✈️ Air Freight

Air Freight from China to Colon

China → Colon · via PTY air / Manzanillo sea · clearance by Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá

Cargo handling on the China–Colon lane.

Colon is the Colon Free Zone and Atlantic container hub, and it is served through PTY air / Manzanillo sea. That combination is what actually sets your delivery date on this lane — the inland leg is same-day, so the clearance date is effectively the delivery date.

On the destination side, Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá handles clearance; budget 2–5 days of dwell before the cargo is released.

What the routing looks like in practice

The Colón Free Zone is the largest free port in the Americas and the natural staging point for Chinese goods distributed across Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Cargo can sit in the zone duty-free and be re-exported in smaller lots, which is a far more efficient structure than shipping direct to a dozen small markets.

Air gateways used	PTY (Panama City Tocumen)
Air transit, China to gateway	4–6 business days
Gateway serving Colon	PTY air / Manzanillo sea
Inland leg to Colon	Same day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	2–5 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Import duty and tax position for Colon

Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Colon consignees. Current regime: ITBMS 7%; duty 0–15%, with 0% inside the Colón Free Zone, with a de-minimis position of USD 100 for courier consignments.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Conformity requirements for regulated goods; health registration for food and cosmetics. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Panama: Free Zone re-export and Panamanian domestic import are different regimes — clarify which applies. Canal transit conditions can affect Atlantic-side schedules during low-water periods.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Colon (Panama) freight lane — Handling on the PTY air / Manzanillo sea routing serving Colon.

What to sort out before the cargo leaves China

Check the de-minimis position (USD 100 for courier consignments) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
Plan around the China-side windows too: Chinese New Year and Golden Week both compress capacity on the Panama lane.
Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Panama duty rate against it yourself.
Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Sep–Nov, when space on this lane tightens.
Budget for the inland leg: same-day delivery beyond gateway clearance to reach Colon.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Colon take?

China to the Panama gateway is 4–6 business days. On top of that, allow 2–5 days of clearance with Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá and a same-day inland leg to Colon.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Colon?

Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá applies: ITBMS 7%; duty 0–15%, with 0% inside the Colón Free Zone. The de-minimis position is USD 100 for courier consignments. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Colon.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Colon?

Yes. Delivery to a Colon address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá, 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.

What documents does Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá 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 (Conformity requirements for regulated goods; health registration for food and cosmetics). We prepare and file these as part of the service.

When is the busiest time on the China–Panama 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.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Colon?

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.

Other delivery cities in Panama

All Panama freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Panama 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 Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá 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 Panama duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá 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.

On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.

If this is your first shipment into Panama, the Panama 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 Colon. 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 Colon

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 Panama route page →

Customs clearance in Panama

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

Panama clearance requirements →