Shipping from China to Pakistan — 15–21 days sea freight, duty and customs
Importing into Pakistan: Duty by HS line under the Pakistan Customs Tariff, with China–Pakistan FTA preference where the origin documentation qualifies; sales-tax treatment confirmed with the declaration. The importer of record position: The import declaration is filed by a Pakistan-registered importer; the structure is confirmed per shipment. Before shipping, PSQCA conformity applies to regulated products; the applicable scheme is confirmed from the product details. Duty and tax are assessed per commodity code, so these positions are confirmed per shipment.
15–21 days sea freight from China to Pakistan. What Pakistan requires on arrival: who may import, what duty and tax apply, and which certification and product rules must be in place.
What does Pakistan require before the cargo can be imported?
Pakistan 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
Duty by HS line under the Pakistan Customs Tariff, with China–Pakistan FTA preference where the origin documentation qualifies; sales-tax treatment confirmed with the declaration
Who is allowed to import into this market?
Importer of record
The import declaration is filed by a Pakistan-registered importer; the structure is confirmed per shipment
Import requirements
India IEC importer code with ICEGATE filing; BIS or CRS registration and CDSCO approval for regulated categories
What certification or product rules must be in place before shipping?
Certification
PSQCA conformity applies to regulated products; the applicable scheme is confirmed from the product details
What thresholds and reliefs change the cost?
De minimis
Only consignments imported by post or courier valued up to PKR 1,000 are exempt, down from PKR 5,000, from the Finance Act 2025
How long does shipping from China to Pakistan 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
15–21 days
Port to port to Karachi: ONE’s CIP string publishes Shekou 15 days, Ningbo 18 and Shanghai 19; the CIX service sheet (dated November 2023) shows Shekou 17, Ningbo 20, Shanghai 21
Ocean freight LCL
Confirmed per shipment
Consolidation to Karachi quoted per booking
Air freight
Confirmed per shipment
No carrier-published transit table for PVG, CAN or SZX to Karachi; confirmed with the booking
Express courier
Confirmed per shipment
Carrier transit for Pakistan is confirmed with the booking
Which gateway does cargo arrive through in South Asia?
The gateway is the same for every country in South Asia; what changes between countries is the duty, importer and certification position above.
Destination ports
Karachi Port (KICT and PICT) and Port Qasim (QICT)
Gateway ports
Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mundra, Chennai and Kattupalli, Colombo, Chittagong, Karachi and Port Qasim
Gateway airports
BOM, DEL, BLR and MAA, DAC, CMB
Transhipment
Colombo is the transhipment hub for much of South Asia and Bangladesh feeder traffic
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 Pakistan 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.
Where is the rest of this lane documented?
This page covers arrival requirements only. Transit times, loading ports, container options, consolidation frequency, the stage-by-stage breakdown and the remaining questions are on the route page, so they are not repeated here.
We have not yet photographed this lane's destination operations. Rather than borrow a stock or generated picture, the slots below are left empty and labelled. They are filled only with our own photographs from this lane.
Photo to be addedArrival and handling of our cargo in PakistanOur own photograph from this lane, once recordedPhoto to be addedFinal delivery in PakistanOur own photograph from this lane, once recorded
Need the duty confirmed for your product?
Send the commodity, its material, its use and the destination city, and we will confirm the position.
