Shipping from China to Umm Qasr
China → Umm Qasr · via BSR air / Umm Qasr sea · clearance by General Commission of Customs, Iraq
For buyers shipping into Umm Qasr, the practical question is not the ocean or flight time but what happens after arrival. Umm Qasr is Iraq's only deep-water port; cargo enters through BSR air / Umm Qasr sea, and allow +1 day 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.
Routing and transit on this lane
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.
| Air gateways used | BGW (Baghdad), EBL (Erbil), BSR (Basra) |
|---|---|
| Air transit, China to gateway | 4–7 business days |
| Sea gateways used | Umm Qasr |
| Sea transit, China to gateway | 20–30 calendar days |
| Gateway serving Umm Qasr | BSR air / Umm Qasr sea |
| Inland leg to Umm Qasr | +1 day from the gateway |
| Typical clearance / dwell | 7–15 days |
| Peak season to plan around | Sep–Nov |
Import duty and tax position for Umm Qasr
General Commission of Customs, Iraq assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Umm Qasr consignees. Current regime: Customs duty 0.5–30% plus a reconstruction levy; regional variations apply in the Kurdistan Region, with a de-minimis position of 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.
Air, sea or overland into Umm Qasr?
| Mode | Transit to gateway | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Air Freight | 4–7 business days | time-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo |
| 🚢 Sea Freight | 20–30 calendar days | volume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed |
Transit shown is China departure to the Iraq gateway and excludes the +1 day inland leg to Umm Qasr and 7–15 days of clearance.
Pre-shipment checklist for Umm Qasr
- Check the de-minimis position (No practical de-minimis) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
- Put the Umm Qasr delivery address, contact name and phone number on the invoice, not just the packing list.
- Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Iraq duty rate against it yourself.
- Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.
- Budget for the inland leg: +1 day beyond gateway clearance to reach Umm Qasr.
- Plan around the China-side windows too: Chinese New Year and Golden Week both compress capacity on the Iraq lane.
Mode guides for Umm Qasr
Frequently asked questions
How long does shipping from China to Umm Qasr take?
China to the Iraq gateway is 4–7 business days by air, 20–30 calendar days by sea. On top of that, allow 7–15 days of clearance with General Commission of Customs, Iraq and a +1 day inland leg to Umm Qasr.
What duty and tax will I pay importing into Umm Qasr?
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 Umm Qasr.
Can you deliver door-to-door in Umm Qasr?
Yes. Delivery to a Umm Qasr address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to General Commission of Customs, Iraq, 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 Umm Qasr?
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.
When is the busiest time on the China–Iraq 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 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.
Other delivery cities in Iraq
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.
- General Commission of Customs
- WTO — Tariff Profiles (applied MFN duty by country)
- IPPC — ISPM 15 wood packaging standard
- WCO — Harmonized System nomenclature
- IMO — IMDG Code for dangerous goods by sea
Page data last reviewed: November 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.
- Restaurant Furniture Retail, Display & Commercial Fixtures
- Metal Fabrication Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Pressure Vessels Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Switchgear New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Doors & Windows Building Materials & Construction Products
- Corrugated Packaging Wood, Bamboo & Paper Products
- Glass Packaging Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Kitchenware Furniture & Home Products
- Home Textiles Textiles, Apparel, Footwear & Leather
- Inflatable Products Toys, Sports, Outdoor & Leisure
- Bolts Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Industrial Boilers General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
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.
If this is your first shipment into Iraq, the Iraq 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 Umm Qasr. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.
FCL vs LCL Shipping: When to Switch (Break-Even Point Explained) — Max Antonov. 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.
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 →