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Asia Pacific

Shipping from China to Surabaya

China → Surabaya · via SUB air / Tanjung Perak sea · clearance by Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai)

Freight forwarding from China to Surabaya, Indonesia — container and air cargo handling
Cargo handling on the China–Surabaya lane.

For buyers shipping into Surabaya, the practical question is not the ocean or flight time but what happens after arrival. Surabaya is East Java's commercial capital and second port; cargo enters through SUB air / Tanjung Perak sea, and the inland leg is same-day, so the clearance date is effectively the delivery date.

Clearance itself is handled by Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai), and typical dwell at the gateway runs 4–10 days.

How this lane actually runs

Indonesia is the most paperwork-heavy market in ASEAN. The USD 3 de-minimis means practically every shipment is dutiable, and Permendag import restrictions cover exactly the categories most China buyers ship — textiles, footwear, electronics, toys and cosmetics. Plan the license position before booking, not after arrival.

Air gateways usedCGK (Jakarta), SUB (Surabaya), DPS (Denpasar)
Air transit, China to gateway3–5 business days
Sea gateways usedTanjung Priok (Jakarta), Tanjung Perak (Surabaya), Belawan (Medan)
Sea transit, China to gateway6–11 calendar days
Gateway serving SurabayaSUB air / Tanjung Perak sea
Inland leg to SurabayaSame day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell4–10 days
Peak season to plan aroundSep–Nov

What you will pay on arrival in Indonesia

Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai) assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Surabaya consignees. Current regime: VAT 11%; duty 0–150%, with a 7.5% flat rate applied to many consumer parcels, plus income-tax prepayment (PPh) of 0.5–10%, with a de-minimis position of USD 3 FOB — one of the lowest thresholds in the world.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: SNI mandatory standard for a long list of products; import license (API-U/API-P) held by the consignee; Permendag restricted-goods rules for textiles, footwear, electronics and toys. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Indonesia: Goods on the lartas restricted list need a license issued before the vessel arrives; retro-fixing after arrival is expensive. Used goods are broadly banned. Cosmetics and food need BPOM registration held locally.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Surabaya (Indonesia) freight lane
Handling on the SUB air / Tanjung Perak sea routing serving Surabaya.

Air, sea or overland into Surabaya?

ModeTransit to gatewayBest suited to
✈️ Air Freight3–5 business daystime-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo
🚢 Sea Freight6–11 calendar daysvolume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed

Transit shown is China departure to the Indonesia gateway and excludes the same-day inland leg to Surabaya and 4–10 days of clearance.

What to sort out before the cargo leaves China

  • Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
  • Compare gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000) — the higher figure is what gets billed on air and express.
  • Put the Surabaya delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
  • Plan around the China-side windows too: Chinese New Year and Golden Week both compress capacity on the Indonesia lane.
  • Check the de-minimis position (USD 3 FOB — one of the lowest thresholds in the world) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
  • Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Indonesia duty rate against it yourself.

Mode guides for Surabaya

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Surabaya take?

China to the Indonesia gateway is 3–5 business days by air, 6–11 calendar days by sea. On top of that, allow 4–10 days of clearance with Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai) and a same-day inland leg to Surabaya.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Surabaya?

Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai) applies: VAT 11%; duty 0–150%, with a 7.5% flat rate applied to many consumer parcels, plus income-tax prepayment (PPh) of 0.5–10%. The de-minimis position is USD 3 FOB — one of the lowest thresholds in the world. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Surabaya.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Surabaya?

We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight — length × width × height in centimeters divided by 6000 for air — and bill the greater of the two, rounded up to the next kilogram. Light, bulky cargo is almost always billed on volume.

When is the busiest time on the China–Indonesia lane?

Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year in January or February and Golden Week in early October. Book one to two weeks earlier in those periods.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Surabaya?

Yes. Delivery to a Surabaya address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai), and the same-day inland leg. Confirm whether your consignee wants the goods at a warehouse, a marketplace fulfillment center or a shop front, because the last-mile requirement differs.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Surabaya?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 6–11 calendar days by sea versus 3–5 business days by air to the Indonesia gateway, before clearance and the same-day inland leg. The crossover point is normally somewhere between 100 and 300 kg depending on the density of your cargo.

Other delivery cities in Indonesia

All Indonesia freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Indonesia change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with Directorate General of Customs and Excise (Bea Cukai) or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 10 月 2026.

Shipping by industry

This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.

All 60 industry guides →

Checking the Indonesia duty position yourself

Treat the landed-cost numbers here as a planning baseline. Indonesian Directorate General of Customs and Excise sets the rate that actually gets charged, assessed against your HS classification at the moment of clearance, so their own guidance is worth reading before a large order.

If you want to sanity-check a duty figure yourself, start from the heading rather than the product name — the WCO Harmonized System is the underlying nomenclature, and the WTO Tariff & Trade Data portal holds the applied rates by country pair.

For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.

On the origin side, export declaration and any commodity inspection requirement fall under China Customs (GACC); we handle that filing as part of the service, but the requirement is theirs, not ours.

If this is your first shipment into Indonesia, the Indonesia Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.

Watch: the process behind this route

This guide covers routing and clearance for Surabaya. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

The Customs Clearance Process: A Comprehensive Guide — ShipERP by ERP Integrated Solutions. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.

Get a rate for Surabaya

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a rate card: the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we price it properly.

Answer these and you get a real price, not a range. These are the exact figures a carrier needs before it will quote. Fill them in once and we can price your cargo the same day — leave them out and we have to come back and ask, which is what turns an hour into a week.

kg
ctn
Carton sizeoptional
× × cm
m³
ctr
Built-in battery?* Lithium cells are dangerous goods.
Someone else's brand?* Logos you are not authorised to ship.
Magnetic product?* Speakers, motors, magnets.
Why these three decide everything

They determine whether your cargo can fly, and on which service. A declared battery changes the price; an undeclared one grounds the shipment at the airport and you pay storage while it sits. Unauthorised brands are seized at customs and the freight is lost with them. Magnetic goods need a field test — routine, but it has to be booked ahead. Telling us now costs a click; telling us later costs the shipment.

Sea or air?*
Tick both and we quote both.
When should it move?optional
Photographs of the goodsoptional
    Your details are used to prepare this quotation and nothing else.

    See the Indonesia route page →

    Customs clearance in Indonesia

    Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

    Indonesia clearance requirements →

    Priced routes to Indonesia