Every year thousands of Indian businesses place their first order with a Chinese supplier — and a large share of them lose money on it. Not because the product was bad, but because nobody told them about the AD code, or the BIS certificate, or the fact that the "cheap" courier quote did not include customs duty.

This guide walks through the entire process end to end; in the order you will actually face it. Whether you are looking at Yiwu to Delhi India Import, Guangzhou to Delhi India Import, or a China to Noida Import Service for your first trial shipment, the 12 steps are the same.

Step 1: Decide what you are importing — and confirm it is allowed

Before anything else, pin down the exact product, not the category. "Home decor" is not a product. "Ceramic vase, 20 cm, matte white, 400 g" is.

Then check three things:

• Is it freely importable? Most goods are. A small list is restricted (needs a licence) or prohibited outright.
• What is its HSN code? This eight-digit code decides your customs duty rate. Get it wrong and you either overpay or face a penalty.
• Does it need certification? Covered in Step 3.

High-demand first-time categories in Delhi NCR include Furniture Importer China to Delhi queries, Toys Importer in China to Delhi, Stationery Importers China to Delhi, Jewellery Importer China to Delhi and Beads Importer China to Delhi — each with very different duty rates and compliance requirements. Never assume one category behaves like another.

Step 2: Register your business and get an IEC code

You cannot legally import into India without an Import Export Code (IEC), issued by the DGFT. You will need:

• PAN card of the business or proprietor
• Current account with a bank, plus a cancelled cheque
• GST registration
• Address proof of the business premises

The application is online and usually issued within 1–3 working days. There is no renewal fee, but IEC details must be updated on the DGFT portal once a year or the code is deactivated — a very common reason for shipments getting stuck.

Step 3: Check product-specific certifications

This is where most first-timers get caught. Depending on what you import, you may need:

Toys are the classic trap: every toy imported into India needs a BIS certificate held by the foreign manufacturer. If your supplier does not have one, the consignment will not clear — no exceptions.

Step 4: Find the right supplier in China

Your three main sourcing routes:

• Online B2B platforms — Alibaba for export-ready factories, 1688 for domestic Chinese pricing (cheaper, but Chinese-language and domestic-shipping only), Made-in-China for industrial goods.
• Physical markets — Yiwu for small commodities, gifts, stationery, jewellery and beads; Guangzhou for garments, leather, electronics and furniture; Shenzhen for electronics.
• A sourcing agent with a China office — someone who can physically visit the factory on your behalf.

Yiwu alone has over 75,000 booths across five districts. Buyers searching for Yiwu to Noida Import, Yiwu to Gurugram Import or Yiwu to Ghaziabad Import are usually buying from this market. Without someone on the ground, it is almost impossible to compare booths meaningfully on a three-day trip.

Step 5: Verify the supplier before you send money

Run this checklist on every new supplier:

• Ask for the business licence and check the Chinese company name matches the bank account name
• Confirm whether they are a factory or a trading company — both are fine, but the pricing logic differs
• Ask how long they have been exporting to India specifically
• Request photos or a live video walk-through of the production line
• Never pay into a personal account, and never pay 100% upfront

If the quoted price is 40% below everyone else, it is either a different material, a different grade, or a scam. Ask which.

Step 6: Get a proper quotation and fix your Incoterm

A quote without an Incoterm is meaningless. The three you will meet:

• EXW (Ex Works) — you pay for everything from the factory gate. Cheapest headline price, most work.
• FOB (Free on Board) — supplier delivers to the Chinese port and handles export clearance. The standard choice.
• CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) — supplier covers sea freight to your Indian port. Convenient, but you lose control of the forwarder and often pay inflated destination charges.

For a first shipment, FOB with your own forwarder gives you the clearest cost picture.

Step 7: Order a sample and lock the specification

Always order a sample — even if it costs 10x the unit price. Once approved, write down every variable in the purchase order: material, weight, dimensions, colour code, packing method, carton size, carton weight, and barcode or label requirements.

The approved sample becomes your reference for the pre-shipment inspection in Step 10. Without it, you have no basis to reject a bad batch.

Step 8: Pay your supplier — safely and legally

Standard structure is 30% advance, 70% against the copy of the bill of lading. Payment routes for Indian importers:

• T/T (bank wire) — the most common route. Your bank will need the proforma invoice and will file the remittance against your IEC.
• Letter of Credit — for large orders. Higher bank charges, far lower risk.
• Through your forwarder or sourcing agent — useful for small Yiwu-market orders where dozens of booths each need separate payment.

