How does the China import duty calculator work?
The China import duty calculator works out the customs value, the duty, the import VAT, their total and the cost per unit. You enter the invoice value, the currency, freight and insurance to the EU border, a product category or your own duty rate, and the quantity. The result is an estimate, not a customs decision.
How do you calculate import duty and VAT on goods from China?
The calculation has three steps. The customs value is the goods price plus freight and insurance to the point where the goods enter the EU. Duty is the customs value multiplied by the rate for the CN code. Polish import VAT is 23% of the customs value plus duty.
Customs value is the price actually paid or payable for the goods (Article 70 of the Union Customs Code, UCC). Transport, insurance and loading costs up to the place where the goods enter the EU customs territory are added (Article 71(1)(e) UCC). For sea freight, that place is the first EU port the goods arrive at (Article 137 of Implementing Regulation 2015/2447).
CN code means the eight-digit code of the goods in the EU Combined Nomenclature. The rate for a code is shown in TARIC, the EU tariff database, and in ISZTAR, the Polish Ministry of Finance tariff browser.
Import VAT is charged on the customs value plus the duty due (Article 30b(1) of the Polish VAT Act, ustawa o podatku od towarów i usług). On excise goods, the excise duty is added too. Transport and insurance to the first place of destination in Poland are added if they are not in the customs value (Article 30b(4)). The standard rate is 23%.
Exchange rate for the customs value is the average rate of the NBP, Narodowy Bank Polski (Article 11 of the Polish Customs Law, Prawo celne). The rate published on the second-last Wednesday of a month applies for the whole following month (Article 146 of Regulation 2015/2447). Import VAT uses the same rate (Article 31a(3) of the VAT Act).
What is the duty on furniture, film and panels from China?
Goods from China pay the ordinary EU tariff rate for their CN code. Wooden and metal coffee tables, dining tables, console tables and TV units are duty-free. Glass or stone furniture pays 5.6%, PVC film and panels 6.5%, and MDF panels 7%. TARIC shows no anti-dumping duty on China for these codes (as of 23 September 2026).
| Category | CN code | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, dining and console tables, TV units: wood, MDF | 9403 60 10 | 0% |
| The same furniture: metal | 9403 20 80 | 0% |
| The same furniture: glass or stone | 9403 89 00 | 5.6% |
| Bamboo chasen and chashaku | 4419 19 00 | 0% |
| PVC film, self-adhesive | 3919 90 80 | 6.5% |
| PVC film, non-adhesive, up to 1 mm | 3920 43 10 | 6.5% |
| PVC wall panel | 3920 49 90 | 6.5% |
| MDF wall panel | 4411 14 95 | 7% |
| Acoustic panel, veneered slats | 4421 99 99 | 0% |
| Acoustic panel, paper-wrapped MDF slats | 4421 99 10 | 4% |
A table made of several materials is classified by its support, meaning the legs and frame. The exception is a top that gives the table its essential character, for example through higher value (Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature, heading 9403). A glass or marble top can do that. Such a table takes code 9403 89 00 and pays 5.6%.
Furniture in our catalogue, such as coffee tables, is priced on request.
Worked example: MDF wall panels for EUR 8,000
This is an illustration in round numbers, not a quote. Take 400 MDF wall panels (CN 4411 14 95, duty 7%) invoiced at EUR 8,000. Freight and insurance to an EU port cost EUR 2,000. Duty comes to EUR 700, import VAT to EUR 2,461, and the total to EUR 13,161.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Invoice value of the goods | EUR 8,000 |
| Freight and insurance to the EU port | EUR 2,000 |
| Customs value | EUR 10,000 |
| Duty 7% | EUR 700 |
| VAT base (customs value + duty) | EUR 10,700 |
| VAT 23% | EUR 2,461 |
| Total | EUR 13,161 |
| Cost per panel with / without VAT | EUR 32.90 / 26.75 |
The declaration shows these amounts in złoty, at the customs rate for the month of the declaration. A VAT-registered business (czynny podatnik VAT) can deduct the import VAT shown in the customs document (Article 86(2)(2) of the VAT Act). See our decorative wall panels.
What does the calculator leave out?
The calculator applies the tariff duty rate and 23% VAT, and nothing else. It leaves out anti-dumping duties, excise, port and agency charges and inland transport. It also skips costs that raise the VAT base after entry into the EU, and the EUR 3 duty on small consumer parcels.
- Anti-dumping duty is imposed on goods sold to the EU for less than their price in the exporting country (Regulation 2016/1036, Article 1). The rate is set for each supplier (Article 9). Check your own code in TARIC before you order.
- Excise raises the VAT base for excise goods (Article 30b(1) of the VAT Act).
- Port charges, customs agency and inland transport sit outside the calculator. Transport to the first place of destination in Poland also raises the VAT base. See shipping from China to Poland.
- The EUR 3 duty per item applies from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382). It covers only consignments with an intrinsic value up to EUR 150 sold to consumers at a distance. An item is one line of the declaration, whatever the quantity (European Commission guidance). Business-to-business imports pay the ordinary tariff rate.
Why is the customs declaration figure the binding one?
A customs debt arises when the customs declaration is accepted (Article 77(2) UCC). Duty is calculated under the rules in force at that moment (Article 85 UCC). Customs takes the CN code, the customs value and the exchange rate from the declaration. The calculator only estimates those amounts from your inputs.
A different CN code, extra costs in the customs value or another month's exchange rate will change the result. Certainty about the code comes from a BTI (binding tariff information) decision, called WIT in Poland and valid for 3 years (Article 33 UCC).
Classification, the declaration and the duty and VAT calculation are handled by the customs team inside our group. See customs clearance in Poland and import from China to Poland.
Legal position checked: September 2026.