonds already have been sent to the CBP.
- Informal entry: Informal entrants are things with a price tag of less than $2,500. A surety bond or an admission bond are not required to protect these valuables.
When your shipment is expected from the port, then you can check all the requirements meant for your goods. The textile imports are mostly considered informal entries. However, if their value exceeds $2500 then they will be formal entries.
Under Section 321, duty-free carriage of your goods will be permitted if its price is up to $200. It will be regarded when importing only a particular category under informal entry. For example, if you have purchased a shoe for $150 from Mexico, then you just walk over your border to collect them up, then there is no customs duty on this item.
When do you need to pay duty?
Whenever you are either buying or selling any item from any place in the world, then you must pay a certain tax on that goods. That is called a customs duty. It is important to pay this amount failing which your imports and exports will be considered illegal.
Similarly when you buy any item from China and then ship it to the USA then you must pay import duty as per your product category. Since you have imported from China to the USA and hence you will pay China to USA import duty to the USA government.
How can you check the rates of import duty from China to the USA online?
There are several websites that you can access, which you can use for validating the online rate of import duty. But there is an official website available where you can also use your product description for searching the item code for verifying the exact amount of your import duty.
How can you compute import duty while importing from China to the USA?
While importing anything from China to USA you may like to calculate China to USA import duty, then you must search the H.S/HTS or product code. You can add the import taxes for that code. For that item, your tax will be applied without shipping.
Summary
Most of the readers here might think that the whole process of customs and import duty and clearance must be too complicated. However, if you appoint a suitable customs clearance agent, then you will be able to receive all your goods easily on time.
That is because all these customs clearance agents will be very well familiar with the rules and are more professional in this field. They have got a very good understanding of the whole process of customs clearance. Only you need a certain amount of fee for this service.
