Home / Shipping to Israel / How to Ship from China to Israel

How to Ship from China to Israel: Ashdod, SII Approval & 18% VAT

Israel is a Middle Eastern market that does not run on Middle Eastern rules. It is not part of the GCC customs union, so there is no flat 5% duty and no GCC-origin preference to work with. Duty is set commodity by commodity, and there is no free trade agreement in force between China and Israel, so Chinese-origin goods are assessed at standard rates. If you have imported into Dubai or Dammam before, the first thing to unlearn here is the assumption that the Gulf template applies.

The second thing is the tax stack. VAT is 18%, raised from 17% at the start of 2025, and it is charged on a base that includes the CIF value, the customs duty and any purchase tax. Purchase tax applies to specific categories — vehicles, some electronics and appliances, alcohol, tobacco — and it sits inside the VAT base as well. On a mid-duty consumer product the combined burden commonly lands around a quarter of the CIF value. That is a number to model before you quote your customer, not after.

The third is the gate: SII, the Standards Institution of Israel. Electrical and electronic appliances, children's products and toys, construction materials, food contact materials and some textiles need approval before import, and the testing behind it takes weeks. The good news is that SII-recognised laboratories operate in China, so the work can be finished while the goods are being made. The bad news, for anyone who leaves it late, is that a container without approval waits at the port.

This guide is written for buyers importing from China for the first time. It covers why Israel sits outside the Gulf system, Ashdod and Haifa and the security screening between them, transit times and why ocean schedules on this lane have stretched, trade terms and who may be the importer, SII approval and the import groups introduced in 2025, MoC and Ministry of Health permits, duty plus purchase tax plus VAT, the documents Israeli Customs expects, Hebrew labelling, the Shabbat and holiday calendar, and how to tell whether a forwarder genuinely works this lane.

Israel sits in the Middle East but outside the GCC customs union

The practical consequences of that sentence are worth spelling out, because they catch importers who have shipped into the Gulf before.

• No flat 5%. Duty follows the commodity code. Many industrial inputs and a good deal of machinery enter duty-free, while consumer goods, textiles and footwear commonly carry rates in the high single or low double digits, and some food lines carry considerably more.
• No preference for Chinese origin. Goods from the United States and from the European Union can qualify for preferential treatment under their respective agreements. Chinese-origin goods do not, and claiming a preference that does not exist is a fast route to a problem.
• Different conformity system. There is no SABER here and no ECAS. Israel runs its own standards regime through SII, with its own approvals and its own recognised laboratories.
• Different calendar. The working week runs Sunday to Thursday, and Shabbat stops everything from before sunset on Friday to Saturday evening.

Ashdod or Haifa, and the security screening in between

Israel has two commercial seaports on the Mediterranean and one main air gateway.

In practice the port is usually chosen by the service your forwarder can book and by where your consignee is, rather than by a cost comparison you perform yourself. Israel is a small country — the road leg from either port is short by Gulf standards — so inland transport is rarely the deciding factor it is in Saudi Arabia.

What does affect the timeline is screening. Israeli ports run thorough security checks, and a container selected for scanning or X-ray can add one to three days between arrival and release. It is routine, not a sign that anything is wrong with your paperwork, and it should be built into the delivery date you promise rather than treated as a surprise. See our container terminals page for the wider port list.

Modes into Israel, and the days behind each one

The sea figure is noticeably longer than the Gulf lanes, and the reason is routing: services on this lane have at times been routed around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Red Sea and Suez, which adds weeks rather than days. Ask your forwarder how the vessel is actually routed, because two quotes with the same carrier can hide very different arrival dates depending on the rotation.

We do not publish freight rates here. What matters for your model is the structure: base ocean or air freight, origin charges in China, destination charges at the Israeli port, duty, purchase tax where it applies, VAT, and inland delivery. See our local charges page for how the destination side is typically assembled.

Trade terms on an Israeli shipment, and who may be the importer

The trade term sets who pays and where risk transfers. It does not override the requirement that the importer of record must be a registered Israeli entity, with a licensed Israeli customs broker filing the entry.

• EXW — you collect from the supplier's door and carry everything, including Chinese export formalities. Rarely the right choice for a first import.
• FOB — the supplier loads and clears Chinese export; you take over at the Chinese port. The term most experienced buyers use.
• CIF — the supplier pays freight and insurance to the Israeli port, risk passes in China, and you still clear. Not delivered.
• DAP or DDU — delivered to a named point, duty and VAT for you.
• DDP — duty paid, which on this lane means a registered Israeli party is acting as importer of record. Ask who, and accept that you lose visibility of the declared value.

