How to import from China to Pakistan: duty, tax and real cost

What China stock costs once duty and tax are added

To import from China to Pakistan for resale, get an NTN, find the eight-digit tariff code for your product, and use a licensed clearing agent or your own WeBOC user ID. On women’s clothing in 2026–27, duty and tax add about 67% to the customs value, which is the invoice price plus freight and insurance. Rs 400,000 of dresses lands at Rs 666,952 before your agent’s fee and the truck.

The charges stack, each on top of the last: duties, then sales tax, then advance income tax. The table shows what they add to Rs 100,000 of customs value. Rates are as of October 2026, from FBR’s Customs Tariff 2026–27 and the notifications on top of it.

Duties are 20% customs duty plus 2% additional customs duty plus regulatory duty: 8% on garments, 16% on bags and most shoes, 20% on fabric shoes and sandals. Garment sales tax is 18% plus an extra 3% on commercial imports, per the PwC Pakistan tax summary (reviewed August 24, 2026). No FBR page we found lists the extra 3%, so ask your clearing agent to confirm it. Income tax is the section 148 advance tax, charged on value plus duties plus sales tax. It is 12% if you are not on FBR’s Active Taxpayer List.

Bags, footwear and cosmetics work differently. The Finance Act 2026, gazetted June 26, 2026, put bags under 42.02, all footwear and cosmetics under 33.03, 33.04 and 33.07 on the Third Schedule of the Sales Tax Act. Their import sales tax is 18% of the retail price, and Sales Tax General Order 8 of 2026 (July 2, 2026) orders the importer to print that price and the tax on each article, legibly, with no sticker covering it.

So the tax follows the price you print, not what you paid. Say you import 500 bags with a customs value of Rs 200,000 and print Rs 1,000 on each (assumptions). Duties at 38% are Rs 76,000. Sales tax at 18% of Rs 500,000 is Rs 90,000. Income tax at 6% of Rs 366,000 is Rs 21,960. Landed cost is Rs 387,960, or Rs 776 a bag. Before you print a label, ask your agent whether the extra 3% applies to bags and how Customs treats your printed price.

The section 148 tax at import is separate from the tax couriers withhold from your sales under section 153(2A), which is final by default (final tax or adjustable). Whether your import tax counts against your own income tax depends on the goods, so ask your accountant.

Find the duty for your product

Duty follows the eight-digit PCT code, Pakistan’s version of the HS code, not the product name. Your supplier’s code may have only six digits, and you need the full Pakistani line.

1. On FBR’s Search Customs Tariff page, search by description to find a code, or enter the code your supplier gave you. If the description beside it does not match your product, the code is wrong.
2. Open the Pakistan Customs Tariff (F.Y 2026–27) PDF from FBR’s Customs Tariff page and search for your code. Customs duty is the last number on the row. Row 6204.4300, women’s dresses of synthetic fibres, ends in 20: 20% customs duty.
3. SRO 1063(I)/2026 (June 30, 2026) adds 2% additional customs duty on goods in the 20% slab.
4. SRO 1064(I)/2026 (also June 30, 2026) lists regulatory duty by code: 8% on every garment heading from 61.01 to 62.17, 16% on bags and wallets under 42.02 and shoes under 64.01 to 64.03, and 20% on 6403.9900, 64.04 and 64.05. The PDF is a scan, so search fails. Find your four-digit heading by eye, or ask your agent.
5. Check your code against the Third Schedule list in Sales Tax General Order 8 of 2026. If it is listed, sales tax is 18% of the printed retail price. If not, it is charged on value plus duties.
6. Add income tax: 6% for commercial importers on the Active Taxpayer List and 12% for those who are not, on goods outside the first two lists of the Twelfth Schedule, per FBR’s withholding tax rate card.

China also has a free trade agreement with Pakistan. FBR’s press release on Phase II says SRO 1640(I)/2019 took effect on January 1, 2020, with some lines at zero duty and others tapering over 7 or 15 years. It does not say where dresses, bags or shoes fall.

Before you pay the supplier, send your agent the code and the four rates and ask for each in writing. Also ask which part of the Twelfth Schedule your goods fall under, since that sets the income tax rate, whether your code has a lower free trade agreement rate, and what proof of Chinese origin the supplier must send. Check the tariff before every order.

Worked example: Rs 400,000 of dresses

Say you buy 250 dresses at Rs 1,200 each, about 100 kg in all, and fly them in at Rs 1,000 a kg with insurance included. These are assumptions, not quotes. At about Rs 277 to the dollar, the interbank rate in October 2026 from SBP, that is about US$4.33 a dress and US$3.61 a kg.

