Africa

Shipping from China to Le Tampon

China → Le Tampon · via RUN air / Port Reunion sea · clearance by Douane française (EU customs territory)

Cargo handling on the China–Le Tampon lane.

Freight from China into Le Tampon clears through RUN air / Port Reunion sea. Le Tampon is interior highland municipality, and allow +1 day for the inland leg on top of clearance.

The clearing authority is Douane française (EU customs territory). Historical dwell on this gateway is around 3–8 days, and it lengthens in Sep–Nov.

Import duty and tax position for Le Tampon

Imports into Reunion are cleared by Douane française (EU customs territory). The headline position is: Reduced VAT of 8.5% plus octroi de mer — a local dock due of 6.5–60% that is unique to the French overseas departments. The de-minimis threshold is EUR 150 for duty; VAT applies from the first euro.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: CE marking under EU rules; French labeling requirements. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Reunion: Octroi de mer is the dominant cost element and varies by product and local production status. EU rules otherwise apply in full, including CE marking and French labeling.

What the routing looks like in practice

Réunion is part of the EU customs territory, so EU tariff and CE marking rules apply — but the octroi de mer dock due, which does not exist in mainland France, can add far more to landed cost than the customs duty itself. Its rate depends on whether an equivalent product is made locally, so classification research genuinely pays here.

Air gateways used	RUN (Saint-Denis Roland Garros)
Air transit, China to gateway	5–8 business days
Sea gateways used	Port Réunion (Le Port)
Sea transit, China to gateway	24–34 calendar days
Gateway serving Le Tampon	RUN air / Port Reunion sea
Inland leg to Le Tampon	+1 day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	3–8 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Le Tampon (Reunion) freight lane — Handling on the RUN air / Port Reunion sea routing serving Le Tampon.

What to sort out before the cargo leaves China

Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.
Get the conformity paperwork moving early: CE marking under EU rules; French labeling requirements.
Check the de-minimis position (EUR 150 for duty; VAT applies from the first euro) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
Put the Le Tampon 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 Reunion lane.
Budget for the inland leg: +1 day beyond gateway clearance to reach Le Tampon.

Air, sea or overland into Le Tampon?

Mode	Transit to gateway	Best suited to
✈️ Air Freight	5–8 business days	time-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo
🚢 Sea Freight	24–34 calendar days	volume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed

Transit shown is China departure to the Reunion gateway and excludes the +1 day inland leg to Le Tampon and 3–8 days of clearance.

Mode guides for Le Tampon

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Le Tampon take?

China to the Reunion gateway is 5–8 business days by air, 24–34 calendar days by sea. On top of that, allow 3–8 days of clearance with Douane française (EU customs territory) and a +1 day inland leg to Le Tampon.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Le Tampon?

Douane française (EU customs territory) applies: Reduced VAT of 8.5% plus octroi de mer — a local dock due of 6.5–60% that is unique to the French overseas departments. The de-minimis position is EUR 150 for duty; VAT applies from the first euro. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Le Tampon.

Which port or airport does cargo for Le Tampon clear through?

Cargo for Le Tampon is routed via RUN air / Port Reunion sea. Sea gateways for Reunion are Port Réunion (Le Port); air gateways are RUN (Saint-Denis Roland Garros). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Le Tampon?

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.

What certification do I need for Reunion?

For regulated goods, plan for: CE marking under EU rules; French labeling requirements. 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.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Le Tampon?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 24–34 calendar days by sea versus 5–8 business days by air to the Reunion gateway, before clearance and the +1 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 Reunion

All Reunion freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Reunion 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 Douane française (EU customs territory) 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 Reunion duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Douane française (EU customs territory) 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.

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.

Watch: the process behind this route

This guide covers routing and clearance for Le Tampon. 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 Le Tampon

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 →

Customs clearance in Reunion

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

Reunion clearance requirements →