If you're a commercial importer — a registered business, trader, manufacturer, distributor or e-commerce seller bringing a batch from China (a container, consolidated cargo, or pallets for resale), then at the border you pay two core charges: an import duty (a rate set by your product's HS / commodity code) and import VAT (or GST), calculated on the customs value plus the duty. Some goods also carry excise and small customs fees. This is not a B2C parcel with a low personal-use threshold — commercial import follows business rules, with a full document set and a formal customs declaration. Below is how the process works and how the payments are built, using Ukraine as a worked example while the logic applies to most markets. Treat every rate here as illustrative and verify the current figures for your country and code before you declare.
Who clears as a business — and who doesn't
The dividing line isn't the size of the shipment; it's the purpose. If goods move for resale, production or any commercial use, they're a business import even when the value is modest — and customs can treat a shipment as a "commercial batch" if it shows the marks of trade (uniform product, quantity, regularity). The personal-parcel thresholds the logistics giants write about simply don't apply to you.
- Registered businesses (legal entities and sole traders on the general tax system) — standard commercial import: a foreign-trade contract, invoice, customs declaration, full duty and VAT settlement.
- First-time importers — most jurisdictions require a one-time registration/accreditation with customs before your first declaration; it's usually quick.
- Private individuals with a one-off parcel — a different regime with different limits; this guide isn't for them.
The clearance process, step by step
Commercial clearance is a sequence of customs formalities, mostly handled by a broker through an electronic system. In Ukraine the flow (a typical model) looks like this:
- Preparation and pre-declaration. Before the cargo arrives, the broker uploads documents to the Single Window for International Trade and can lodge a preliminary declaration, transferring a financial guarantee if required.
- Arrival and placement. The cargo reaches a customs terminal / temporary storage warehouse and is placed under customs control.
- Filing the customs declaration. The declarant submits the declaration on the Single Administrative Document (SAD) form electronically; it's registered in the automated customs clearance system.
- Customs value and classification check. Customs verifies the declared HS code and customs value; an automated risk analysis decides the control form (documentary check, physical inspection, and so on).
- Payment of duties and taxes. You pay duty, import VAT, any excise and fees — funds must be on account before release.
- Release for free circulation. Once formalities and payment clear, customs releases the goods and you can sell them domestically.
With a clean document set, registration and clearance can take hours; an inspection, a request for extra documents, or a value adjustment stretches it into days.
What you pay: duty then VAT
A commercial batch faces up to three charges (plus fees). The order matters: duty first, then VAT on "value + duty".
- Import duty. The rate is set by your HS / commodity code and, depending on the product, runs from 0% up to 20% and higher (special regimes apply to some categories). Duty = customs value × duty rate.
- Import VAT / GST. In Ukraine the rate is a flat 20%, and the base is customs value plus duty (plus excise, if any). VAT = (customs value + duty + excise) × 20%.
- Excise — only on excisable goods (alcohol, tobacco, fuel, some vehicles). It doesn't apply to most industrial batches.
- Customs fees — for specific formalities; usually minor next to duty and VAT.
Simplified illustrative example (rates are placeholders — confirm the current ones for your code): a batch with a customs value of $10,000 and a 10% duty → $1,000 duty; VAT at 20% on ($10,000 + $1,000) = $2,200. Total to the budget ≈ $3,200, or 32% of the batch value. Change the HS code and both the duty rate and the whole sum change. For the complete cost picture "to your warehouse", see the landed cost of a China import. Note that some markets exempt or zero-rate specific categories — Ukraine, for instance, exempts certain energy equipment; see the VAT and duty exemption for solar panels.
Customs charges VAT on the customs value plus duty, not on your invoice price — so a "cheap invoice" saves nothing and only raises your risk of a value adjustment.
Customs value and the undervaluation risk
Customs value is the base for every charge, and it's where most disputes start. The primary method is the transaction value — the invoice price plus costs to the border, i.e. freight to the frontier and insurance where it applies (broadly a CIF-to-border basis). How those costs fall under different delivery terms is set out in the Incoterms 2020 guide for China imports.
If customs judges the declared value too low (a risk profile trips, or the price sits below reference data for that product), it can issue a decision to adjust the customs value and switch to another method — identical or similar goods, deductive, computed, or the fallback method. The result is additional duty and VAT. Undervaluing the invoice to save on tax is the single biggest red flag: it reliably triggers an adjustment, and then you're left appealing the decision. An honest, document-backed value is the cheapest strategy there is.
The HS code decides everything
One commodity code sets the duty rate, the need for permits, certificates and licences, and any preferential regime. A misclassification means either overpayment or a back-charge with penalties and a held shipment — so getting the code right is the first step, not the last. The general method for finding the correct code is in how to determine an HS code, with a worked product example in the HS/commodity codes for steel from China.
Documents you'll need
A commercial batch needs a full set: the foreign-trade contract, commercial invoice, packing list, transport documents (bill of lading / CMR / air waybill) and, where required, certificates of origin, permits and conformity declarations. That's only the short list — for the full breakdown of every import document and the common mistakes, see the overview of import documents from China.
The broker's role — and full-cycle control
Calculating the charges, classifying the goods and filing the declaration is the customs broker's job: it demands accuracy and current knowledge, and an error costs money and time. But a broker clears what has already arrived. The difference between "just logistics" and full-cycle sourcing is that a carrier only moves the box, while a sourcing partner controls the chain from the start — the right HS code is locked in at the contract stage, the factory prepares documents correctly, the customs value is substantiated, and the batch's landed cost is calculated before it ships. We at Silk Way Sourcing have closed that cycle for 7 years (since 2019): factory search and verification, quality control, logistics and customs clearance in Ukraine. One honest caveat — only a broker can give you the exact duty rate and final total for your code and documents; the figures here are illustrative.
For the Ukrainian regime, the authoritative sources to check are the State Customs Service (customs.gov.ua) and the Customs and Tax Codes on zakon.rada.gov.ua.
Order commercial-batch clearance
Email contact@silkwaysourcing.com or message WhatsApp +380 97 883 4765 — we'll estimate duty and VAT for your HS code, prepare the documents, and clear your batch end to end.
