Looking for the destination side of this lane — duty, importer of record and certification? Open the Chile destination guide.
How long does shipping from China take?
| Mode | Typical time | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Typical ranges measured from supplier pickup to signed delivery. They are not a commitment; the binding range is issued with your quotation.
Lane facts
| Loading from | Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, Yantian and Xiamen on the direct West Coast South America strings |
| 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 |
| Direct sailings | Evergreen WSA6 runs weekly into San Antonio via Callao (first Shanghai sailing January 2026); Evergreen PNC feeds north Chile over Chancay |
| Container options | 20GP, 40GP and 40HQ; LCL accepted from 1 CBM |
| 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 |
| Parcels | The USD 41 franchise ended on 25 October 2025 under Ley 21.713 — platforms charge 19% IVA at checkout up to USD 500, and simplified entries up to USD 500 pay no customs duty |
| Importer of record | The consignee needs a RUT and SII registration; a foreign seller acting as importer of record is not substantiated |
| Certification | SEC approval for electrical products and SUBTEL homologation for telecom equipment under Resolución 737 of 2025 |
| Inland delivery | Santiago sits about 1.5–2 hours by truck from San Antonio and Valparaíso |
| Quote turnaround | A formal quotation is issued within one hour once the cargo details are complete |
What does this cover?
Chile is the cleanest customs environment in South America: the China–Chile FTA clears most goods at zero duty with a certificate of origin, and the tax stack is a single 19% IVA. The planning question is the port rotation and the coasting leg, not the clearance.
Who is this for?
- Commercial imports for wholesale, retail and distribution
- Factory-to-buyer shipments arranged on a delivered or port-to-port basis
- Consolidated cargo from several Chinese suppliers
- Buyers who need a duty-paid door price rather than a port-to-port rate
What is included in the service?
- China pickup, consolidation and warehouse handling where the scope includes it
- The transport combination quoted — ocean, rail, road, air or express
- Export declaration and shipping document guidance
- Destination clearance under the confirmed arrangement where a door scope is quoted
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What do you need from us to quote?
- Product name, material, use and photographs
- Declared value with currency and whether the goods carry a brand
- Piece count, gross weight, volume and package dimensions
- China origin city or the supplier address
- Destination city, full address and postcode
- Address type: commercial, residential, warehouse or free zone
- Whether the consignee can act as importer of record if the destination requires it
- Any battery, liquid, powder, magnet or regulated attribute
- Cargo-ready date and any required delivery window
Who is responsible for what?
| Scope | Company | Customer | Responsibility transfers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to door |
|
| Responsibility passes on delivery and signature at the agreed destination address. |
What does the quotation cover?
The quotation states the total for the scope described in it. It is built from the cargo data, the origin and destination, the transport mode and the delivery scope agreed at that time.
What is included?
- China pickup and consolidation as quoted
- Export declaration and main transport on the quoted routing
- Destination import clearance under the confirmed arrangement
- Duty and tax for the declared goods where the scope is DDP
- Delivery to the agreed address within the quoted delivery area
What is not included?
- Customs revaluation where the declared value is not accepted
- Certification, registration or testing required by the destination authority
- Storage, demurrage and inspection costs arising at either customs point
- Remote-area delivery outside the quoted area
- Unloading equipment or labour at the destination address
What might cost extra?
- Remote or difficult-access delivery beyond the standard service area
- Customs inspection, holds or revaluation at either end
- Storage where cargo cannot be dispatched inside the agreed free period
- Detention and demurrage when a container or vehicle is held beyond free time
- Oversized, overweight or special loading equipment
- Cargo that arrives without the documents required for the confirmed route
- Special cargo approved after review but requiring extra handling or documentation
- Address change, re-delivery or a failed delivery appointment after dispatch
- Peak-season or fuel surcharges applied by the carrier
- Duty or tax reassessment where customs does not accept the declared value
Freight rates and space change with the market, so each quotation carries its own validity period. Once it expires, or if the rate or space changes before booking, the price is reconfirmed before dispatch.
Cargo is weighed and measured after it reaches the warehouse. If the piece count, weight, volume, packing, cargo attributes or delivery address differ from the original inquiry, the charge is recalculated and sent to you for confirmation before payment and dispatch.
How long does each stage take?
Transit is counted from the stated start point to the stated end point for each stage. Carrier schedules, port and customs conditions, and the destination delivery arrangement all affect the outcome.
- Pickup and warehouse intake: Typically 1–3 days from supplier release (calculated from Pickup arranged from the supplier address to Cargo received, counted, weighed and measured at the warehouse)
- Consolidation and waiting: Typically 2–5 days, longer if later suppliers are still producing (calculated from Cargo accepted at the warehouse to Container loaded and sealed, or cargo handed to the carrier)
- Export and ocean transit: Typically 28–37 days port to port direct; transhipment via Callao or Balboa runs to 48 days (calculated from Container loaded on board to Vessel arriving at the destination port)
- Import clearance and duty handling: Central-Chile port yards run near capacity and September 2026 saw access blockades at San Antonio; clearance windows are confirmed with the terminal (calculated from Vessel arrival at the destination port to Customs released and duty or tax settled where the scope includes it)
- Final delivery: Typically 1–3 days from San Antonio or Valparaíso into Santiago; longer to the northern mining regions (calculated from Customs released to Delivered to the agreed address and signed for)
Estimated total: An estimated total is issued with the quotation, expressed as a range with the calculation start and end points stated. It is an estimate, not a guaranteed arrival date.
Last verified 2026-09-15.
How is the shipment handled?
Illustrations generated for this page, showing the handling stages your cargo moves through. They are not photographs of a specific shipment.


What must be confirmed before booking?
- The 28–35 day direct band is a forwarder working range — the weekly WSA6 rotation is carrier-verified but per-port transit is confirmed at booking
- An original Form F certificate of origin is what secures 0% duty — without it the 6% general rate applies
- The USD 41 parcel franchise no longer exists — purchases up to USD 500 pay 19% IVA at checkout under Ley 21.713
- SUBTEL homologation and SEC approval are product-specific and confirmed before shipping
- The fruit export season from December to May tightens capacity and equipment out of Chile
- Central-Chile port yards run near capacity; storage and demurrage after the free days fall outside the quoted scope
What mistakes should we avoid?
- Shipping without the Form F and paying the 6% general duty that the FTA would have removed
- Planning around the eliminated USD 41 franchise — Chile now charges IVA at checkout on platform purchases
- Leaving SUBTEL homologation for telecom equipment until arrival
- Booking tight in December–May, when the fruit export season tightens capacity