Keep every remittance document. Your bank must close the Bill of Entry against the payment, and unmatched remittances create RBI compliance problems later.

Step 9: Choose your shipping mode

For time-sensitive consignments, DHL & FedEx Air Cargo Import in Delhi NCR remains the fastest option, and the same lanes serve FedEx Air Cargo Import in Noida, FedEx Air Cargo Import in Gurugram and FedEx Air Cargo Import in Faridabad. For bulk goods, sea freight into Nhava Sheva or Mundra with onward movement to ICD Tughlakabad or Patparganj is far more economical.

Step 10: Consolidation, inspection and packing in China

This is the step most first-timers skip, and the one that prevents the most losses.

• Goods are collected from each supplier and moved to a warehouse in Yiwu, Guangzhou or Tianjin
• Cartons are counted, weighed and measured — your CBM is confirmed here, not at the factory
• A pre-shipment inspection checks quantity, quality and packing against your approved sample
• Multiple small orders are consolidated into one shipment, which cuts freight cost dramatically

If a carton is short or damaged, this is the only point where it can still be fixed without a claim.

Step 11: Customs clearance in India

Once the vessel or flight arrives, your customs broker files a Bill of Entry. Keep these documents ready:

• Commercial invoice and packing list
• Bill of Lading (sea) or Airway Bill (air)
• Certificate of Origin
• IEC code and GST certificate
• AD Code registration at the port of clearance
• Product certifications from Step 3

How duty is calculated

Assessable value = CIF value. On top of that you pay Basic Customs Duty (varies by HSN), Social Welfare Surcharge at 10% of BCD, and IGST on the total. IGST is claimable as input credit; BCD is a pure cost, so it must go into your landed cost from day one.

Budget 2–4 working days for clearance if papers are clean. Missing AD code registration, a mismatched HSN code or absent BIS certification are the three things that turn that into two weeks.

Step 12: Last-mile delivery to your warehouse

After clearance, goods move by road to your premises against an e-way bill. A full Door to Door Import in Delhi arrangement covers every step above under one invoice, so you receive the cargo without dealing with the port at all. The same service runs as Door-to-Door Import in Gurugram, China to Gurugram Import Service, China to Ghaziabad Import Service, China to Greater Noida Import Service, China to Faridabad Import Service and China to Surat import Service.

Inspect and photograph the cartons before signing the delivery receipt. Once signed, transit damage claims become very difficult.

Five mistakes that cost first-time importers the most

• Comparing FOB price to landed cost. Add freight, duty, clearance, transport and warehousing before you decide anything is cheap.
• Ignoring volumetric weight. Light, bulky goods are charged on space, not weight. A 12 kg carton of toys can bill as 40 kg by air.
• Skipping inspection to save a few thousand rupees. A rejected batch costs the entire order value.
• Ordering full quantity on the first trial. Run a small test shipment, learn the process, then scale.
• Choosing a broker with no presence in China. If nobody can physically reach your supplier, you have no leverage when something goes wrong.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to import from China to India?

Landed cost depends on product, volume and mode. As a working range, sea LCL runs roughly per-CBM with a minimum charge, air cargo is charged per kg, and customs duty typically adds 18–45% of CIF value depending on HSN code. Always ask for a landed-cost quote, not a freight quote.

What is the minimum quantity I can import?

There is no legal minimum. Practically, anything under about 0.5 CBM is better sent by express courier. Consolidation lets small buyers share a container, which is how most first orders from Yiwu move.

How long does the whole process take?

For a first-time importer: 1–3 days for IEC, 1–3 weeks for sampling and production, then 5–8 days by air or 25–35 days by sea, plus 2–4 days for customs clearance.

Do I need to travel to China?

No. Most importers work entirely through a forwarder with China-side offices that handles pickup, inspection and consolidation on their behalf.

Can I import without a GST number?

You need GST to claim IGST as input credit and for most practical clearance scenarios. Register before your first shipment.

Start your first import with a partner who is on both sides

Pree Import Export Co. has been handling China-to-India shipments since 2019, with a head office in Delhi, a branch in Surat, and our own offices in Yiwu, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Hong Kong. That means sourcing, supplier coordination, payment handling, warehouse inspection, consolidation, customs clearance and final delivery all sit with one team.

If you are searching for an Importer Near Me and want a partner rather than a broker, we are the Best Importer in Delhi NCR choice for first-time buyers precisely because we start small — one trial shipment, fully explained, before you commit to volume.