Step 1. Delivery terms decide what you control
The Incoterms rule in your contract decides who pays for each leg and who picks the carrier. Three options cover most shipments from China.
| Term | Supplier | You | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXW | Has the goods ready at its own warehouse | Pickup at the factory, Chinese export clearance, freight and everything after | The export declaration in China has to be filed by a local company. Without an agent there, this is hard. |
| FOB | Delivers to the port and clears export | Ocean freight and everything after | The most practical term for an importer: you choose the forwarder and see the real freight price. |
| CFR / CIF | Pays freight to the destination port (CIF adds minimum insurance) | Destination port charges and everything after | A cheap freight line on the invoice is often outweighed by high destination charges you can no longer influence. |
In most cases we recommend FOB. The supplier handles the Chinese side and you control the largest cost. Name a specific port in the contract: FOB Ningbo, FOB Shanghai, FOB Shenzhen. "FOB China" lets the supplier choose whichever port suits them, not you.
Step 2. Before you pay: HS code, duty and permits
Work out the Ukrainian HS code (UKTZED) before sending the prepayment. The code determines the duty rate, the permits you need and the labelling rules. Import VAT of 20% is charged on top of duty. Ukraine has no free trade agreement with China, so there is no preferential rate for Chinese origin.
Customs value includes transport to the Ukrainian border. Freight therefore affects not only your forwarder's invoice but also the tax you pay.
Check in advance:
- whether the goods fall under technical regulations (electrical equipment, toys, building materials and others) and need a certificate of conformity;
- whether food or plant-based goods need sanitary or phytosanitary documents;
- whether an anti-dumping duty applies;
- whether the supplier will issue a certificate of origin. It brings no duty relief, but customs may ask you to confirm origin, and getting one after shipment takes longer.
Step 3. Booking and loading
Space on a vessel is usually booked one to two weeks before the cargo is ready. The empty container is delivered to the factory and loading takes a few hours. Agree a few things with the supplier beforehand:
- real dimensions and weight of every package in the packing list, not estimates;
- carton marks that match the packing list;
- photos of the loading and of the seal with its number;
- the VGM, the verified gross mass of the container. The line will not load the box without it.
A mismatch between the packing list and the actual cargo most often ends in a customs inspection. An inspection means extra days at the port, and every one of them is billed.
Step 4. The bill of lading and paying the supplier
The bill of lading is the document of title to the cargo. Without it the container will not be released at destination. It can be an original paper B/L, a telex release or a seaway bill, where no paper is needed.
The usual scheme with Chinese suppliers is 30% upfront and 70% after shipment against a copy of the B/L. Delay the second payment and the supplier will hold the cargo while the container sits at the port and its free days run out. Settle the balance at least a week before the vessel arrives and ask the supplier for a telex release.
Step 5. The route
A container from China can reach Ukraine in three ways:
- By sea to Odesa or Chornomorsk, with transshipment to a feeder vessel at a hub. Transit depends on the feeder schedule.
- By sea to a European port (Gdańsk, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Constanța), then by truck or rail to Ukraine.
- By rail along the Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia, bypassing Russia.
| Leg | Typical transit |
|---|---|
| Sea from China to Northern Europe | 35–50 days, depending on whether the line routes via Suez or around Africa |
| European port to a warehouse in Ukraine | 3–7 days including the border |
| Rail via the Middle Corridor to Ukraine | 18–25 days |
Since October 2022 Ukraine has applied the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure. A container arriving at an EU port does not need EU customs clearance: it travels to Ukraine under a T1 transit declaration in NCTS and is cleared at home. How to choose between sea and rail is covered in a separate article.
Step 6. While the container is in transit
Ocean transit takes weeks, which is the best time to prepare customs clearance. By the time the container arrives, the declaration should be ready. Clearance usually requires:
- the foreign trade contract;
- the commercial invoice and packing list;
- the bill of lading or the transport document for the last leg (CMR, rail waybill);
- the freight invoice, since transport costs to the border form part of customs value;
- the certificate of origin;
- permits, if the goods require them.
Product descriptions on the invoice, packing list and declaration must match. An invoice that says "spare parts" next to a packing list with forty item numbers is close to a guaranteed inspection.
Step 7. Arrival, clearance and returning the container
The shipping line allows a few free days for the container at the port (demurrage) and separately for its use outside the port (detention). After that a daily charge applies, and it climbs faster the longer you wait. Before arrival you need to know who will unload the container at your warehouse, when, and where the empty box goes back.
A crew unloads a 20-foot container of cartons by hand in a few hours; a 40-foot takes longer. Palletised cargo needs a forklift that can drive into the container, or a loading dock.
The most common mistakes
- Packing list dimensions filled in roughly. In LCL you pay extra for it; in FCL the cargo may not fit.
- The supplier balance paid at the last minute, so the container waits at the port without documents.
- The certificate of origin left for "later".
- Nobody arranged unloading at the warehouse before the container arrived.
- A CIF contract, with destination charges first seen on the invoice.