One warning specific to this market: Israeli customs maintains price comparison data and looks hard at declared values. A "cheap package tax" quote that comes in well below 18% VAT is not a bargain, it is an under-declaration, and it is the importer of record who carries the exposure when it is found.

From a Yantian factory to a warehouse near Ashdod

Duty, purchase tax, and VAT at eighteen percent

For small consignments there is a relief structure, but it is narrow and it changed recently. From late February 2026 the thresholds on business-to-consumer imports were revised: consignments up to a low value are relieved, VAT is collected above it, duty is added above the next step, and purchase tax comes in above the highest step. Confirm the current thresholds with your broker — they are set in US dollars, they have moved at least twice in recent years, and they apply to parcels rather than to commercial freight. See our customs regulations page for the wider picture.

SII approval, and the import groups introduced in 2025

SII, the Standards Institution of Israel, requires pre-import approval for a range of products — electrical and electronic appliances, children's products and toys, construction materials, food contact materials and some textiles among them. Testing and approval commonly take two to eight weeks, depending on the product and what has to be tested.

The useful detail is that SII-recognised laboratories operate in China. That turns compliance from a port-side problem into a production-side task: samples can be tested where the goods are made, in parallel with manufacturing, and the approval is in hand before anything is loaded.

A reform that took effect in 2025 changed how some of this works. Products were sorted into import groups, and for products in certain groups alternative compliance routes opened up: an EU declaration of conformity supported by CE test reports, or evidence of lawful marketing in the EU, can be accepted instead of full local testing, with the importer filing a declaration of conformity. For an importer bringing in goods that are already sold in Europe, that can shorten the path considerably.

What else needs a permit: MoC, MoH and kosher

• MoC type approval — the Ministry of Communications regulates telecom and radio equipment. Anything with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular or other radio capability needs type approval, and it is normally obtained through a local representative. New approvals can take several weeks, and renewals are quicker but not instant. If your product has a radio in it, this is a second approval running alongside SII, not a substitute for it.
• Ministry of Health permits — medical devices, diagnostics and health products need MoH approval before import. As with any regulated health product, start the process before sourcing rather than after.
• Kosher certification — food imports run a separate certification track, and the certificate has to come from a recognised authority. Arrange it with the factory before production.
• Hebrew labelling — commonly required on consumer products. Produce labels and manuals in Hebrew with the goods in China; relabelling at the port is slow and expensive.

The documents Israeli Customs expects at the entry

• Commercial invoice — full product description, the ten-digit commodity code, the CIF value and an origin declaration.
• Packing list — quantities, weights and dimensions.
• Bill of lading or air waybill — matching the consignee.
• Certificate of origin — issued in China; confirm the attestation needed before the goods ship.
• Insurance certificate — where the trade term requires one, and worth having regardless. See our cargo insurance page.
• SII approval — for regulated products, plus MoC type approval, MoH permits and kosher certification as applicable.
• Hebrew labelling documentation — for consumer products.

Wood packaging must meet ISPM-15 and carry the stamp. Our import clearance documents page lists what we ask for and why.

A registered Israeli importer, and what a foreign company cannot do

The importer of record must be a registered Israeli entity, and standards approvals are normally issued in the name of the local importer or their representative. A foreign company with no Israeli entity cannot simply file an entry. In practice that means one of two routes: work through a licensed Israeli distributor who imports on their own registration, or arrange an importer of record.

Either way, a licensed Israeli customs broker files the entry. The broker classifies the goods, submits the declaration, handles the assessment and deals with any inspection or query. This is not a formality you can skip by choosing a different trade term — DDP does not remove the requirement, it just moves the responsibility to whoever is acting as importer.

An individual can receive goods, and parcels are assessed like any other import, subject to the small-consignment thresholds. But an individual cannot be a commercial importer of record, and for a business the VAT registration question needs answering early, because import VAT is only recoverable if you are registered.

Finding suppliers, and how a first order ships

Most first orders into Israel start small, and the mode follows the volume.

• Online sourcing — orders from Alibaba or 1688 tend to be single-factory and small, so LCL, air or courier for the first shipment. Unit costs improve at the second order, but the standards question does not go away: an SII-regulated product is regulated whether you are importing one carton or a container. See our Alibaba and 1688 sourcing page.
• Trade shows — larger orders and often several suppliers at once. Consolidation turns that into one container and one declaration, and the show floor is where you collect the specifications and test reports that an SII application will need.

