✈️ Air Freight

Air Freight from China to Subic Bay

China → Subic Bay · via MNL air / Subic Bay sea · clearance by Bureau of Customs (BOC)

Cargo handling on the China–Subic Bay lane.

Freight from China into Subic Bay clears through MNL air / Subic Bay sea. Subic Bay is the former naval base now handling project and industrial cargo, and allow +1 day for the inland leg on top of clearance.

The clearing authority is Bureau of Customs (BOC). Historical dwell on this gateway is around 4–9 days, and it lengthens in Sep–Nov.

What the routing looks like in practice

Manila port congestion is the defining risk on this lane — dwell can double during the Q4 retail build-up. Cebu and Davao are viable direct calls for Visayas and Mindanao consignees and often clear faster than Manila, so it is worth quoting the regional port rather than trucking from MICT.

Air gateways used	MNL (Manila), CEB (Cebu), CRK (Clark)
Air transit, China to gateway	3–5 business days
Gateway serving Subic Bay	MNL air / Subic Bay sea
Inland leg to Subic Bay	+1 day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	4–9 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Import duty and tax position for Subic Bay

Imports into Philippines are cleared by Bureau of Customs (BOC). The headline position is: VAT 12%; duty 0–30%, with ACFTA preference available on a Form E. The de-minimis threshold is PHP 10,000.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: BPS Import Commodity Clearance for regulated products; FDA license for food, cosmetics and devices; NTC for radio equipment. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Philippines: Consolidated 'balikbayan'-style mixed cargo attracts extra scrutiny. Used clothing is prohibited. Alert Orders and physical examination are common, so allow buffer days on any deadline-driven shipment.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Subic Bay (Philippines) freight lane — Handling on the MNL air / Subic Bay sea routing serving Subic Bay.

Before you book: Subic Bay checklist

Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.
Compare gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000) — the higher figure is what gets billed on air and express.
Budget for the inland leg: +1 day beyond gateway clearance to reach Subic Bay.
Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Sep–Nov, when space on this lane tightens.
Put the Subic Bay delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
Get the conformity paperwork moving early: BPS Import Commodity Clearance for regulated products; FDA license for food, cosmetics and devices; NTC for radio equipment.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Subic Bay take?

China to the Philippines gateway is 3–5 business days. On top of that, allow 4–9 days of clearance with Bureau of Customs (BOC) and a +1 day inland leg to Subic Bay.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Subic Bay?

Bureau of Customs (BOC) applies: VAT 12%; duty 0–30%, with ACFTA preference available on a Form E. The de-minimis position is PHP 10,000. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Subic Bay.

What documents does Bureau of Customs (BOC) 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 (BPS Import Commodity Clearance for regulated products; FDA license for food, cosmetics and devices; NTC for radio equipment). We prepare and file these as part of the service.

When is the busiest time on the China–Philippines 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.

What certification do I need for Philippines?

For regulated goods, plan for: BPS Import Commodity Clearance for regulated products; FDA license for food, cosmetics and devices; NTC for radio equipment. 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.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Subic Bay?

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 Philippines

All Philippines freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Philippines 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 Bureau of Customs (BOC) 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 Philippines duty position yourself

Treat the landed-cost numbers here as a planning baseline. Philippine Bureau of Customs 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.

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.

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 Philippines, the Philippines 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 Subic Bay. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

Air Freight from China: Soaring Through the Skies of Global Trade — SINO Shipping. 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 Subic Bay

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 Philippines route page →

Customs clearance in Philippines

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

Philippines clearance requirements →