🚢 Sea Freight

Sea Freight from China to Baghdad

China → Baghdad · via BGW air / Umm Qasr sea · clearance by General Commission of Customs, Iraq

Cargo handling on the China–Baghdad lane.

Freight from China into Baghdad clears through BGW air / Umm Qasr sea. Baghdad is capital and the largest consumer market, and allow +2 days for the inland leg on top of clearance.

On the destination side, General Commission of Customs, Iraq handles clearance; budget 7–15 days of dwell before the cargo is released.

Import duty and tax position for Baghdad

Imports into Iraq are cleared by General Commission of Customs, Iraq. The headline position is: Customs duty 0.5–30% plus a reconstruction levy; regional variations apply in the Kurdistan Region. The de-minimis threshold is No practical de-minimis.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity program is mandatory for most goods. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Iraq: A pre-shipment COC is mandatory for most commercial goods; cargo arriving without it faces heavy penalties. Security and route conditions affect inland delivery. Confirm which customs administration applies to the final destination.

How this lane actually runs

Umm Qasr is the sea gateway for federal Iraq, while the Kurdistan Region is more often served by air into Erbil or overland from Turkey and Iran. The two administrations apply customs differently, so the destination city changes the process — not just the trucking leg. A pre-shipment Certificate of Conformity is the single most important document on this lane.

Sea gateways used	Umm Qasr
Sea transit, China to gateway	20–30 calendar days
Gateway serving Baghdad	BGW air / Umm Qasr sea
Inland leg to Baghdad	+2 days from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	7–15 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Container terminal operations used on the China to Baghdad (Iraq) freight lane — Handling on the BGW air / Umm Qasr sea routing serving Baghdad.

Before you book: Baghdad checklist

Confirm the consignee in Baghdad can act as importer of record — General Commission of Customs, Iraq will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
Get the conformity paperwork moving early: Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity program is mandatory for most goods.
Check the de-minimis position (No practical de-minimis) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.
Put the Baghdad delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Baghdad take?

China to the Iraq gateway is 20–30 calendar days. On top of that, allow 7–15 days of clearance with General Commission of Customs, Iraq and a +2 days inland leg to Baghdad.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Baghdad?

General Commission of Customs, Iraq applies: Customs duty 0.5–30% plus a reconstruction levy; regional variations apply in the Kurdistan Region. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Baghdad.

Which port or airport does cargo for Baghdad clear through?

Cargo for Baghdad is routed via BGW air / Umm Qasr sea. Sea gateways for Iraq are Umm Qasr; air gateways are BGW (Baghdad), EBL (Erbil), BSR (Basra). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.

What certification do I need for Iraq?

For regulated goods, plan for: Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity program is mandatory for most goods. Missing conformity paperwork is the single most common cause of a hold, and in most cases it cannot be remedied once the cargo has arrived.

What documents does General Commission of Customs, Iraq require?

A commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where it lowers duty, and any product certification (Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity program is mandatory for most goods). We prepare and file these as part of the service.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Baghdad?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 20–30 calendar days by sea versus 4–7 business days by air to the Iraq gateway, before clearance and the +2 days inland leg. The crossover point is normally somewhere between 100 and 300 kg depending on the density of your cargo.

Other delivery cities in Iraq

All Iraq freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Iraq 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 General Commission of Customs, Iraq or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 8 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 139 industry guides →

Checking the Iraq duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by General Commission of Customs, Iraq against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.

Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.

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.

For a wider view of how importing into Iraq actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Iraq customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.

Watch: the process behind this route

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

How to Calculate CBM in Shipping | Volume vs Weight Explained | CBM Formula & Freight Cost Guide — 10 Min For Supply Chain. 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 Baghdad

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a published rate card, because the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we will come back with a full DDP figure.

Request a quote → See the Iraq route page →

Customs clearance in Iraq

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

Iraq clearance requirements →