That is Rs 2,668 a dress against Rs 1,200 on the invoice. If you are not on the Active Taxpayer List, income tax is Rs 75,504, landed cost is Rs 704,704 and each dress costs Rs 2,819. If freight is Rs 2,220 a kg, about US$8 and the top of the air figures below, the customs value is Rs 522,000, landed cost is Rs 870,372 and each dress costs Rs 3,481.

Two things move the total. Section 25 counts transport and handling to the port, and insurance, in the customs value, but not inland freight, so the truck to your door stays outside it. If your quote leaves insurance out, Customs adds it under Customs General Order 22 of 2000. The other is the dollar rate: Customs converts at the National Bank of Pakistan’s daily rate, per an FBR release of May 22, 2019, not your bank’s. The same goods that cost US$1,444 at Rs 277 would carry a customs value of Rs 433,213 and a landed cost of Rs 722,331 at Rs 300.

Your agent’s fee, the port charges and the truck come on top, so ask for each as its own line, in writing. Before you order, compare Rs 2,668 with a similar dress from a Lahore or Karachi wholesaler (our wholesale suppliers guide lists the options), then run the result through the profit margin calculator. See how to price products in Pakistan to turn a landed cost into a selling price.

What you can import without an NTN, and what needs one

The only no-NTN route on FBR, Customs and Pakistan Single Window pages is a small parcel. Under section 19C of the Customs Act, goods that arrive by post or courier and are worth no more than Rs 1,000 attract no duties or taxes, per pkrevenue’s report of June 29, 2025. The Finance Act 2026 does not mention section 19C, so the limit stands as of October 2026. Everything else you bring in to resell is a commercial import.

The manifest rule covers sea ports and border customs stations, not airports. FBR’s WeBOC user registration page lists the NTN and STRN as required fields, and you appear in person at the collectorate with your original CNIC.

The decision rule:

• A sample, or a few parcels each worth Rs 1,000 or less: no NTN, no agent. Do not split stock into small parcels to stay under the limit; nothing on FBR’s pages allows it.
• Stock you will resell: get an NTN before you pay the supplier. Our guide to registering an online business covers it.
• A first or one-off shipment: hire a licensed clearing agent, and ask whose NTN goes on the declaration.
• Regular shipments: subscribe to the Pakistan Single Window and get a WeBOC user ID to file your own declarations.

Registering for your own commercial import

The Pakistan Single Window (PSW) is the portal route. The steps, from its subscription manual:

1. Hold an NTN with an active email in FBR’s database, because PSW sends your one-time password and login there.
2. On the PSW site, click Subscribe and enter your NTN, your CNIC and a mobile number registered against that CNIC. A number registered to a company name is rejected.
3. Pay the non-refundable Rs 500 fee at a bank counter, ATM, or through internet or mobile banking, using the payment slip ID PSW generates. The slip expires in two days.
4. Confirm the one-time passwords, then visit any NADRA e-Sahulat franchise with your CNIC and Application ID for biometric verification.
5. Set a password from the emailed link, register with Customs as a trader (user type Commercial) and upload your documents.

Each goods declaration then carries a PSW fee. Its fee circular of December 27, 2022 says nil up to Rs 50,000 of goods, Rs 500 up to Rs 10,000,000 and Rs 1,000 above that. Ask your agent for the current fee per shipment.

Sourcing, freight and clearing quotes

On Alibaba.com you deal with the supplier. Put your specification, quantity and ship date in the order and pay through Alibaba.com’s checkout so that Trade Assurance can apply. Alibaba’s 2015 release describes it as covering payment, quality against the contract specification, and on-time shipment. Confirm on the order page that it is on, and which payments it covers, before you send money.

1688 is a Chinese domestic site. Its sellers take Chinese methods such as Alipay tied to Chinese IDs, and international cards do not work, so Pakistani buyers use a sourcing agent with a China warehouse that buys, inspects, consolidates and ships, as Markaz explains (July 17, 2026). It warns that on small orders the extras (agent commission, China domestic shipping, freight, duty, clearing fees) often dwarf the savings, and that “checked” can mean anything from a photo to a real quality check. Get the commission and what inspection includes in writing before you pay.

Cargo companies’ own pages give freight-only marketing figures, not door-to-door tariffs. These are converted at about Rs 277 to the dollar, the interbank rate in October 2026.

Neither page says whether its figure includes customs. Alibaba’s shipping guide says many quotes are DDU, Delivered Duty Unpaid, so you pay duties on arrival. Goodhope Logistics (September 11, 2026) says sea groupage is charged per revenue tonne, 1 cubic metre or 1,000 kg, with volume weight taken if it is greater, so bulky, light goods like dresses can cost more by volume than by weight.

