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Your Ultimate Guide For Import From China To India | Winsky Freight CO., LTD

Many of the goods found in your daily life in India are made in China. From clothing to electronics, much of what you touch every day was manufactured in the country’s industrial heartland known as the Pearl River delta.

The border tension Covid -19 situation impacted the importation of China to India for a while. But the situation is back to normal now. India imported nearly one hundred billion dollars worth of goods in 2021 from China.

But when it comes to importing from China, the process can be complicated. How can you get your products into the country? How do you know what the right price is? This blog post answers those questions and more.

1. Essential Steps before Starting Import from China to India.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) website

Step 1: Register your business with the Customs and Excise Department (CED)

If you are a company that imports goods into India, you need to register with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). You can do this by filling out the form on their website. The import duty is 10% for most products. For some products like pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, it’s 20%.

This will help you avoid getting caught in the middle of any customs-related issues that may arise during the process. Step 1: Register your business with Customs and Excise Department(CED). You can also download the registration form from their site. Once you have registered, you must send them a copy of the purchase order or invoice along with other supporting documents such as bills of lading, packing lists, etc.

You also need to pay customs duties on your imported goods. These are called Central Excise Duty (CED) if they’re not exempt from CVD. They’re called Value Added Tax (VAT) if they are. There are different rates depending on whether or not the product has been processed in India. If it hasn’t, then its rate is 5%. If it has been processed in India, then its rate

Step 2 – Find an Ideal Product to Import from China to India

There are a few things to consider when trying to find the ideal product to import from China to India. The first is what products are in demand in India. This can be researched by looking at various online platforms that cater to the Indian market, such as Amazon India or Flipkart.

Another thing to consider is what products are not easily available in India. This information can be found through online forums or by talking to people who live in India. Once you have an idea of what products are in demand and not easily available in India, the next step is to research these products on Alibaba.

This is a website where manufacturers and suppliers in China list their products. You can use the search function on Alibaba to find suppliers of the product you’re interested in.

Once you’ve found a few potential suppliers, it’s important to contact them and ask questions about their business, such as how long they’ve been in operation, whether they have any experience shipping to India, and what kind of payment terms they offer.

It’s also a good idea to request quotes from multiple suppliers so that you can compare prices. Finally, it is important to research the Chinese market and find a product that is popular there but not widely available in India. By taking all of these factors into consideration, it should be possible to identify an ideal product to import from China to India.

Step 3 – Ensure whether the Product is legal in India

Every nation has its own set of laws that dictate which kinds of goods can be brought into the country. Similarly, there are regulations in place in India that govern the types of goods that can be brought into the country. There are things that are not allowed and products that have certain limitations.

Restricted Items in India

If the product you wish to import comes within the list of prohibited products, you must obtain specific approval from the Indian government to do so. On the other side, if the goods in question are unlawful or outlawed in India, you will not be allowed to bring it from China into that country.

You can visit the official doc from India post to find the list of prohibited products with the lists of countries.

Step 4 – Find a Good Freight Forwarder in China

Nothing is more important than a good freight forwarder in the import-export business. That’s why you must know how to find a good freight forwarder. They provide various services, including air freight and sea freight, essential steps you need to take before importing goods from China to India.

Step 5 – Find a Customs Broker

Customs brokers help you to release your goods from the customs department. They pay the customs duties and taxes. Moreover, they show the documents you need to show in front of the customs officers.

Some freight forwarders also do this job. Winsky freight offers customs service for those clients who take DDP shipping service from us.

Step 6 – Inland Transportation

This is the last step. You have to arrange the inland transportation to move your goods from the airport or seaport to your warehouse. Your freight forwarder can help you to do this also. For example, at Winsky, we arrange inland transportation for our door to door clients.

Congratulations! Now you know every step regarding how to import from China to India.

