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Shipping to Hong Kong: what is not allowed

Hong Kong is a free port with no duty or VAT on ordinary goods at any value. Only liquor, tobacco and a few fuels are dutiable. E-cigarettes are banned and medicines sent by courier need a licence.

Not accepted for Hong Kong

  • E-cigarettes, heated tobacco and herbal cigarettes — fine up to HK$50,000 and 6 months' imprisonment
  • Smokeless tobacco
  • Mercury-added products
  • Prohibited weapons

Allowed, with conditions

  • Pharmaceutical products and proprietary Chinese medicines — Department of Health import licence (the personal exemption covers accompanied baggage only)
  • Meat, poultry and eggs — FEHD licence or health certificate
  • Milk and frozen confections — regulated
  • Plants and soil — AFCD licence
  • Radio transmitters — OFCA permit; dangerous drugs and antibiotics — permits

No import tariff, VAT or GST on ordinary goods. Excise applies to liquor above 30% ABV (100% on the first HK$200, 10% on the rest) and tobacco.

Hong Kong is a separate customs territory from mainland China.

Quick answers: shipping from India to Hong Kong

What can I not send from India to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong does not accept: e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and herbal cigarettes — fine up to HK$50,000 and 6 months' imprisonment; smokeless tobacco; mercury-added products; prohibited weapons. 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 Hong Kong?

Yes, within limits: pharmaceutical products and proprietary Chinese medicines — Department of Health import licence (the personal exemption covers accompanied baggage only). Controlled and psychotropic medicines need clearance first, so ask us before you order them.

How long does a parcel from India to Hong Kong 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 Hong Kong?

No import tariff, VAT or GST on ordinary goods. Excise applies to liquor above 30% ABV (100% on the first HK$200, 10% on the rest) and tobacco. Hong Kong is a separate customs territory from mainland China.

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 Hong Kong 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)

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