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Hello mychinamoto community! I was wondering if anyone had any information on importing a motorcycle into China (and if it is even legally possible at all). I'm helping someone to sell a custom chopper from the U.S. in China and need to look up this relevant information. So if anyone has any related experiences for this that they could share, it would be greatly appreciated!
Bikerdoc and TB-Racing have both imported bikes and posted about it, if memory serves. Theirs were new stock bikes, not customs, importation of which will difficult or impossible. ChinaV has posted on the process, too.
Not easy.
Cheers
Great, thanks. Any idea what those posts were called? I did some searches for "import motorcycles" and "import motorcycles into China" as well as tried with those usernames but was unable to pull up anything.
the main search window is close to useless. try using advanced search, which includes a field for their username and another for keywords. for TB and bikerdoc try multistrada as a keyword; for ChinaV use import and v-strom or vstrom.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucko
cheers
G'Day,Quote:
Originally Posted by euphonius
Imported a few brand-new crated bikes (HD / BMW) in the 90's and the last one was a HD Dyna Superglide in May 1998, vehicle import (cars/bikes) was way easier back in the old days.....
My current import motorcycle was imported through the official importer and dealership (Ducati China in Shanghai) and they provide full-on ride away service including plate and registration.
As to my experience, the rules changed, what could be done in 2007 is no longer possible, thus the upswing in Chinese motos that have filled my garage. I think your best bet would be to contact the other guys via PM or go to the big moto shops in Beijing to seek better advice. I don't think anybody is going to give you a black and white answer as to how this is done. In most cases the import of large motorcycles requires guanxi, but TIC, there's always a loophole somewhere.
Cheers!
ChinaV
I'm seriously considering a new bike for 2013, and I'm willing to go to around 40,000-45,000 for a good bike.
I like legal multiple cylinder bikes above 15KW, the list so far....
-Haojue Suzuki GW250 (the safe choice)
-CFMoto 600
-Benelli/QJ 600
However if I could import something else like a CBF500, CBF600, Bandit 650 etc I would be pretty interested, but the price would need to be right. Legal import from Hong Kong not possible? I'm looking for something good to keep for 10 years + or export if I decide to leave.
Hmmm, yeah this is sort of what I was thinking it was going to be like. Like pretty much everything in China, there's probably a way but it's not really clear what it is since everything is always in flux, though Guanxi is always your best route. I think I might go and check out the Jiuxianqiao H-D dealership and talk to them, otherwise go with my original plan which is to assume that the person interested in buying a bike of this type will already have the requisite connections in place to make this happen.
Thanks for the comments everyone, and I'll be sure to post updates as I get more information. In the meantime, if anyone knows of someone interested in getting a one of a kind chopper originally built for James Caan (of the Godfather and Elf), let me know!
Plus lots of cash and expensive dinners or even a paid trip back to your homeland for the powers that be.Giving them a LV wallet no longer cuts it.Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaV
Calculating all expenses for dinners/gifts/cash and time (you could have been working) spend on guanxi, would you still save money compared to buying a legal bike with 100% import tax?Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdamo
There is another member on here who is in the process of importing a Yamaha I think he might be riding it around Australia at the moment.Sorry I forgot his username.doc something I think.
ok, sorry for the silence, I'm actually away on extended vacation/holiday riding through both NZ and OZ. Yep Yamaha XT1200Z and having a blast. Not spending time in places with easy net access. I will just summarise some of the formalities on importing a bike into mainland China from first hand experience thus far. First the bike must be NEW, not used, second hand, or pre-owned, and while it might be possible to import a one off NEW custom, I doubt it would be very realistic for many reasons, far too complex to go into here on a forum while I'm away on holiday. To get started one needs a copy of the purchase contract, bill of sale as well as some form of document that has all the manufacturers specs listed (a complete list of the model etc), country of manufacture is also needed. These documents and others required e.g. work contract, resident/employment visa (with at least 6 months validity), police registration, housing contract/lease, Chinese bank account details as well as the employers business license, company chopped letter of support and many other documents - have to be taken to several different government agencies for preapproval before one can even start the process of importing said bike into the mainland. Guanxi helps ofcourse and is almost mandatory to get the wheels lubricated to turn in ones favour, but keep in mind that there are many different agencies involved, and depending on ones locations might invlove agencies outside of the city one is domiciled. For example it's my understanding that motorcycles can only be landed at 2-3 mainland ports. Even thougn I live in China right on one of the second biggest mainland deep water ports, my bike has to be landed in Shanghai which invloves duplicating two government agencies, and they need to talk to each other so as to facilitate safe and legal landing and subsequent clearance/release of said motorcycle.
