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Shipping to China: what is not allowed

Mainland China taxes personal parcels with a single articles tax, caps them at CNY 2,000 per consignment, and requires the recipient's ID. Quarantine refuses meat, dairy, eggs and seeds. Hong Kong is a separate customs territory.

Not accepted for China

  • Meat (raw or cooked), milk and dairy including ghee, cheese and yoghurt, and eggs
  • Seeds, seedlings and soil
  • Animal-derived traditional medicine materials
  • Printed or recorded material judged harmful to China's political or moral interests, including pornography
  • Arms, counterfeit currency, poisons and narcotics

Allowed, with conditions

  • Medicines — import licence and recipient prescription
  • Mobile phones — may need CCC certification
  • Powdered milk — about 5 cans
  • Radio transmitters, tobacco and alcohol — controlled
  • Anything with a battery — we cannot ship it

Personal parcels pay an articles tax of 13%, 20% or 50% by category instead of duty and VAT; it is waived when the tax due is RMB 50 or less.

Personal parcels are capped at CNY 2,000 per consignment (a single indivisible item may clear above it); over the cap the parcel is returned or must clear as commercial goods.

The recipient must be an individual and provide a copy of their ID.

Quick answers: shipping from India to China

What can I not send from India to China?

China does not accept: meat (raw or cooked), milk and dairy including ghee, cheese and yoghurt, and eggs; seeds, seedlings and soil; animal-derived traditional medicine materials; printed or recorded material judged harmful to China's political or moral interests, including pornography; arms, counterfeit currency, poisons and narcotics. On every route, we also cannot carry anything with a battery, mobile phones and laptops, real gold, silver or diamond jewellery, or anything flammable or pressurised such as perfume, aerosols and nail polish.

Can I send medicines from India to China?

Yes, within limits: medicines — import licence and recipient prescription. Controlled and psychotropic medicines need clearance first, so ask us before you order them.

How long does a parcel from India to China take?

Normal transit on this route is 4 to 6 business days from our warehouse in Kerala.

Will I pay customs duty or tax in China?

Personal parcels pay an articles tax of 13%, 20% or 50% by category instead of duty and VAT; it is waived when the tax due is RMB 50 or less.

Never accepted, wherever you are

These are refused by the airlines, by Indian export rules or by us, so they cannot leave our warehouse for any destination.

Prohibited, restricted and dangerous goods, in one line each. Prohibited means it cannot be sent at all. Restricted means it can travel, but only under conditions your country sets, such as a personal quantity, a prescription or a declaration; those are listed under each destination. Dangerous goods are what airlines treat as a hazard on board: anything flammable, corrosive or pressurised. We also cannot ship anything with a battery, or anything that burns, such as agarbatti and camphor.

  • Cash, currency, cheques, bullion, and loose precious stones
  • Narcotics, illegal drugs, and psychotropic substances
  • Firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, and weapons (including replicas)
  • Anything with a battery, including power banks, battery-operated toys and watches
  • Mobile phones and laptops
  • Real gold, silver and diamond jewellery
  • Flammable, corrosive, or pressurised goods — perfumes/deodorant sprays, aerosols, nail polish and remover, paints, thinners, fuel, gas cylinders, lighters, and matches
  • Anything that burns: agarbatti (incense sticks), dhoop, camphor, sambrani and candles
  • Live animals, plants, seeds, soil, and products of endangered species (CITES)
  • Pornographic, obscene, or seditious material
  • Counterfeit goods and pirated media
  • Human remains, biological samples, and infectious substances
  • Radioactive and toxic substances

Medicines and supplements are the one thing to check before you order. They are not banned — almost every destination lets a personal quantity through in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription. What changes from country to country is how much counts as personal, whose name the prescription has to be in, and which ingredients need clearance from that country's health authority first.

The rule for China is under Allowed, with conditions above. Controlled and psychotropic medicines are a separate case: several countries want their own health authority to clear the parcel first, so check with us before you order rather than after it arrives with us.

If you are not sure about something, ask on WhatsApp before you order it.

The same list, talked through

Three and a half minutes on what cannot leave India, what your own country will not let in, and the things that travel perfectly well once the paperwork is right.

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What You Can and Can't Ship From India (Full List)

Rules for other destinations