Importing from China to the Philippines: customs, RCEP and VAT in 2026

China was the Philippines' top import source in 2024, accounting for 25.8% of the country's total imports, according to the US Department of Commerce's Country Commercial Guide for the Philippines. This position as leading supplier explains the scrutiny that the Bureau of Customs, the BOC, and the national standards body, the Bureau of Philippine Standards or BPS, apply to freight arriving from China.

The BPS requires certification, the PS mark for a local manufacturer or an ICC certificate for an importer, on 111 products: household appliances, consumer electronics, lighting, steel, plastic pipes, ceramics, cement, construction materials, chemicals and automotive parts, categories that feed the Philippine market.

The Philippines signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP, on 15 November 2020, alongside the ten ASEAN states, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, according to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the DTI. The agreement entered into force regionally in 2022, and the Philippine Senate ratified the country's accession in February 2023, per the US Country Commercial Guide. Under this framework, 98.1% of tariff lines carry a zero rate or an already existing rate. RCEP adds to the preferences already in place between ASEAN and China, without replacing them: to claim a preferential rate, the importer must produce proof of origin.

The Philippine tariff schedule applies, according to 2023 WTO data cited by the US Country Commercial Guide, an average MFN duty of 6.0% across all lines, 9.6% on agricultural goods and 5.5% on non agricultural goods. The country has bound 67.6% of its tariff lines at the WTO, with an average bound rate of 24.9%, a ceiling the applied tariff does not exceed.

Duty is calculated on the transaction value, under sections 700 to 707 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, the CMTA, per Bureau of Customs guidance. VAT, set at 12%, is calculated on the value the BOC uses for duty and tax purposes, plus the duty already assessed and any excise tax, according to the PwC tax summary updated on 1 August 2026.

On a shipment with a customs value of 500,000 pesos, taxed at the national average duty of 6%, duty comes to 30,000 pesos, the VAT base reaches 530,000 pesos and VAT amounts to 63,600 pesos, for a combined 93,600 pesos, or 18.72% of the customs value. This calculation is illustrative only: the exact rate should be checked on the Philippine Tariff Finder, cited by the US Country Commercial Guide. Goods with an FOB or FCA value of 10,000 pesos or less are exempt from duty and tax, according to Bureau of Customs guidance.

According to the US Country Commercial Guide, an import file gathers the endorsed bill of lading or air waybill, the commercial invoice with proof of payment, the packing list and a notarized supplemental declaration of value, the SDV, plus, depending on the goods, an import permit, an Authority to Release Imported Goods for regulated items, the ATRIG, and proof of origin.

Anyone who wants to import must first obtain accreditation from the Bureau of Customs, through its Account Management Office, the AMO, BOC guidance states. The importer then files the declaration electronically through one of three accredited value added service providers, Intercommerce, E-Konek or CDEC, and it is routed to one of four lanes: green, no inspection, yellow, document review, red, physical inspection, blue, post clearance audit.

The Bureau of Philippine Standards, the BPS, under the Department of Trade and Industry, is the national standards body: it develops and enforces Philippine National Standards, and represents the country at the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, according to the US Country Commercial Guide.

Two mandatory marks coexist: the PS mark, for a manufacturer whose factory and product meet the PNS ISO 9001 standard, and the ICC certificate, for an importer whose product is found compliant after inspection and testing in a laboratory recognized by the BPS. This dual certification covers the 111 products already listed: appliances, electronics, lighting, steel, plastics, ceramics, cement, construction materials, chemicals and automotive parts.

Our sources do not publish a fee schedule or a processing time for an ICC certificate: this should be checked directly with the BPS before placing an order. Health products, such as semi synthetic antibiotics, fall under the Philippine FDA, also cited in the same guide.

Import is prohibited for: used clothing and rags, toy guns and similar explosive articles, right hand drive vehicles, hazardous waste including in transit, hard surfactant detergents, polychlorinated biphenyls, used motorcycle parts other than engines, and live piranhas, shrimp and prawns, according to the US Country Commercial Guide on prohibited and restricted imports in the Philippines. The CMTA also restricts seditious literature, obscene material, mislabeled precious metals, adulterated food and drugs and counterfeit goods, while explosives, firearms, gambling equipment and narcotics require authorization.

The Port of Manila, the Port of Subic and the Port of Batangas form, according to the US Country Commercial Guide on Philippine transportation infrastructure, the three major ports on Luzon, the island that holds the capital and most of the country's economic activity. A 212 kilometer freight rail project linking Subic, Clark, Manila and Batangas is meant to smooth container movement between these three ports.

Our sources give no verifiable transit time between southern China, Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian, and the Luzon ports: this should be confirmed with a freight forwarder. FOB suits a buyer who arranges transport, CIF or CFR suits one who leaves it to an intermediary as far as the port of arrival. DDP is not recommended unless the Chinese seller is an accredited customs broker in the Philippines.

On payment, standard practice remains a deposit followed by a balance before shipment, paid to the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account: a change of bank details received by email should be verified with a direct call before any transfer, since this fraud is common in sourcing.

A first order follows a set sequence: specification sheet, factory verification, approved sample, proforma invoice with an Incoterm, a BPS or ICC file opened in parallel if needed, production follow up, pre shipment inspection, freight to a Luzon port, then customs clearance handled by the Philippine importer or its local freight forwarder.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary whose business scope covers buying, reselling and exporting goods, and by a parent company in France. Our Chinese speaking team finds and verifies factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates prices, has quality checked before loading and organizes freight to a Philippine port, gathering the documents needed for a BPS or ICC file. Sorva never acts as the official importer of record in the Philippines, does not clear customs on site, and does not export vehicles without going through a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base offer is billed in dollars, with regional add ons, such as support for BPS or ICC certification, quoted on request.