Custom Duties Between Serbia and China: Free Trade Agreement

From 1 July 2024, import duties on a large share of goods from China entering Serbia started to gradually decrease, and for some products customs duty is already 0%. This is the result of the Free Trade Agreement between Serbia and China, which provides for the gradual elimination of customs duties on many products over a period of up to 15 years.

In practice, this means that imports of certain product groups will become significantly cheaper in the long run, while for some categories there will be no change at all.

The Free Trade Agreement between Serbia and China is important not only for imports of goods from China into Serbia, but also for exports of Serbian products to the Chinese market.

The same tariff lists and the same phase‑out groups apply in both directions, so it is important to check which category your product falls into if you plan to export to China.

For exporters from Serbia this opens additional opportunities, as some products can enter the Chinese market with lower or zero duty, depending on the group they are in.

If you are considering importing from China (or you already import), the key question is:

Does the product you are interested in fall into the group with immediate zero duty, a group with gradual tariff reduction, or a group where the duty stays the same?

Below we explain how products are grouped and what this means in practice for your total landed cost.

How goods are grouped

To make the agreement easier to apply, products are divided into five main groups, labelled A0, A5, A10, A15 and E.

Each group has its own pace of tariff reduction – from products with immediate zero duty to products where the duty does not change at all.

Group	Description	Time until zero duty
A0	Zero duty immediately when the agreement enters into force.	Immediate (0 years)
A5	Gradual reduction every year until the duty reaches 0%.	5 years
A10	Slower reduction; conditions improve over time.	10 years
A15	Slowest reduction; the effect is felt gradually over a longer period.	15 years
E	No reduction – the same rates apply as before the agreement.	No change

Even when customs duty is 0% (group A0), you still pay import VAT as well as other costs – transport, customs brokerage and any applicable fees.

How many products actually fall into each group can be seen from the distribution of tariff lines for imports and exports:

Tariff groups – imports from China to Serbia

Group	Number of tariff lines	Share of total
A0	6 272	60.24%
A5	1 709	16.41%
A10	1 025	9.84%
A15	402	3.86%
E	1 004	9.64%
Total	10 412	100%

Tariff groups – exports from Serbia to China

Group	Number of tariff lines	Share of total
A0	5 376	60.20%
A5	1 475	16.52%
A10	882	9.88%
A15	355	3.98%
E	842	9.43%
Total	8 930	100%

To know exactly which group the product you want to import belongs to, you need to find its HS code and check which category (A0, A5, A10, A15 or E) it is in.

We have prepared Excel tables where you can use the product name or HS code to see the base customs rate and the pace of reduction over the years.

How to check the duty for your product

The new tariff rates have been included in the customs tariff under the CN designation, which you can view on the website of the Customs Administration of the Republic of Serbia.

For practical work, download the Excel tariff tables:

In these tables, using the product name or HS code, you can check which group (A0, A5, A10, A15 or E) your goods fall into, what the current duty is, and what it will be in a few years.

Example: as shown in the table below, DVD discs have a base customs duty of 5%, and the A10 label means that the duty gradually decreases over 10 years until it reaches 0%.

If your goal is not only to import goods from China, but also to place your own products on the Chinese market, an additional opportunity is Hainan Free Trade Port – a special zone on Hainan Island with zero duty for many products and tax incentives for companies registered on the island.

If you export goods from Serbia to China, the export table shows whether your product already enjoys zero duty or is only entering the phase of gradual reduction.

To see how this looks from the Chinese side, you can visit their official page: China‑Serbia Free Trade Zone.

If you want to import a product into Serbia from China, use the tables linked above to find your product and see its customs duty.

However, we strongly recommend that you contact a customs broker or the Customs Administration for precise information, as regulations and interpretations may change and every shipment has its own specifics.

Frequently asked questions

1. Does zero duty mean I do not pay anything else?

No. Even when customs duty is 0%, you still pay import VAT as well as other costs – transport, customs brokerage and any applicable fees – so your total landed cost is not the same as the invoice from China.

2. How can I find the HS code for my product?

You can find the HS code by looking it up in the customs tariff based on the product description, or by asking a customs broker. The most practical way is to contact a broker or the Customs Administration and send them a precise description and intended use of the product so they can determine the correct code.

3. Does the agreement apply only to imports from China, or also to exports from Serbia to China?

The agreement works both ways – it covers imports of goods from China into Serbia and exports of goods from Serbia to China. Both sides have their own A0, A5, A10, A15 and E lists with gradual tariff elimination.

4. What share of goods actually gets zero or reduced duty?

For imports into Serbia, roughly 60% of tariff lines are in A0 (zero duty immediately), about 16% in A5, about 10% in A10 and about 4% in A15, while around 10% remain in group E with no change.

Sources (in Serbian): Parliament, Paragraf, Ministry of Trade.