Samples sent by courier are assessed like any import above the thresholds, so a "free sample" that arrives with a tax bill is a normal outcome rather than a mistake.

The forwarder and the broker: two roles on one shipment

• The China-side forwarder collects from the factory or factories, consolidates, clears export and files the VGM, books the service, issues the bill of lading, prepares the documents the Israeli entry depends on, and tells you early when a standards approval is going to be a problem.
• The Israeli customs broker holds the local licence, files the entry, arranges or holds the SII and MoC approvals, handles inspection and screening, pays or accounts for duty and VAT, and arranges delivery.

The gap between them is where delays are born: a bill of lading issued before the commodity code was confirmed, an origin certificate without the attestation, an approval applied for after the goods sailed. Goodhope works the China end, hands documents over early, and coordinates directly with your broker.

Questions for a forwarder quoting China to Israel

• How is the vessel actually routed? On this lane the routing question can move the arrival date by weeks. A quote that cannot answer it was built from a schedule, not a booking.
• Which port, Ashdod or Haifa? And is the call direct or via transhipment?
• Have they asked for the commodity code? There is no flat duty rate here, so a quote without one is a guess.
• Do they know whether your product needs SII, MoC or MoH approval? Silence on this is the clearest signal that they have not cleared regulated goods into Israel.
• Have they mentioned security screening? It adds one to three days when a container is selected. A forwarder who has actually shipped here will mention it unprompted.
• What is the free time at the port, and who pays demurrage?
• On a DDP quote, who is the importer of record? A vague answer means the arrangement runs through a registration you know nothing about.

Categories that meet extra checks on arrival in Israel

Three shipments into Israel, and the thinking behind each

The examples below are illustrative. They describe typical routing decisions on this lane, not specific customer shipments.

Consumer electronics for a Tel Aviv distributor

A container of small appliances, tested at a recognised laboratory in China during production so the SII approval was in hand before loading. The goods cleared Ashdod in a few days, with one extra day for a screening selection. The alternative — shipping first and applying for approval after — would have cost weeks of storage on a product that was never going to be released without it.

Air freight for a product launch

A launch date that could not absorb a 30 to 40 day passage. Air freight into Ben Gurion cost several times the sea rate per kilo but removed the better part of a month, and because the conformity documentation had already been prepared the goods cleared without a standards hold. Air freight bought time here precisely because the paperwork was finished first — a fast flight into a missing approval is the most expensive way to import.

A first LCL order from a single online supplier

A trial order below container volume went LCL, with the buyer accepting a longer door-to-door time in exchange for not paying for space they did not need. The product was unregulated, so no SII approval was needed; had it been a regulated category, the same small shipment would still have needed the full approval process, which is the trap first-time importers fall into on trial orders.

Security screening, the holiday calendar, and your delivery date

Three timing factors are specific to this market and easy to under-plan.

• Security screening. Routine, and capable of adding one to three days when a container is selected. Build it in.
• Shabbat and the working week. The week runs Sunday to Thursday, and everything stops from before sunset on Friday until Saturday evening. A container arriving Thursday afternoon effectively loses two days. Jewish holidays add further closures.
• Routing and the long passage. Ocean schedules on this lane have been materially longer than they were, and less predictable. Ask for the rotation, and build a buffer measured in weeks rather than days if the date is immovable.

Check our holidays page when you are fixing a production date, and confirm the routing before you promise a delivery date to anyone.

What Goodhope does on a China to Israel shipment

• We treat Israel as its own regime, not a Gulf lane — no flat duty assumption, no SABER, and commodity-code driven from the first conversation.
• Ocean freight port to port and air freight airport to airport — into Ashdod or Haifa by sea, into Ben Gurion by air, with the service, the rotation and the routing named rather than a generic estimate.
• We ask what the goods are before we quote — because on this lane that determines whether SII, MoC or Ministry of Health approval applies, and how long it will take.
• Consolidation across suppliers — several factories, one container, one declaration, one approval set. See our consolidated shipment and pick up pages.
• Documents prepared for the entry, not for the file — invoice, packing list and origin documents in the form your Israeli broker needs, prepared while there is still time to fix them.
• Regulated cargo handled properly — see our dangerous goods and quarantine inspection pages.
• Plain answers on what we do not do — Israeli import clearance, the registered importer, SII and MoC approvals, and duty and VAT payment belong to the importer of record and their broker. We coordinate with them and we do not pretend otherwise.
• NVOCC licensed, since 2012 — see our why partner with Goodhope page.

Frequently asked questions

Related pages