China Cross-Border E-commerce Rules in 2026: What You Need to Know

Checked against official texts in September 2026, China’s cross-border e-commerce rules for retail imports still follow the framework in force since January 1, 2019: goods from an official list, for personal use, up to RMB 5,000 per order and RMB 26,000 per year, with no import tariff and 70% of import VAT and consumption tax.

Key takeaways

• The E-commerce Law, in force since January 1, 2019, requires online sellers in China to register, hold the permits their business needs and display them on their homepage. Cross-border sellers must follow China’s import and export rules.
• Retail imports must be on the official list of goods, and the buyer cannot resell them in China.
• The overseas seller appoints a company registered in China as its agent with customs, and remains responsible for returns, recalls and compensation.
• Platforms must be registered in China, verify sellers and buyers, and send transaction data to customs.
• Since 2019, the retail import pilot has extended to many more cities (2021), and personal parcels sent outside the channel follow new tax measures (December 1, 2024).

This article first covered the new rules announced at the end of 2018. We updated it in September 2026 with the texts in force, each checked in its official version, and with the changes made since. If you plan to sell to Chinese consumers from abroad, QPSoftware is a cross-border e-commerce agency that builds your store and connects your payment and logistics partners.

What Changed on January 1, 2019?

Three texts took effect on January 1, 2019, and still form the base of the rules:

• The E-commerce Law. Adopted on August 31, 2018 by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the E-commerce Law applies to e-commerce within China. It covers platforms, sellers on platforms, and sellers who use their own website or other online services (Article 9).
• Higher buyer limits. A notice of the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration, dated November 29, 2018, raised each buyer’s limits from RMB 2,000 to RMB 5,000 per transaction, and from RMB 20,000 to RMB 26,000 per year. The Ministry of Finance also added 63 product categories to the list of goods, such as sparkling wine, malt beer and fitness equipment.
• New supervision of retail imports. A notice of the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments, dated November 28, 2018, set the duties of sellers, platforms and service providers, kept the supervision of retail imports as personal items, and applied these rules to 37 pilot cities.

What Are the Limits and Taxes on Cross-Border E-commerce Imports?

Retail imports are taxed per buyer, under rules set in 2016 and updated in 2018. The buyer is the taxpayer, and the taxable value is the actual transaction price, including the retail price, freight and insurance. The e-commerce company, the platform or the logistics company collects the tax on the buyer’s behalf.

Case	Limit	Tax
Retail import within the limits	RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 per year	No import tariff; import VAT and consumption tax at 70% of the amount due
Single indivisible item above RMB 5,000	Allowed within the RMB 26,000 yearly limit, and counted toward it	Full tariff, import VAT and consumption tax
Purchases beyond the yearly limit	Above RMB 26,000 per year	Handled as general trade
Personal parcel sent outside the cross-border channel	RMB 2,000 per parcel since December 1, 2024	Combined rate of 13%, 20% or 50%; no tax when it is RMB 50 or less

The parcel rates come from measures of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, in force since December 1, 2024. The 13% rate covers, for example, computers, cameras, food and toys, and the 50% rate covers tobacco, alcohol, jewelry, high-end watches and high-end cosmetics. These measures expressly leave cross-border retail imports out of their scope.

Which Products Can You Sell Through Cross-Border E-commerce?

Only products on the Cross-border E-commerce Retail Import Commodity List can use the channel. After the 63 categories added at the end of 2018, eight departments, including the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Customs, adjusted the 2019 edition of the list with effect from March 1, 2022. Check your products against the current list before you plan a launch.

Retail imports are supervised as personal items: they do not need the first-import licenses, registrations or filings that some products require. The notice of November 2018 makes two exceptions: goods from areas where imports are suspended because of an epidemic, and goods under emergency measures after a major quality or safety risk.

The first version of this article, in December 2018, warned that supplements, milk powder and cosmetics could face registration before import. The notice of November 2018 kept the personal-item treatment instead, so those registrations do not apply to the channel.

