How to import bags from China

Importing bags is not complicated, but it is detail-heavy, and almost every expensive mistake happens in one of three places: the HS code, the incoterm, or the compliance file. This page covers all three with the numbers that apply today.

First: the HS code decides everything else

Duty, documentation, labelling requirements and even whether you can sell the goods at all follow from the code. And the code follows one rule:

Classify by the material covering the largest external surface area. Not the lining, not the most expensive component, not what the factory calls it. A cotton tote with a leather handle is a textile bag. A PU handbag with a cotton lining is a plastic-sheet bag.

This matters because the spread between adjacent codes is large. On the same factory price, a PU bag can carry three times the duty of a canvas bag into the EU.

Rates below were checked in October 2026 and are indicative. Duty changes with trade measures; confirm the rate for your product and origin before you commit to a landed cost.

Two things are worth reading off that table. First, plastic sheet is the expensive classification — if a design can be made in coated textile rather than PVC sheet, the duty saving alone can be several percent of the goods value. Second, the US column is not a duty rate you should model from memory. Section 301 and the additional measures layered on since 2025 have pushed effective rates for Chinese-origin textile bags above 50%, and they change by notice. Model it per shipment, and consider whether a different origin is available. The landed cost calculator lets you run both.

The document set

A customs broker will ask for the same core file on every shipment. Having it ready before the goods sail is the difference between a clean entry and a demurrage bill.

• Commercial invoice — with the HS code, the material composition, the country of origin and the incoterm stated on it.
• Packing list — carton count, dimensions, gross and net weight. Freight is priced off this, so accuracy pays.
• Bill of lading or airway bill — issued by the carrier, released against the original or a telex release.
• Origin declaration — the statement of origin on the invoice; this is what triggers any preferential or additional duty.
• Test reports, where required — azo dyes, phthalates, REACH SVHC, or flammability depending on the market and the material.
• EU: a responsible person in the EU — under GPSR, a non-EU seller needs an EU-based economic operator, and technical documentation must be kept for ten years.

Being the importer of record is a choice, not an accident

Whoever is named as importer of record carries the liability for the entry, the duty and — in the EU — the product compliance obligations. That is normally you when you buy FOB, and it is why FOB is usually the right term for a first order: you see the real duty and freight instead of an all-in number you cannot audit.

DDP is convenient and often cheaper on paper. It is also the term where you can end up with goods on your shelf and no clear picture of who is the responsible economic operator for compliance purposes. If you are selling into the EU as a brand, that ambiguity is worth avoiding.

The order, step by step

1. Specification and quote. Reference or tech pack, material, dimensions, branding, quantity per colour, destination. Compare quotes on a like-for-like specification, not on the headline number.
2. Sample. 7–15 working days once spec and artwork are fixed. Approve in writing, and keep the approved sample — it is the reference for the bulk inspection.
3. Order and deposit. Typically T/T 30% with the order. Confirm what the deposit commits you to: quantity tolerance, delivery window, and what happens if bulk fails inspection.
4. Production and inspection. 35–50 days. Book a third-party inspection before the balance is released — on a first order this is the cheapest insurance available.
5. Shipping. Sea freight is 25–40 days to Europe or North America depending on port and routing; air is days at a multiple of the cost. Book space early in Q3 and before Chinese New Year.
6. Customs and delivery. Entry, duty and VAT, then inland delivery. Keep the entry documents — you will need them if you ever claim a preference or face a verification.

Three mistakes that cost more than the margin

• Declaring the wrong value or code. Under-declaring to save duty is the single most expensive decision in the chain — penalties are assessed on the goods, not on the duty saved, and it can end your ability to import.
• Forgetting the compliance file until the goods arrive. A pallet of bags you cannot legally list for sale is worth nothing. Build the file at the specification stage, not at the port.
• Assuming a shipping quote includes duty. It rarely does. The duty is assessed at entry, on your declaration, at your rate.

Related reading

• De minimis has ended — what changed for importers — why small parcels are no longer a duty-free route.
• Compliance and labelling — GPSR, EU REP and what the technical file must contain.
• Landed cost calculator — run duty, freight and margin side by side.