You’ve been overseas and away from your home country for a while, so naturally, your loving family and friends back home send you a care package of your favorite snacks, books, and underwear. You pay the exorbitant shipping fees and eagerly wait. One week passes, then two, then four, and just when you’ve all but given up hope of ever receiving the package, you get a little brown envelope from the China Postal Service. Spoiler alert: You’ll need the envelope much more than its contents, which is some general information brochure in Chinese.
The good news? Your package successfully traveled over the vast oceans and made it to Beijing! The bad news? It’s been “randomly selected” by the security officers at customs and “held for further investigation.” Yes, your underwear is being poked and prodded by strangers in uniform. So what happens now?
If you’re lucky, all you’ll have to do is log into WeChat under the “Me” tab, then choose “Services” and find “Public Services.”
Sadly, after this point, the English translations disappear and everything will be in Chinese moving forward. The most commonly used services are at the top, which differs from user to user. The one we’re looking for is under Government Affairs. The easiest way to find it is to search 税务 shuìwù Tax in the search bar as the service you need – “境外邮件申报缴税 Tax declaration and payment by overseas mail” shows up as the first search result.
We’re almost done so hang in there! Usually, all you’ll have to do is click the second option on the left and input your package number. Now look at the little brown envelope you received and find the package number to input.
FYI: For international packages, it usually starts and ends with a couple of letters. If you’ve input the correct number and it matches the one in their system, then you’re golden from here. All that’s left is for you to pay the customs duty they slapped on you – which I have yet to learn how to calculate conclusively – and your package will be released and sent to your doorstep within a week.
In the rare case where you are required to declare the contents of your package, which happened to me just once out of three overseas packages I’ve received so far, things do get a smidge more complicated and you should probably invite your Chinese-reading and speaking friend to lunch for more assistance.
Do note that according to recent reports, as of yesterday, Mar 21, delivery companies are stepping up inspections of international mail and packages, with orders to disinfect and withhold items for about seven days before delivery. Local couriers such as SF Express and ZTO Express have confirmed that there will be delays of approximately six days for international parcels. There have also been reports of suspended deliveries from cities such as Hong Kong and Shanghai at the time of writing.
Before you get your family to help send out your next parcel, try the following tips to avoid getting taxed by customs.
1) Brand new retail items are more likely to be taxed so remove the packaging of any new items including price tags, labels, and wrappers before shipping the items. Similarly, get the sender to declare the items as used personal items (个人物品).
2) It is widely known that most electronic devices will be confiscated or subject to a heavy tax duty, so I would avoid shipping those. Other common prohibited items include perfumes, animals (whether dead or alive), medicines, and an exhaustive list of books and publications. These are but a few of the restricted products which you can check online.
3) Have a written list of the package’s contents and itemized value, just in case. In most situations, you won’t need it. Do note that if your package is valued at up to RMB 1,000, it can go duty-free. Products higher than that price will be liable to fees ranging from 20-30 percent of the goods’ value.
4) Pack the items using robust materials and bubble wrap for internal cushioning. However, avoid overfilling your package as those are more likely to get damaged or get noticed during inspections!
5) Write the address and phone number of the recipient in Chinese. It exponentially increases your chances of successful delivery.
Share your tips on how you get your packages sent here from overseas in the comments below!
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Images: Vivienne Tseng-Rush, Pexels