2. Top products imported from China to India.

Here are the lists of goods India imports from China in 2021

 Serial  Product’s Name  Value in Billion Dollars
 1  Electrical and electronic equipment  26.39
 2  Machinery, boilers, nuclear reactors  18.80
 3  Organic chemicals  11.86
 4  Plastics  4.17
 5  Fertilizers  2.69
 6  Optical, photo, medical apparatus, technical  2.43
 7  Vehicles other than tramways, railways  1.73
 8  Miscellaneous chemical products  1.71
 9  Articles of steel or iron  1.63
 10  Stell or Iron  1.18

Source: Trading Economics

3. Available shipping methods while importing from China to India.

Shipping is one of the most complicated tasks for international businesses, and the shipping methods available vary from country to country.

Although China and India both countries are both on the same continent, the available shipping methods are limited to sea and air routes only. There is no inland or rail transportation. Both the countries are working on rail freight transportation, but this shipping method is yet to start between these two countries.

Air Freight

As air freights are fast, they are expensive. Our suggestion is you should take the aerial route if the weight of your goods is under 500Kg. If you are new in the import-export business, you must know one thing about air freight’s charging policy.

Air freight carriers do not use conventional weight systems to calculate shipping rates. Instead, they use a method called “chargeable weight” to calculate the costs.

There are two types of air freight. One is conventional air freight shipping, and the other one is express shipping. Express shipping is a door to door shipping solution, and it takes only 2-4 days to import your goods from China to India. Moreover, express shipping is not done by regular freight forwarders. There are many express shipping (also known as courier service) companies in the world that provide this service.

We have a detailed guide on express freight shipping in more than 100 countries. Check this out if you want to know more about them.

Top Airports in India

Bangalore Airport

The Bengaluru International Airport is located in the city of Bangalore, India. It is the second busiest airport in the country, handling over 22 million passengers per year. The airport has a single runway that is 3,400 meters long and can accommodate large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. The airport also has a cargo terminal that handles over 500,000 tons of cargo per year.

Delhi Airport

Delhi Airport is the busiest airport in India, handling over 60 million passengers per year. It is located in the capital city of Delhi and serves as a hub for a number of domestic and international airlines.

Delhi airport has excellent shipping facilities to handle the import of goods from China to India. The airport has a dedicated customs area where all imported goods must be declared and processed.

Delhi Airport

Mumbai Airport

Mumbai Airport is the busiest airport in India, handling over 60 million passengers per year. It is located in the capital city of Mumbai and serves as a hub for a number of domestic and international airlines. The airport has three terminals – Terminal 1 for domestic flights, Terminal 2 for international flights, and Terminal 3 for both domestic and international flights.

Chennai

Chennai Airport is the third busiest airport in India, handling over 30 million passengers per year. It is located in the city of Chennai and serves as a hub for a number of domestic and international airlines. The airport has two terminals – Terminal 1 for domestic flights, and Terminal 2 for both domestic and international flights.

Bengaluru

Bengaluru airport is the fourth busiest airport in India, handling over 25 million passengers per year. It is located in the city of Bengaluru and serves as a hub for a number of domestic and international airlines. This airport has excellent shipping facilities with high-tech equipment.

Ocean Shipping

Ocean shipping offers two types of shipping methods – LCL and FCL. In FCL shipping, you must book a 20 or 40-ft container and pay for the entire container.

But there are very few businesses that can afford to hire an entire container. There comes LCL or Less than container shipping to save them. In LCL shipping, you don’t need to book the entire container. As a result, most small to medium companies and individual importers use the LCL shipping method.

There are a few things to keep in mind when shipping from China to India by the ocean. One is the length of time it will take for the shipment to arrive; depending on the port of origin and destination, It can take anywhere from two weeks to a month.

Another is the cost; while ocean shipping is usually cheaper than air freight, it can still be quite expensive, especially if you are shipping a large or heavy load.

Winsky freight offers the best LCL shipping service from China to India. Very few companies can provide the price we offer for LCL shipping. You can ask for a quote from us and see the difference yourself.

