Mask Import Customs Policies and Regulations by Country

A 2020 country-by-country reference for mask imports: documents, quality standards, label rules and personal-use allowances.

Background

COVID-19 drove mask demand sharply higher worldwide. With China's epidemic under control and factories back at capacity, large volumes moved from China by air freight and international express to the United States, Canada, Italy, the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Israel. Alongside commercial trade, individuals mailed masks to relatives and friends abroad — often without knowing the destination customs rules. This summary collects the 2020 requirements by country.

China — import requirements

• Import declaration HS code for masks: 6307900000; tariff 6 percent, VAT 13 percent.
• Non-medical masks could be imported directly or purchased through an international freight forwarder.
• Medical masks required the registration certificate for imported medical devices; where absent, a certification document from the provincial drug administration was accepted.
• Masks purchased by government departments and hospitals for emergency use could be released directly against their certificates.
• Individual imports within reasonable personal-use quantities were accommodated.

South Korea

• Documents: bill of lading, packing list, commercial invoice, Korean importer's business license.
• Consignees had to register import qualification with the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association (kpta.or.kr) in advance; self-use or donated masks did not need that registration.
• Labels required detailed origin marking: Made in China, manufacturer information, shelf life, ingredient content and manufacturing process.
• After arrival, the clearance company sent the masks for product testing; customs released the goods only after the test passed.

Japan

• Documents: bill of lading, packing list, invoice.
• Masks exported to Japan had to be filed with the PMDA and comply with the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act (PMD Act), including the TOROKU manufacturer registration for foreign manufacturers.
• Japanese label markers: PFE (0.1 µm particle filtration efficiency), BFE (bacterial filtration efficiency), V/F Σ (virus filtration), and the 99 percent virus-cut marking common on medical masks with 95 percent filtration.
• Reference standards: medical protective masks to GB 19083-2010 (filtration ≥ 95 percent); N95 under NIOSH certification (≥ 95 percent non-oily particles); KN95 to GB 2626 (≥ 95 percent).

European Union

• Rules were consistent across EU member states — Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden — and the UK, post-Brexit, kept the same requirements.
• Documents: bill of lading, packing list, commercial invoice (bill of lading only for sea and air freight, not for DHL/FedEx/UPS express).
• Masks are PPE: CE certification under Regulation (EU) 2016/425 was mandatory. Commercial imports without CE were returned or destroyed; personal-use imports were relaxed.

United States

• Documents: bill of lading, packing list, commercial invoice.
• Masks sold in the US market required FDA certification; self-use masks did not.
• NIOSH classifies certified particulate respirators into nine categories across three series: N (non-oily particles only), R (oily and non-oily, oily service limited to 8 hours) and P (both, strongest). Filtration grades of 90, 95 and 100 correspond to minimum efficiencies of 90, 95 and 99.97 percent. N95 is a standard, not a product name — any product passing NIOSH testing may be called an N95 mask.

Australia

• Documents: bill of lading, packing list, commercial invoice.
• Respiratory protective devices followed the AS/NZS 1716:2012 standard for manufacturing and testing.
• Personal imports faced no strict quantity or quality gate — customs did not detain personal-use masks even where quality was questionable.

Tips for personal mask imports

1. Requirements differ by country — confirm with the local customs office, a clearance company or your forwarder before shipping.
2. Personal-use quantities were generally exempt from the commercial documentation and inspection certificates, because personal clearance runs on a different mode.
3. Policies moved quickly during the pandemic (carriers updated suspended destinations daily; France, for example, announced unconditional requisition of masks in March 2020). Check the latest status every time.

Did China ban mask exports?

No. At a Ministry of Commerce press conference, the Department of Foreign Trade confirmed that masks are free-trade products, that China had imposed no export controls on masks or their raw materials, and that annual exports ran above 70 percent of production. Enterprises traded under normal market principles. (Source: CCTV, March 2020.)