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Import duty and landed cost: what you pay beyond the freight
The factory price is roughly half the story. Between a machine leaving a workshop in China and the same machine working in yours sits a stack of costs — some set by markets, some by your customs authority, some by your own address. Here is the whole stack, in order, without invented numbers.
The landed-cost stack
| Stage | Line | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| In China | Inland haulage | Trucking the machine from the factory to the port or airport |
| In China | Export clearance & origin handling | The export declaration, terminal handling and documentation at loading |
| Main leg | Ocean or air freight | The container or air waybill, priced per market — this is the line most quotes lead with |
| Main leg | Cargo insurance | Optional but recommended for machinery; see our insurance guide |
| Your border | Customs duty | Set by your country’s tariff schedule and the machine’s classification |
| Your border | Import VAT / GST | A border tax in most countries — and its base is usually more than the invoice |
| Your border | Brokerage & entry fees | Filing the entry; any registration your regime requires |
| Delivery | Haulage & unloading | Trucking to your address, lift equipment, appointments |
| Delivery | Contingency | Exams, storage if release slips — the lines a good plan keeps at zero |
An itemised quotation walks these lines in order and prices each one. A quotation that shows only “freight” is not cheaper — it is quoting the third line of nine and leaving the rest to become surprises.
How the duty is decided: one code, your country’s rate
Every country classifies goods with the same Harmonized System codes, then applies its own tariff rate per code. The machine’s function and technology decide the code, the code decides the rate, and the classification is legally the importer’s responsibility — in the United States under the “reasonable care” standard, enforced with penalties when it is abused. A supplier’s suggested code is a starting point; your broker owns the final call. The valuation underneath is the transaction value — what you actually paid for the goods — as defined by the WTO valuation agreement that most customs laws implement.
On top of duty sits import VAT or GST in most countries — and its base is usually wider than the invoice: customs value plus transport and insurance, and in several regimes the duty itself is added before the tax is computed. So freight savings that come from longer routings can quietly inflate the tax line at your border.
Who pays, and what to have ready
The import debt is yours: the importer of record pays the customs authority — the forwarder or broker files and advances, but the legal payer is you. What that means practically, per country:
| Country | What the importer side needs |
|---|---|
| United States | Importer number (typically your EIN) plus a customs bond for formal entries — a one-off buyer normally uses a single-transaction bond arranged through the broker. |
| European Union | An EORI number from your member state’s customs authority; import VAT rate and handling vary by country. |
| United Kingdom | A UK EORI number; import VAT applies, with options such as postponed VAT accounting. |
| Australia | No general import licence for goods; an import declaration is required for goods valued over AUD 1,000, with GST payable at import. |
| Canada | A Business Number with an import program account; commercial importers register in the CBSA’s CARM portal and post their own financial security. |
None of these are difficult — they are paperwork with a queue. The expensive version is discovering them during the vessel’s arrival week, while storage clocks run. Our demurrage guide explains exactly why.
Machinery-specific watch items
- Used machines. In the United States there is no special customs regime for used industrial machinery as such — normal entry and classification apply. What does bite: emission rules for engines. Diesel-engine equipment can need an EPA import form at entry; an electric CNC router generally does not. Similar product-level rules exist elsewhere — check before buying, not after.
- Wood packaging. The crate is checked too: solid-wood packaging must meet the ISPM-15 treatment standard. See our wooden crate guide.
- Product rules ≠ customs rules. Safety and compliance regimes for machinery (the EU’s machinery rules, US engine emission rules) sit alongside customs clearance and are not solved by paperwork at the port. If your machine’s category is regulated at your end, know it before the purchase.
China-origin machinery and the tariff layers
One honest paragraph, because most guides get this wrong in one direction or the other: machinery from China can attract several stacked tariff layers beyond your country’s normal rate — trade-remedy tariffs, additional measures, and new programmes that appear with little notice. The landscape has changed repeatedly in recent years, and some measures have been litigated all the way to top courts. No honest website publishes a number, because a number goes stale faster than a shipment sails. The reliable move costs one email: before you order, get the current duty treatment for your exact machine, code and destination — from your customs broker, or from us as part of the quotation. We put the duty assumption in writing either way.
What this means before you order
Two habits cover almost everything. First, ask for the duty and tax estimate in writing before transferring the final payment to the supplier — the landed number, not just freight. Second, set up your importer registration early, even one shipment ahead of need. Both are ten-minute tasks that prevent the two most expensive arrival surprises: a bill you didn’t plan for, and a container you can’t clear.
Want the landed number before you commit?
Tell us the machine and the destination — the quotation includes the duty assumption, in writing.