The Customs Clearance Handbook (2025), compiled by the General Administration of Customs (China Customs), remains a comprehensive guide to China’s customs regulations. This guide contains the tariff schedule and national customs rules and regulations and can be purchased at bookshops in China or ordered online.
Tariff Rates
China Customs assesses and collects tariffs. Import tariff rates are divided into six categories: general rates, most-favored-nation (MFN) rates, agreement rates, preferential rates, tariff rate quota rates, and provisional rates. Since China is a member of the WTO, imports from the United States are assessed at the MFN rate. The five Special Economic Zones, open cities, and foreign trade zones within cities offer preferential duty reductions or exemptions. Companies doing business in these areas should consult the relevant regulations.
China may apply tariff rates significantly lower than the published MFN rate for goods that the government has identified as necessary to the development of critical industries. For example, China’s Customs Administration has occasionally announced preferential tariff rates for items in the automotive, steel, and chemical sectors.
Since 2018, China has imposed additional tariffs on certain U.S. goods to retaliate against additional U.S. tariffs imposed as a result of the Section 301 investigation on China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation, as well as in retaliation to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. From February to April 2025, following U.S. reciprocal tariff increases as well as U.S. tariffs to address the synthetic opioid supply chains in China, China announced retaliatory tariff measures on a range of U.S. goods—including automobiles, agricultural products, and chemicals. This latest round of reciprocal actions marked a renewed escalation in bilateral trade tensions. A limited tariff truce was reached in mid-May 2025, with both sides agreeing to reduce certain duties, but many tariffs remain in place across key sectors. Although limited tariff exclusions have been available—particularly for critical goods or inputs essential to China’s domestic industries—these exemptions are narrow and often not administered in a transparent manner. As of June 2025, no comprehensive tariff rollback between the two countries has occurred. Companies should verify applicable tariffs at the time of shipment and closely monitor China’s evolving exclusion lists and application procedures.
Customs Valuation
The dutiable value of an imported good is its cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) price, which includes the normal transaction price of the good, plus the cost of packing, freight, insurance, and seller’s commission. China Customs is tasked with assigning a fair value to all imports.
To assess a dutiable value, all China Customs officers have access to a valuation database that lists appropriate valuations for various imports based on international market prices, foreign market prices, and domestic prices. China Customs officers check the price reported by the importer against this database. Normally, China Customs officers will accept the importer’s price. However, if the declared value is too far out of line with the database, the China Customs officer will estimate the value of the goods based on methods listed in Article 6 of China’s Administrative Regulation on Examination and Determination of the Dutiable Value of Imported and Exported Goods.
For agricultural products, China Customs information frequently does not reflect seasonal changes in pricing or the effects of quality/grade on pricing. As a general rule, China Customs will charge against the highest price reflected in its database.
Taxes
On top of normal tariff duties, both foreign and domestic enterprises are required to pay value-added taxes (VAT). VAT is assessed on sales and importation of goods and processing, repairs, and replacement services. VAT is assessed after tariffs and incorporates the value of the tariff. The PRC is bound by WTO rules to offer identical tax treatment for domestic and imported products. VAT is collected regularly on imports at the border. Importers note that their domestic competitors often fail to pay taxes. VAT rebates of up to 17 percent (a full rebate) are available for certain goods.
The Chinese government frequently adjusts VAT rebate levels to fulfill industrial policy goals. Exporters complain that it takes months to obtain the rebates, and amounts are often miscalculated. Also, local budgets limit rebates, and coastal provincial authorities often run out of funds for rebates well before the end of the year. According to Acclime China and BDO Global, rebate eligibility and processing methods may vary based on an enterprise’s taxpayer classification—such as general versus small-scale taxpayers—and the category of goods exported, rather than the date the enterprise was established.
The United States signed a tax treaty with the PRC that took effect on January 1, 1987 (United States-The People’s Republic of China Income Tax Convention). It provides certain benefits and allows for the avoidance of double taxation, but in order to enjoy the benefits provided by the tax treaty, non-residents (enterprises and individuals) must register with their local tax authorities in accordance with Circular 124. The corporate income tax rate in China is 25 percent.
This tax law includes two exceptions to the 25 percent flat rate: one for qualified small-scale and thin profit companies, which will pay 20 percent, and another to encourage investment by high tech companies, which will pay 15 percent. Additional incentives are available for investments in resource and water conservation, environmental protection, and work safety. Preferential tax treatment for investments in agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and infrastructure development continues to be applied. Note that taxable goods and tax rates are periodically adjusted.