Importing from China to Morocco | the complete guide
China supplies many Moroccan businesses with electronics, machinery, textiles, packaging and spare parts. Yet a successful import from China to Morocco takes more than a good factory price. The Incoterm, the mode of transport, lead times, documents and taxes on arrival all affect your landed cost and your delivery date. This guide walks you through each stage in the order it usually happens.
Table of Contents
Importing from China to Morocco, step by step
To import commercially, you must be registered in the trade register, either as a company or as a sole trader, with a tax identification number, an ICE (common company identifier) and access to PortNet, Morocco’s single window for foreign trade. These registrations are done once. Each shipment then has its own formalities.
- Assess the supplier and the sample.
- Agree the Incoterm and the payment terms.
- Identify the product’s HS code.
- Check any conformity requirements.
- Create the import document on PortNet and have it domiciled with your bank.
- Book the transport.
- Check the documents before departure.
- Clear customs, collect the goods and deliver them to your warehouse.
For most freely importable goods, the import document is an import commitment (engagement d’importation). Some goods require an import licence (licence d’importation). Bank domiciliation means registering the document with the bank that will handle payment to the supplier.
Finding and vetting a reliable supplier in China
Alibaba, Made-in-China and Global Sources are the main B2B platforms for export buyers, while 1688 mainly serves China’s domestic market.
Ask for the supplier’s business licence and check that its scope matches your product. Reviews, badges and samples help you assess a supplier, but they are not guarantees. For a large first order, an independent pre-shipment inspection checks a sample of the production, including quantity, finish and packaging, before you pay the balance.
Confirm the order in a contract or an accepted proforma that sets out the specifications, packaging, lead time and the Incoterm with its named place and edition (Incoterms 2020). For branded goods, ask for proof that the seller owns the rights or is an authorised distributor, as Moroccan customs can detain counterfeit goods.
Paying your Chinese supplier from Morocco
Payment goes through the bank that domiciles your import document. Moroccan exchange regulations distinguish three situations.
Deposit: According to the Office des Changes, a deposit can reach 30% of the import value.
Full payment in advance: It is allowed in certain cases set out in the General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations, notably for limited amounts.
Balance before arrival: Once a deposit has been paid, a balance settled before the goods enter Morocco generally goes through a documentary credit or a documentary collection.
Thresholds change over time, so have your payment schedule approved by your bank before you sign.
With a bank transfer (T/T), a simple copy of the bill of lading does not prove the goods are on board. Check the “shipped on board” notation with the carrier. Under a documentary credit, banks pay against compliant documents and do not examine the goods themselves. Requiring an inspection certificate among the documents reduces the risk without guaranteeing conformity. Keep exchange-rate risk in mind too.
Which Incoterm should you choose?
The Incoterm allocates costs and sets the point at which risk passes from seller to buyer, regardless of the payment terms.
EXW: The seller makes the goods available at its premises, suitably packed. You arrange loading, collection, export clearance and transport. Insurance is not compulsory, but it is advisable.
FCA: The seller hands the goods, cleared for export, to your carrier at an agreed place. It suits any mode of transport, including containerised goods delivered to the terminal before loading.
FOB: The seller delivers the goods on board the vessel. This rule is for sea and inland waterway transport only.
CFR and CIF: The seller pays freight to the agreed Moroccan port. Under CIF, the seller must also take out insurance, usually with minimum cover, while CFR carries no such obligation. In both cases, risk passes to you once the goods are on board in China. The carrier and routing can be negotiated before signing.
DAP and DDP: The seller delivers to the agreed place in Morocco, before unloading. Under DAP, import clearance, duties and taxes are your responsibility. Under DDP, they fall to the seller. Agree in writing who will be the declared importer and who will receive the customs documents.
With FCA or FOB, you organise and negotiate the main transport, but some destination charges still depend on the carrier and the terminal.
Sea freight from China to Morocco, FCL or LCL
Most goods imported from China travel by sea. The main ports of loading are Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Qingdao and Guangzhou. Depending on the services available, containers arrive at Tanger Med, often on direct calls, or at Casablanca, usually after transhipment.
FCL: Internal capacity is about 33 m³ for a 20ft container, 67 m³ for a 40ft and 76 m³ for a 40ft High Cube. The volume you can actually load is lower, depending on packaging, stacking and weight. From around 13 to 15 m³, a full container often becomes more cost-effective, so compare FCL and LCL quotes before deciding.
LCL: Freight is charged per tonne or per cubic metre, whichever is higher, with a minimum charge and fixed fees at origin and destination. To compare both options, see our FCL or LCL comparison and our sea freight page.
Release documents: With an original bill of lading, an original is normally surrendered at destination. A telex release allows release without an original, and a sea waybill names the consignee directly. None of these alone releases the goods, which remain subject to the carrier’s instructions, payment of charges and formalities. Under a documentary credit, the document must match what the credit requires.
Air freight from China to Morocco, for urgent and high-value goods
Air freight suits light, high-value goods and urgent shipments.
