Ask a supplier in Guangzhou what your order costs and you’ll get one number. Ask your bank what actually left your account three months later and you’ll get a very different one. The gap between those two numbers is the import charges from China to India — and most first-time importers only discover half of them after the goods have shipped.

This guide lays out all seven charges between a supplier’s quote and your warehouse door, in the order they hit you, with a worked ₹1,00,000 example so you can see exactly where the money goes — and which chunk of it you can legally get back.

Quick answer: Import charges from China to India stack up in seven layers: freight, marine insurance, Basic Customs Duty (BCD), Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS, 10% of BCD), IGST (usually 18%), clearance charges (CHA + port handling) and inland transport. For general goods the tax portion alone typically runs 30%–55% of CIF value, and the true landed cost commonly lands 60%–80% above the supplier’s price — though GST-registered businesses claim the entire IGST back as Input Tax Credit.

The 7 import charges, in the order they hit you

1. Freight — sea or air

The first charge after the supplier’s invoice. Sea freight is the default for anything bulky — LCL (charged per CBM) for smaller loads, FCL once you’re near a full container. Air freight costs several times more per kilo and is reserved for urgent, light or high-value cargo. Freight isn’t just a cost line: together with insurance it becomes part of your CIF value, which is the base every tax below is calculated on. Cheaper freight literally shrinks your duty.

2. Marine insurance

Small (roughly 0.2%–0.5% of cargo value) and non-negotiable. One uninsured damaged consignment wipes out the savings of a dozen good ones. Like freight, it counts into CIF — so it nudges your duty base up by a rupee or two while protecting lakhs.

3. Basic Customs Duty (BCD)

The headline tax, charged as a percentage of CIF and set by your product’s HSN code — typically 10%–25% for general goods, higher for finished consumer categories the government wants made in India (furniture, for example, draws ~25%). Getting the HSN code right before you order is the single most important cost-planning step; the full rate mechanics are in our import duty from China to India guide.

4. Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS)

The charge almost nobody budgets: 10% of your BCD (not of the goods value). Small on its own, but it’s pure add-on — and it also inflates the base on which IGST is calculated next.

5. IGST — the big one you can get back

IGST (usually 18%, product-dependent) is charged on CIF plus BCD plus SWS — a tax on a tax. It’s often the largest single charge in the stack. The critical point: if you’re GST-registered, the entire IGST is recoverable as Input Tax Credit. That one registration routinely turns a scary landed cost into a workable one — and importing without it means paying IGST as a permanent expense.

6. Clearance charges — CHA, port and handling

Your Customs House Agent (CHA) files the Bill of Entry on ICEGATE and charges a professional fee (typically ₹5,000–₹15,000 per consignment), on top of which come port terminal handling, container/de-stuffing and documentation charges. And if your paperwork isn’t ready when the vessel arrives, add demurrage — the port’s daily parking fine — which is the most common “surprise” charge of all. Have the documents required to import from China ready before arrival and demurrage stays at zero.

7. Inland transport and last-mile

The final leg from Nhava Sheva, Mundra or Chennai to your warehouse — trucking, unloading, and any assembly or storage. Easy to forget when your warehouse is 1,400 km from the port, and it scales with bulk: this is where furniture and machinery importers feel it most.

Worked example: the real charges on a ₹1,00,000 order

Here’s the full stack on a ₹1,00,000 (FOB) consignment of general goods at 20% BCD and 18% IGST, shipped by sea:

That’s roughly 80% over the supplier’s price — but look again at the IGST line. A GST-registered business claims that ₹24,705 back as Input Tax Credit, bringing the effective landed cost to ₹1,55,250 (about 55% over FOB). Same shipment, two very different outcomes — the difference is one registration.

Category changes everything: bulky, heavily-dutied goods stack much higher (see our furniture import guide, where landed cost runs 60%–80% over product price even before assembly), while compact, low-duty goods land far leaner.

5 ways to bring your import charges down — legally

• Register for GST before you import. Recovering IGST is the single biggest lever on the whole stack — it wiped ₹24,705 off the example above.
• Verify the HSN code independently. A wrong code means a wrong BCD rate and a customs query that parks your cargo in demurrage. Never rely on the supplier’s classification alone.
• Buy FOB, not CIF. When the supplier controls freight, you can’t shop the rate — and their margin hides inside a number that your duty is calculated on.
• Consolidate shipments. Clearance charges are largely per-consignment, not per-unit. One monthly FCL beats four ad-hoc LCLs on almost every line of the table.
• Have documents ready before the vessel arrives. Demurrage is the only charge on this list that’s 100% avoidable — the paperwork being ready is what avoids it.

For the step-by-step process wrapped around these charges — registrations, sourcing, freight and clearance — see our 12-step guide to importing goods from China to India, or start from the complete pillar guide.

Frequently asked questions

1. What are the import charges from China to India?

Seven charges stack between the supplier’s price and your warehouse: freight, marine insurance, Basic Customs Duty (BCD), Social Welfare Surcharge (10% of BCD), IGST (usually 18%), clearance charges (CHA fees plus port handling) and inland transport. The tax portion typically totals 30%–55% of CIF value for general goods.

2. How much is customs duty from China to India in 2026?

BCD is typically 10%–25% of CIF depending on the HSN code, plus 10% of that as Social Welfare Surcharge, plus IGST (usually 18%) on the whole base. Combined, expect roughly 30%–55% of CIF for general goods — higher for finished consumer categories like furniture.

3. How is IGST on imports calculated?

IGST is charged on CIF value plus BCD plus SWS — a tax on a tax. On a ₹1,12,500 CIF consignment at 20% BCD, the IGST base becomes ₹1,37,250, so 18% IGST is ₹24,705. If you’re GST-registered, the full amount is recoverable as Input Tax Credit.

4. What hidden charges should I budget for when importing from China?

The ones that surprise first-timers are the Social Welfare Surcharge (10% of BCD), port terminal handling and documentation fees, demurrage if paperwork isn’t ready when the vessel arrives, and inland transport from the port. Demurrage is fully avoidable — it exists only when documents aren’t ready in time.

5. How do I calculate the total landed cost before ordering?

Build the stack in order: FOB price + freight + insurance = CIF; add BCD (by HSN code), SWS (10% of BCD) and IGST (usually 18% of everything so far); then add CHA, port handling and inland transport. Doing this before you place the order — not after — is what separates a profitable import from a painful one.

6. Know your landed cost before you pay the supplier

Every one of the seven charges above is knowable before you commit — the importers who get burned are the ones who discover them one invoice at a time. Price the full stack first, register for GST so the IGST comes back, and the “hidden” costs stop being hidden.

Want your exact landed cost calculated for you?

OyeExpress prices the entire stack — freight, duty by HSN code, clearance and delivery — before you commit a rupee, then runs the import door to door. Get an exact quote for your next import from China.