South Asia

Shipping from China to Kandy

China → Kandy · via CMB air / Colombo sea · clearance by Sri Lanka Customs

Cargo handling on the China–Kandy lane.

Freight from China into Kandy clears through CMB air / Colombo sea. Kandy is central highlands commercial center, and allow +1 day for the inland leg on top of clearance.

Clearance itself is handled by Sri Lanka Customs, and typical dwell at the gateway runs 3–7 days.

Routing and transit on this lane

Colombo is one of the best-connected transshipment ports in the Indian Ocean, so direct South China sailings are frequent and reliable. Import control licensing has been used repeatedly as a foreign-exchange management tool, so the restricted list should be checked at the time of booking rather than assumed.

Air gateways used	CMB (Colombo Bandaranaike)
Air transit, China to gateway	3–5 business days
Sea gateways used	Colombo, Hambantota, Trincomalee
Sea transit, China to gateway	10–16 calendar days
Gateway serving Kandy	CMB air / Colombo sea
Inland leg to Kandy	+1 day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	3–7 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Duty, tax and clearance into Kandy

Imports into Sri Lanka are cleared by Sri Lanka Customs. The headline position is: VAT 18%; customs duty plus PAL (ports and airports levy) 10% and CESS on selected goods. The de-minimis threshold is No practical de-minimis.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: SLSI conformity for regulated goods; import control license for restricted categories. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Sri Lanka: Import control licenses apply to a shifting list of non-essential goods. CESS and PAL can add materially to the landed cost on consumer items. Confirm the current license position for your HS code before shipping.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Kandy (Sri Lanka) freight lane — Handling on the CMB air / Colombo sea routing serving Kandy.

Air, sea or overland into Kandy?

Mode	Transit to gateway	Best suited to
✈️ Air Freight	3–5 business days	time-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo
🚢 Sea Freight	10–16 calendar days	volume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed

Transit shown is China departure to the Sri Lanka gateway and excludes the +1 day inland leg to Kandy and 3–7 days of clearance.

Before you book: Kandy checklist

Check the de-minimis position (No practical de-minimis) 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.
Compare gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000) — the higher figure is what gets billed on air and express.
Put the Kandy delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
Confirm the consignee in Kandy can act as importer of record — Sri Lanka Customs will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Sri Lanka duty rate against it yourself.

Mode guides for Kandy

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Kandy take?

China to the Sri Lanka gateway is 3–5 business days by air, 10–16 calendar days by sea. On top of that, allow 3–7 days of clearance with Sri Lanka Customs and a +1 day inland leg to Kandy.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Kandy?

Sri Lanka Customs applies: VAT 18%; customs duty plus PAL (ports and airports levy) 10% and CESS on selected goods. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Kandy.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Kandy?

Yes. Delivery to a Kandy address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to Sri Lanka Customs, and the +1 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.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Kandy?

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.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Kandy?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 10–16 calendar days by sea versus 3–5 business days by air to the Sri Lanka 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.

What certification do I need for Sri Lanka?

For regulated goods, plan for: SLSI conformity for regulated goods; import control license for restricted categories. 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.

Other delivery cities in Sri Lanka

All Sri Lanka freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka Customs 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 Sri Lanka duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Sri Lanka Customs 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.

If this is your first shipment into Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka 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 Kandy. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

Ocean Freight 101 - What Is LCL Ocean Freight — Flexport. 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 Kandy

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 Sri Lanka route page →

Customs clearance in Sri Lanka

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

Sri Lanka clearance requirements →