Top Seaports in India

Mumbai Seaport

Mumbai seaport is the busiest port in India, handling over 60 million tonnes of cargo per year. It is located on the west coast of India, in the state of Maharashtra. The port has two terminals – Terminal 1 for container ships, and Terminal 2 for bulk carriers. Mumbai seaport has excellent road and train transportation around the country.

Mumbai seaport

Chennai Seaport

Chennai seaport is the second busiest port in India, handling over 50 million tonnes of cargo per year. It is located on the east coast of India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. The port has two terminals – Terminal 1 for container ships, and Terminal 2 for bulk carriers. Chennai seaport is well-connected to the rest of the country, with rail and roads.

Kolkata Seaport

Kolkata seaport is the third busiest port in India, handling over 40 million tonnes of cargo per year. It is located on the east coast of India, in the state of West Bengal. The port has two terminals – Terminal 1 for container ships, and Terminal 2 for bulk carriers. Kolkata seaport is well-connected to the rest of the country, with a number of rail and road links available.

Cochin SeaPort

Cochin port is the busiest port in India, handling over 60 million tonnes of cargo per year. It is located on the west coast of India, in the state of Kerala. The port has two terminals – Terminal 1 for container ships, and Terminal 2 for bulk carriers. Cochin port is well-connected to the rest of the country, with a number of rail and road links available.

4. Prohibited Items for Import in India from China.

In the international trading industry, there are three types of products:

  • Permitted products – You can import these goods if you are a registered importer and have proper documentation.
  • Restricted products – These are special types of products that you can not import with just your registration documents. You have to take permission from the relevant authority to import restricted products from China to India.
  • Prohibited Products – This is the last category, and we hope you guessed it correctly. Yes, these are those products that you can not import to India by any means. In addition, the Indian government does not issue any exception documents for importing prohibited products to India.

Below products are restricted to shipping from China or any other country:

  • Psychotropic medicines
  • Narcotic drugs
  • obscene content
  • Antiquities
  • Pornographic material
  • Duplicate currency
  • Live plants
  • Aero models or any type of remote-operated helicopter
  • Walkie-talkies
  • Politically sensitive literature

These are a few examples of prohibited items. We recommend you contact the Indian customs department for more detailed information.

Please watch the below video to learn more about restricted products to import into India:

5. How long does it take to import goods from China to India?

International shipping is a challenging task. Unless you choose courier delivery, it’s difficult to predict or maintain the shipment time. The first parameter to find out the shipping time between China to India is the shipping mode.

Air freight is the quickest. Courier service is faster than standard air freight service.

Sea shipping is slower than the air or express shipping method. LCL and FCL also affect how much time is needed for the importation.

Air freight roughly takes 5-10 days to ship from China to India. And express shipping takes 2-4 days. But when it comes to sea shipping, the time duration expands more. Take a look at the below table:

 Departure Port  Arrival Port  Shipping mode  Required time
 Guangzhou  Nhava Sheva  FCL  22
 LCL  25
 Fuzhou  Nhava Sheva  FCL  23
 LCL  27
 Dalian  Nhava Sheva  FCL  25
 LCL  29
 Ningbo  Chennai  FCL  18
 LCL  21
 Shanghai  Chennai  FCL  18
 LCL  21
 Qingdao  Chennai  FCL  24
 LCL  25
 Tianjin  Nhava Sheva  FCL  25
 LCL  29
 Xiamen  Chennai  FCL  15
 LCL  26
 Huangpu  Kolkata  FCL  18
 LCL  22
 Ningbo  Mundra  FCL  25
 LCL  30

** These are standard time duration. Don’t take this time as a fixed time. These dates can change for various reasons. We suggest you add one or two weeks to these dates and plan accordingly. That will help you to maintain your supply chain properly.

