How to import from China to Morocco: step by step

1. Get your company ready to import

Imports into Morocco are declared to customs on a DUM (Déclaration Unique de Marchandises). The declaration identifies the importing company, with identifiers such as its ICE and RC (trade register number). Make sure these are in order before your first shipment.

If you do not have a customs broker yet, choose one now: they will check your products, file the declaration and guide you on the documents.

2. Check your product before you order

Two checks save you the most money and time:

• The tariff code (HS code). It decides the import duty and taxes you pay. Ask your transitaire to confirm it from the product description and photos.
• Conformity rules. Since 2021, Morocco's Ministry of Industry controls many imported industrial products against mandatory Moroccan standards. Products such as electrical goods, clothing, footwear, car spare parts, construction products, gas appliances and baby nappies can need a certificate of conformity to clear customs. The list changes, so check it for your product before ordering.

3. Find the supplier and agree every detail

Agree in writing on the exact product, specifications, quantities, packaging, labels and price, including delivery to your forwarder in China. Vague orders are where most problems start.

This is the work we do for our clients: we find the suppliers, negotiate, and send you quotes with the full price per product by the next business day. How it works

4. Set up the import with your bank, then pay

In Morocco, imports of goods must be domiciled with your bank through PortNet before customs clearance, and payments to foreign suppliers follow the rules of the Office des Changes. Ask your bank which documents it needs from you before you pay.

Many Moroccan importers ask to pay in two parts: a 30% deposit before production and the 70% balance against the bill of lading (B/L), the shipping document that proves the goods have left. Plenty of middlemen offer this, and so do we. Whoever you work with, check that the B/L matches your goods and your shipment before you pay the balance.

5. Check quality before the goods leave China

Once goods leave China, every problem costs more to fix: the money is paid, the shipment has left and the supplier is far away. Checking in China, before shipping, is the moment when a problem is still easy to solve.

Two problems our checks have caught before shipping: missing accessories (a product without its cable, parts or pieces is very hard to sell) and the wrong material used by the factory. Both are easy to fix in China, and very costly once the goods are in Morocco.

We check every order in our own warehouse in Dongguan: we count, inspect and photograph your goods, and you see the photos before they leave. How we check

6. Ship your goods

Choose sea freight or air freight with your forwarder, or let us book the international freight for you. The documents that usually travel with your goods:

• Commercial invoice
• Packing list
• Bill of lading (sea) or air waybill (air)
• Certificate of origin
• Certificate of conformity, if your product needs one

7. Clear customs in Morocco

When the goods arrive, your transitaire files the DUM with the customs administration (ADII), you pay the duties and taxes due for your product's tariff code and value, and the goods are released for delivery.

Importing regularly? See how we work with Moroccan importers.

Common mistakes to avoid

From what we see with importers:

• Running orders without a reliable system: quotes, payments and shipments scattered across chats, so orders get delayed and details get lost.
• Ordering before checking whether the product needs a certificate of conformity.
• Invoices or packing lists that do not match the goods exactly.
• Choosing a supplier on price alone, without checking quality before shipping.
• Leaving the bank and customs paperwork until the goods have arrived.