We found no cargo company that publishes a dated door-to-door rate per kg to a Pakistani city with customs included. Ask three cargo agents for one for your product category to your city, and put these questions to every cargo company and clearing agent:

• What is the price per kg or per cubic metre, and is it duty-paid or DDU?
• How is chargeable weight worked out, and what will my carton sizes cost?
• Whose NTN goes on the goods declaration, and which eight-digit code will you declare?
• What are your clearing fee, the port charges and the truck to my city, each as its own line?
• Will you send me the goods declaration and the duty receipt for every shipment?

Five mistakes that cost sellers money, and the fix

• A freight quote without duty. A DDU price looks cheap until the 67% arrives at the port. Fix: get the all-in price in writing.
• The wrong code, or a missing retail price. A dress at 62.04 carries 8% regulatory duty, a bag under 42.02 carries 16% and sales tax on the printed price. Fix: have your agent check the supplier’s code, and agree the retail price to print before the supplier makes the labels.
• Paying the supplier outside the platform. A bank transfer after a chat discount is not an Alibaba.com checkout payment, so Trade Assurance may not cover it. Fix: pay on the order page, and ask Alibaba.com customer service before sending money anywhere else.
• Declaring less than you paid. FBR calls undervaluation fiscal fraud and said in an August 6, 2020 release that Customs is obtaining export documents from China. Fix: declare the invoice you paid, and keep the invoice, packing list, goods declaration and duty receipt for every bale.
• Branded goods. Pakistan Customs registered 201 intellectual property cases in FY 2025–26, with seized goods worth an estimated Rs 7.7 billion, including textiles, footwear and cosmetics, per its release of July 7, 2026. Fix: order plain stock and add your own label, not goods with a brand name or logo you do not own or hold a licence for.

Where your store fits

Storelala is the Shopify alternative built for Pakistan, with stores at yourbrand.storelala.com. Lite is free forever with cash on delivery, up to 10 products and 3 photos per product, and no fees from Storelala on any plan. A batch of 250 dresses in 10 designs fits.

When the batch sells, Core is Rs 2,000 a month, or Rs 1,000 a month billed yearly. It adds JazzCash, Easypaisa and cards at checkout, PostEx, Leopards and TCS booked from the order screen with tracking sent to the buyer on WhatsApp, and up to 500 products. See the plans. Our guide on starting a clothing brand in Pakistan covers the product side.

Questions sellers ask

How do I import from China to Pakistan?

Get an NTN, find the eight-digit PCT code for your product, and add up the customs duty, additional customs duty, regulatory duty, sales tax and income tax before you pay a supplier. Buy on Alibaba.com or through a sourcing agent on 1688, book the cargo, and have a licensed clearing agent file the goods declaration in WeBOC, or subscribe to the Pakistan Single Window for Rs 500 and file your own. Ask for a copy of the declaration and the duty receipt for every shipment.

What is the custom duty on import from China to Pakistan?

It depends on the PCT code. In 2026–27 women’s clothing carries 20% customs duty, 2% additional customs duty and 8% regulatory duty, then 21% sales tax and 6% advance income tax, or 12% if you are not on the Active Taxpayer List, so Rs 100,000 of customs value lands at Rs 166,738. Bags and shoes carry 38–42% in duties, and since the Finance Act 2026 their sales tax is 18% of the retail price printed on each item.

Can I import from China to Pakistan without an NTN?

The only route on FBR’s pages is a single parcel worth Rs 1,000 or less sent by post or courier, which pays no duties or taxes under section 19C of the Customs Act. Stock you will resell needs an NTN: FBR’s WeBOC registration form asks for it, and since August 15, 2026 the manifest for sea and border cargo must show the consignee’s NTN under SRO 918(I)/2026. Get the NTN before you pay a supplier.

What is the best website to import from China?

Alibaba.com lists suppliers who quote you directly, and you pay through its checkout so Trade Assurance can apply. 1688 is a Chinese domestic site that takes Chinese payment methods, so Pakistani buyers use a sourcing agent with a warehouse in China to buy, inspect and ship for a commission. Neither changes the duty: the same 30% in duties on clothes and the same taxes apply whichever site you buy from.

What is the door-to-door cargo rate per kg from China to Pakistan?

we found no cargo company that publishes a dated door-to-door rate per kg to a Pakistani city with customs included. Freight-only figures on cargo companies’ own pages run from about US$3 to 8 a kg by air, which is Rs 830–2,220 at about Rs 277 to the dollar, and one company says its published figures exclude import duty. Ask three cargo agents for a door-to-door rate per kg for your product category to your city, and whether customs is included.

Do I need a WeBOC user ID or a clearing agent?

You need a WeBOC user ID only to file your own goods declarations, and FBR’s form for it asks for your NTN and STRN. For a first shipment, hire a licensed clearing agent to file for you. You still need the NTN, so ask the agent whose NTN goes on the declaration and for a copy of the declaration and the duty receipt.