6. How much are the Import costs from China to India?

Nobody can tell you how much the import costs from China to India without knowing some specific information. There is no magic figure or magic calculator to tell you the import costs from China to India because it depends on a wide variety of reasons.

Therefore, asking for a quotation is the best way to know the import costs. Living in this technological era means that you can acquire a price for air or ocean freight shipment in seconds completely free!

A freight forwarder needs the following information to provide a price quotation:

  • Product type.
  • Your preferred Shipping method – Air or Ocean.
  • Packing list information including how many weights and volumes you are going to ship,
  • Your delivery address.

7. What documents are mandatory to import from China to India?

You will need the following documents to import from China to India:

  • Bill of lading or Airway Bill – The freight carrier issues this bill. Sometimes freight forwarders can issue their own bill of lading.
  • Certificate of Origin – This document serves as proof that the goods you’re selling came from a certain nation. In order to go through customs, this is required.
  • Packaging List – Each component of the package, such as its dimensions and the contents, is included in this list.
  • Commercial Invoice – Your products’ specifications, including their dimensions, weight, and other characteristics. Your supplier will provide this document.

And, of course, you will need the import permit that the Indian Government issues.

8. What payment method can you use while importing goods from China to India?

There is no restriction regarding payment methods while importing from China to India. You can use bank transfer, PayPal, or any other international payment method approved by both countries.

But you can not use Bitcoin or any other digital currency because the Chinese Government recently banned all types of digital currency in China.

9. Is Amazon FBA available in India?

Amazon India is a leading e-commerce platform for consumer products in India. Amazon started its operation in India in June 2013. Since then, the company has become the leading e-commerce platform beating many other local e-commerce businesses in India.

So, yes, you can do FBA business in India. Amazon FBA is a very profitable business. But without taking support from a good freight forwarder who knows all the requirements of Amazon FBA, it will be tough for you to earn profit.

Winsky freight has been providing excellent Amazon FBA shipping service in India since Amazon started its journey in that country. Just send us which product you want to ship, and we will take care of the rest.

As an FBA seller, you must know which products are restricted to sale on Amazon. Learn about prohibited product policy violations on Amazon.

10. Customs Regulations and import duty from China to India.

India has very strict customs rules and regulations. You will have to pay certain bills and show the required papers asked by the customs authority of India.

Customs duty applies if you import goods into India or export out of India. It’s essential to follow the rules and paperwork for each type of shipment since it affects the cost of your shipment.

You can import almost any product into India Duty-Free. But that only applies if your imports are less than 50,000 rupees ($1,050 USD). If your imports exceed that limit, you’ll have to pay several charges depending on your goods.

Custom tariffs in India are composed of many different charges, including

  • Regular Customs Duty: The tax levied on all purchases.
  • Additional Customs Duty: Alcohol and spirits are exempt from the additional customs duty.
  • Special Additional Duty: Taxes on all goods and services, including alcohol, are subject to this additional service charge.

The social welfare surcharge and the antidumping duty are two further types of charges that imply special imports.

As you can see, the cost of customs clearance in India is a complex calculation that takes into account a wide range of variables. Please keep in mind that your total shipping costs will be taken into account when calculating duty.

Winsky freight takes care of customs clearance for DDP clients.

11. Why is Winsky the Best freight forwarder while importing from China to India?

Winsky freight guarantees the most fabulous shipping experience with 12 years of expertise and a solid network. International shipping is a very complex process, and without a wide network, and vast experience, no freight forwarder can provide good service.

Winsky freight has all three qualities to provide the best service. Besides, we have a dedicated team to look after our clients in India. We have contracts with all the major carriers and express shipping companies. That helps us to offer the most competitive price in the market.

Final Words

If you are from India and considering entering the international trading business, you have very few options other than China. But without knowing the entire process, you should not dive into this business. Therefore we created this detailed guide on how to import from China to India. If you have any further queries or have anything to ship, don’t hesitate to send us a message. One of our shipping experts will be in touch with you soon.

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