Customs clearance at destination is usually handled by a licensed customs broker, not the exporter. You can hire one yourself or use a broker recommended by your shipping agent. The typical flow: your broker files the import declaration using the documents the exporter must provide — the commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and the certificate of origin. Depending on your country's rules, you will also need to pay import duty, VAT or sales tax, and any excise or environmental levies before the car is released. Things that commonly delay clearance: mismatched VIN numbers between documents, missing pre-shipment inspection certificates (required in some African and Middle Eastern countries), or non-compliance with your country's used-car import age limits. Budget 3–10 working days for clearance after the vessel arrives, plus storage fees if documents are incomplete. Tip: send all documents to your broker for review before the ship departs China — fixing errors at origin is much cheaper than demurrage at destination.

Extremely authoritative. The third-party data service providers we connect to legally access the Chinese Public Security Traffic Management Platform, the insurance claims network directly under the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the after-sales databases of major automotive manufacturers. We perform secondary logical verification based on this underlying data.

No, this is a serious customs violation. Complete vehicles (HS Code 8703) and auto parts (HS Code 8708, etc.) are subject to completely different import tax rates. Combining them on one invoice could lead to the invoice being returned by customs and may expose you to tax fraud accusations at the destination port.