Chargeable weight: Airlines usually charge on the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight, often based on 167 kg per m³, to be confirmed for each service. On that basis, 150 kg occupying 2 m³ would be charged on about 334 kg.
Lithium batteries, aerosols and some chemicals may fall under dangerous goods rules. Declare the exact nature of the product when booking.
Lead times when importing from China to Morocco
These estimates are indicative and not guaranteed. They exclude production, customs clearance and final delivery, except for express.
| Mode | Indicative time | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Sea FCL | 30 to 45 days | Port to port |
| Sea LCL | 35 to 55 days | Between the consolidator’s warehouses |
| Air freight | 4 to 8 days | Airport to airport |
| Express | 3 to 6 days | Door to door, subject to formalities and inspections |
Express integrators usually handle clearance, though inspections can add time. Plan ahead for Chinese New Year and the Golden Week in early October.
What costs should you plan for?
The cost of an import includes pre-carriage in China, freight and surcharges, insurance, arrival charges, duties and taxes, bank charges and final delivery.
Insurance: The carrier’s liability is capped and is often lower than the value of the goods. The sum insured under a cargo policy is often set at the CIF value plus 10%. Any claim settlement then depends on the cover, exclusions, excesses and policy conditions.
Storage and container charges: Once free time runs out, the terminal charges storage, and the shipping line charges demurrage in port and detention outside it.
Customs duties and taxes on arrival in Morocco
Import duty and the 0.25% parafiscal import tax are calculated on the customs value, which is the value of the goods plus freight and insurance to Morocco. Import VAT, at a standard rate of 20%, is calculated on a base that includes the customs value and the duties and taxes set by the regulations, including the parafiscal tax. The HS code determines tariff classification, but origin, customs procedure and product characteristics also matter. As Morocco has no free trade agreement with China, the standard rate of import duty generally applies. Check your case on the ADiL simulator of the Moroccan Customs and Excise Administration.
A worked example: Take a simplified case with 10% duty, the parafiscal tax and 20% VAT, and no other taxes. An FOB order of MAD 80,000, with MAD 15,000 freight and MAD 500 insurance, gives a customs value of MAD 95,500. Duty comes to MAD 9,550, the parafiscal tax to MAD 238.75, and VAT to MAD 21,057.75 on a base of MAD 105,288.75. Adding MAD 4,000 of local charges excluding VAT, the cost is MAD 109,288.75 if VAT is recoverable. The total including import VAT is MAD 130,346.50, covering purchase and transport, and excluding bank charges and VAT on local services. Not all of this is paid at customs clearance.
The documents to gather
- Commercial invoice and packing list.
- Bill of lading or air waybill.
- Domiciled import document, unless exempt.
- Certificate of origin, where required or useful.
- Conformity or health certificate, where required.
How customs clearance works in Morocco
The importer or an authorised declarant lodges the declaration in BADR, the Moroccan customs system, using the import document. After a document check or a physical inspection, and payment of duties, customs grants release. Steps with the carrier and the terminal can be prepared in parallel. The carrier or its agent issues the delivery order once its charges are paid. Collection of the goods also requires completion of the terminal’s release formalities and payment of the applicable charges.
Conformity checks to plan before shipment
Many industrial products, including some textiles and clothing, are checked before shipment or on arrival, according to the lists of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Food products fall under ONSSA. Without the required certificate, goods may be held or refused entry.
Labelling: Consumer information must appear in Arabic, possibly alongside other languages.
Wood packaging: Wood packaging and dunnage within the scope of ISPM 15 must be treated and marked. Only packaging made entirely of exempt materials, such as plywood or wood 6 mm thick or less, is exempt. A plywood crate on solid wood skids is therefore not exempt. Photos show the marking, but do not prove the treatment.
Costly mistakes
- Comparing suppliers on factory price alone.
- Signing a payment schedule your bank has not approved.
- Accepting a CIF price without knowing the arrival charges.
- Undervaluing the invoice.
- Overlooking conformity, ISPM 15 or the import document.
How EURO AFRICAINE organises your shipments from China
Active since 2016 and a member of the Moroccan Association of Freight Forwarders (AFFM), EURO AFRICAINE Transport & Logistique organises your imports from China. We handle collection from your supplier, FCL and LCL sea freight, air freight, tracking and delivery in Morocco, with a single point of contact.
Frequently asked questions about importing from China to Morocco
Do you need a company to import from China?
No, a sole trader registered in the trade register can also import. Without that registration, commercial imports are not possible.
Can you pay the supplier before shipment?
Yes, within the foreign exchange rules. Deposits are limited to 30%, and full payment in advance is possible in certain cases. Your bank will confirm the schedule allowed for your transaction.
Do Chinese goods benefit from reduced duty?
Generally not, unless a specific exemption applies. The ADiL simulator shows the position for your product.
How much does a container from China to Morocco cost?
Sea freight rates vary with the season, the ports and market conditions. Ask for a recent quote that includes origin and destination charges.
Planning an import from China?
Send us details of your goods, the shipment volume, your supplier’s city and the delivery location, and we will reply with a detailed quote.