What does Chile require before the cargo can be imported?
Chile is served from China by ocean, air and express, and the arrival-side requirements below are the part that most often changes a landed cost or holds a shipment at the port. Each position is the one we publish for this market and is confirmed per shipment against the actual commodity code and destination city.
What duty, tax and levies apply on arrival?
| Duty and tax | General ad-valorem duty of 6% of CIF, 0% with an original Form F under the China–Chile FTA; IVA 19% on CIF plus duty |
Who is allowed to import into this market?
| Importer of record | The consignee needs a RUT and SII registration; a foreign seller acting as importer of record is not substantiated |
| Import registration | Brazil RADAR / Siscomex with NCM coding, and an Argentina SIMI import permit, are required before clearance |
What certification or product rules must be in place before shipping?
| Certification | SEC approval for electrical products and SUBTEL homologation for telecom equipment under Resolución 737 of 2025 |
How long does shipping from China to Chile take?
Typical door-to-door transit on this lane, by mode. These are working ranges rather than carrier-published schedules, so the exact window is confirmed on booking.
| Mode | Typical transit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight FCL | 28–37 days | Port to port direct: forwarder tables put Shanghai/Ningbo–San Antonio at 28–32 days, Yantian 30–34, Qingdao–Valparaíso 30–35; ONE’s direct AX1/AX2 publish Shanghai 37 and Ningbo 36 |
| Ocean freight LCL | 35–48 days | Door to door including consolidation, about 30–40 days of it ocean |
| Air freight | 3–7 days | Airport to airport to Santiago (Arturo Merino Benítez), typically 5–7 days with connections |
| Express courier | 2–5 days | Forwarder-published door-to-door; carrier-published transit confirmed with the booking |
Which gateway does cargo arrive through in South America?
The gateway is the same for every country in South America; what changes between countries is the duty, importer and certification position above.
| Destination ports | San Antonio (over 2 million TEU in 2025) and Valparaíso serve Santiago; Iquique, Antofagasta and Arica serve the mining north and Bolivia transit |
| Gateway ports | Santos, Itapoa and Paranagua, Buenos Aires, Callao, Valparaiso and San Antonio |
| Gateway airports | GRU, EZE, SCL, LIM |
How do you turn this into a landed cost?
Duty is assessed per commodity code, so the positions above tell you what to prepare rather than what you will pay. Screen the official duty range for the HS chapter your product falls in with the HS chapter duty lookup, then put the rate for your actual code through the landed cost calculator to see duty, import tax and levies on the CIF value. Transit times, loading ports and the operating detail for this lane are on the China to Chile route page.
Positions reviewed 2026-09-15 by Helen Peng. Duty, importer-of-record and certification answers are confirmed per shipment: a change of commodity code, origin documentation or destination city can change the position.