Goods bought through the channel are for the buyer’s own use and cannot be resold in China. Daigou resellers who buy through cross-border platforms to sell again break this rule. The 2018 tax notice also rules out, in principle, “online bonded import plus offline pickup” outside special customs supervision areas.

Who Is Responsible Under the Rules?

The notice of November 2018 and General Administration of Customs Announcement No. 194 of 2018 split the duties:

Party	Main duties
Overseas seller	Appoints a company registered in China, which registers with customs, declares truthfully and shares civil liability; discloses product information, offers returns, sets up recalls and compensates buyers; shows a risk notice with the platform
Cross-border platform	Registers in China and with customs; verifies its sellers; checks that transactions are real and verifies buyers’ identity; sends signed transaction data to customs in real time
Payment and logistics companies	Registered in China; send signed payment and logistics data to customs in real time, and answer for their accuracy
Consumer	Buys for personal use only, and cannot resell the goods in China

The risk notice tells buyers that the products meet the standards of their country of origin but may differ from Chinese standards, may have no Chinese label, and are for personal use only.

What Does China’s E-commerce Law Require?

The E-commerce Law applies to all e-commerce within China. For a business that starts selling online in the country, its main requirements are:

• Registration and tax. Online sellers register as a business (Article 10). The exceptions cover individuals selling their own farm products or homemade crafts, offering small services that need no permit, or making occasional low-value sales. All sellers pay their taxes (Article 11).
• Permits and disclosure. A seller that needs an administrative permit must hold it (Article 12) and display its business license and permits on its homepage (Article 15). It issues paper or electronic invoices (Article 14).
• Honest selling. No fake transactions or fabricated user reviews (Article 17). Tied products must be pointed out clearly and never selected by default (Article 19).
• Platform duties. Platforms verify the sellers they host (Article 27) and cannot impose unreasonable restrictions or fees on them (Article 35). A platform that ignores safety problems shares liability (Article 38). When a rights holder reports an infringement, it must act promptly or share liability for the additional damage (Article 42), and it can be fined up to RMB 2 million in serious cases if it does not correct the problem in time (Article 84).
• Cross-border sales. Sellers follow import and export rules (Article 26). The state commits to customs, tax, inspection and payment systems suited to cross-border e-commerce, and supports small and micro enterprises in the channel (Article 71).

A business that sells from inside China also needs the right permits for its website: our article on the legal requirements for selling online in China explains the ICP filing and the ICP and EDI licenses, and our guide on how to start an e-commerce business in China covers the whole launch.

What Has Changed Since 2019?

• March 2021. The retail import pilot extends to every city or area with a free trade pilot zone, a cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, a comprehensive bonded zone, an import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone or a type B bonded logistics center. The same notice asks local authorities to act against “online bonded import plus offline pickup” outside special customs supervision areas, and against resale.
• March 1, 2022. The list of goods allowed in the channel is adjusted.
• November 2022. 33 new cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones bring the total to 165, covering all 31 provinces.
• December 1, 2024. New tax measures for luggage and personal parcels take effect: the parcel limit rises to RMB 2,000, the rates of 13%, 20% and 50% are kept, and cross-border retail imports stay outside their scope.
• April 2025. The State Council approves comprehensive pilot zones for the whole of Hainan and 15 more cities, and revokes those of Haikou, Sanya and Alashankou.
• January 2026. Customs reports a preliminary RMB 2.75 trillion of cross-border e-commerce imports and exports for 2025, 69.7% more than in 2020.

For the definition of the channel, its history and the main platforms, read our guide to cross-border e-commerce in China.

What Should You Do Next?

Before you launch, check three points: your products are on the list, your platform or store sends the data customs expects, and your prices fit the buyer limits. QPSoftware was founded in 2009 and runs its own company in Shanghai. As a PrestaShop Partner Agency, we build e-commerce websites on PrestaShop, and also on Magento and Drupal, as well as WeChat Mini Programs and mobile apps.

We can launch a cross-border store for Chinese buyers, with payment in RMB and settlement in your own currency. Contact us to discuss your project.

Frequently Asked Questions