How to Import from China to Israel: Customs, VAT and Standards

What are the steps to import from China to Israel?

Steps 1 and 2 happen before you place an order, because everything after them depends on them.

1. 1. Classify the product by customs itemThe Tax Authority calls correct classification the key to the tax rates and to the licences, standards and other conditions. The customs official or the customs agent sets the item. You can ask the Tax Authority for advance classification information, valid for one year, for you only and for identical goods only.
2. 2. Read the import conditions for that itemThe Free Import Order lists licences in its First Schedule and official standards in its Second Schedule, against customs items. The customs tariff shows each item's legal requirements, including Ministry of Communications approvals.
3. 3. Set up the businessRegister as a VAT dealer and make sure the people who sign can identify online (national identification or a smart card).
4. 4. Appoint a licensed customs agentGive a power of attorney (customs Form 165) so the agent can act for you before customs, including release of the goods.
5. 5. Collect the documents from the factoryCommercial invoice, transport document, product details with country of manufacture and manufacturer or supplier contact details, a photo of the product and its label as it will be sold in Israel, and test or conformity documents for the standards route you chose.
6. 6. File the importer declarationsA periodic importer declaration if single import declarations exceed 5,000 US dollars, and the importer declaration for the standards route if the goods are under an official standard.
7. 7. Customs declaration and releaseThe customs agent files the import declaration with customs, whose systems the Tax Authority runs under the name Shaar Olami, and enters the release code that matches your route. Wireless parts need the Ministry of Communications approval before release, unless the device type is on the Ministry's exemption list.
8. 8. Pay the taxes, keep the file, deduct VATKeep the product file. A VAT dealer can deduct import VAT as input tax when the import declaration carries the dealer's name and the deduction is made within six months.

Do you have to register as an importer, and when does a customs agent help?

For ordinary goods the official pages describe a set of registrations and authorisations rather than one importer licence:

• VAT dealer file. Anyone who sells goods in the course of business registers with the regional VAT office, no later than the day business activity begins.
• Online identification. Tax Authority forms are signed with national identification or a smart card. Importers without either, such as foreign residents, use the alternative forms the Tax Authority publishes.
• Power of attorney. Customs Form 165 lets an importer authorise a third party to release imported goods from customs supervision and to act before customs on other matters.
• Periodic importer declaration. Required from importers who declare commercial imports above 5,000 US dollars in a single import declaration, unless they hold a special exemption. It is valid for one year and a new declaration replaces the old one.
• No Standards Commissioner registry. The "not stopping at the port" reform, in force since 1 July 2024, ended the Commissioner's importer registry. There is no registration duty for importing goods under official standards.

The Customs Administration licenses customs agents, and the Tax Authority publishes the list of customs-agent corporations. The Ministry of Economy's process assumes the importer instructs the agent, who enters the release code on the import declaration. Food, cosmetics and other regulated categories have separate routes through other ministries and are outside this guide.

An agent earns the fee on classification, on choosing the standards route, on the first shipment and on anything with a wireless part. For the logistics side, see import/export and logistics.

How are duty, purchase tax and VAT calculated on a China import?

Three charges can apply. Customs duty and purchase tax (a tax on selected goods) follow the customs item in the tariff. VAT is charged on the import of goods, and the Tax Authority's VAT history page lists the rate as 18% since 1 January 2025. The tariff tool is an aid only: the binding text is the Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Purchase Tax Order of 2017 as published in the official gazette.

The tariff tool does not show anti-dumping or safeguard levies, which the Ministry of Economy publishes. In December 2025, for example, it announced an anti-dumping duty on aluminium imports from China for five years. Ask your agent whether your item is under any levy.

A VAT dealer can deduct import VAT as input tax if the import declaration carries the dealer's name, the deduction is made within six months and the goods serve taxable sales. The tax is a cash-flow item, not a cost, but only if the paperwork names the right company.

Ask your customs agent how the customs value is built for commercial imports. The Tax Authority describes the periodic importer declaration as the way to establish the full value of the transaction, including related costs, and its personal-import guide computes tax on the goods value plus shipping and insurance at the exchange rate on the day the goods arrive. For a landed-cost method, see the landed cost guide.

Standards and approvals: how do you check them by customs item?

Section 9(a) of the Standards Law forbids manufacturing, importing, marketing or selling an article unless it conforms to an official standard, to an accepted international standard, or to an adopted European regulation. The Ministry of Economy's official standards database shows, for each standard, its import group (1 to 4), whether the European or international route is open, and any special conditions.

Groups reflect risk. For Group 1 the importer needs a model approval from a recognised laboratory. For Groups 2 and 3 the customs agent can release the goods with a code, provided the importer holds the declaration and a product file. Group 4 covers goods for industrial use only, exempted in advance by the Commissioner.

The product file always holds the product details (name, model names, country of manufacture, manufacturer or supplier with address and contacts), documentation of distribution channels, a photo of the product and its label as sold in Israel, the sales invoice, the bill of lading or consignment note and the import declaration. Each route adds its own conformity documents. An importer who is classed as having breached trust, or who cannot show the product file at shipment control, loses the declarative route and must release goods with a model approval and a shipment approval.

Which Incoterm and freight route suit an Israeli importer?

Choose the trade term by who you trust to book freight and to hold the export paperwork in China. The sourcing glossary defines EXW, FOB and CIF. If you already work with a forwarder and a customs agent in Israel, a term that lets you book the main freight keeps the paperwork under your control. On a first order, ask the agent to price freight and release together before you commit.

• Send the draft document set to your customs agent before the goods ship. Standards documents are checked at release in Israel, not at the port in China.
• Make sure the importer on the commercial invoice, the transport document and the declaration is the same VAT-registered company that will deduct the VAT.
• Ask the factory to print the exact model name on the carton and the label, matching the test report.

No official source publishes transit times or freight prices, so this guide gives none. Ask the forwarder for dates and quotations in writing.

How do you pay a Chinese factory safely?

• Pay only to an account in the legal name of the company on the contract. Treat any change of bank details received by email as unverified until a second channel confirms it.
• Split the payment so the final balance follows the agreed inspection or sample approval.
• Confirm the factory's legal entity before the deposit. The supplier verification guide lists the checks.
• Log in to the Tax Authority's services directly. On 5 October 2026 it warned about text messages impersonating it, with links that harvest personal data.

Which mistakes cost Israeli importers the most?

• Ordering before classifying. A wrong customs item means the wrong duty and the wrong conditions.
• Importing stock through personal-import channels. Personal import means a reasonable quantity for your own use or as a gift.
• Holding a test report that names a different model, a different edition of the standard or an unaccredited laboratory than the goods you ship.
• Naming the wrong company on the import declaration, which can block the VAT deduction.
• Forgetting to check the wireless part of a product, such as a radio remote control or a Wi-Fi module: it may add a Ministry of Communications approval unless the device type is exempt.
• Assuming a European or American route is open to China-made goods. The Ministry of Economy describes the American route as covering products manufactured in the United States or Israel, with the first stage expected at the beginning of 2027.
• Relying on commercial summaries. Official pages state that the legal text prevails over the information page.

What should you ask your sourcing partner?

1. Which customs item and which Israeli conditions did you assume when you quoted?
2. Which test reports and declarations exist for this exact model, and who issued them?
3. Does the label, carton and manual match the model named in the documents?
4. Which parts of the product transmit radio signals?
5. Can samples ship before the order, and under which release code will they enter Israel?

To get those questions answered on a real product, send a brief. The importer page explains how a project runs.

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