Costs can be substantial, working out to anything of between 40-60% of the new purchase price in the country of purchase as determined by the Chinese side, and not necessarily based on the price as shown in the purchase agreement. For exmaple, if one pays $10000 for motorcycle ABC model XYZ but that price is heavily discounted, yet the normal price is determined by the Chinese authorities as normally being $20000, then duties and taxes are based on that higher figure. There's no transparency, so no way to know beforehand what one will be in for financially. So it can be a bit of a gamble. Having the right shipping agent is also very helpful, though most that are legit know just how complex Chinas systems are to navigate and will usually rely on a middle man agent to deal with things on the ground in China or HK. One shipping agent made his enquiries on my behalf and has a connection to get my bike landed in HK and then bought in via the backdoor into the mainland. Simialr to what occurs and has occured for an age in China with smuggled in bikes. That was not an option for me. Mine needed to be landed legit, so that's the route I've taken... the more complicated and costly route.
That's a basic snapshot of the situation... I've typed more than I'd expected, so that's enough from me. The short answer is it is possible and doable, but highly unlikely on some custom one of bike.
Ill revive the thread a bit.
Today came across this. Apparently its a new policy. Highlighted bits are interesting. What do you think?
Office Supplies & Vehicles of Permanent Offices
Companies that have obtained a permanent business license may apply to import and export office supplies and motor vehicles, as well as other kinds of valuable items. First, we will take a closer look at the regulations regarding importing and exporting office supplies and vehicles.
If a permanent office applies to import or export office supplies or vehicles, or if a permanent office or permanent registered member of staff applies to import a motor vehicle duty-free, they should follow the applicable customs regulations.
Attention!
Ownership of a motor vehicle imported duty-free as described above may only be transferred to another permanent office or permanent registered member of staff or sold to an authorized operating unit upon application on the following conditions:
a) More than four years have elapsed since the vehicle was released by the Customs Office
b) The member of staff who originally imported the vehicle has completed his or her contract period.
At the end of the six-year period of customs supervision, the vehicle may also be transferred, sold or used for other purposes.
Motor Vehicles for Personal Use
In addition to permanent offices, each member of staff who has a long-term residence permit can also apply to import one motor vehicle for personal use. Such applications should be made in writing and submitted by the member of staff or their appointed customs declaration agency to their assigned customs office.
The vehicle will be released after the application is reviewed and approved by the customs office and upon presentation of approved papers and/or other related bills. The vehicle will be subject to duties according to the relevant regulations.
To apply to import this type of vehicle, the following documents should be submitted to the assigned customs office for examination:
1. Identity papers
2. Long-term residence permits
3. A completed Application Form of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Importation and Exportation of Articles for Personal Use
4. Bill of lading (waybill), packing list and other related bills
5. Other supporting documents as required by Customs
6. Photocopies of the applicant's identity papers and long-term residence permits.
With the exception of foreign experts, all permanent resident members of staff must also submit their resident office's Filing Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Resident Offices, or their foreign-invested enterprise's Registration Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Consignor and Consignee Customs Declaration of Cargo Imports and Exports.
Permanent registered members of staff who are importing motor vehicles should apply for the Notice of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Issuance/Cancellation of Licenses for Imported/Exported Vehicles under Supervision from the competent customs office. They must also complete the procedure for obtaining licenses for the aforementioned motor vehicles within ten working days of the release of these vehicles by Customs.
For motor vehicles that have been imported by a permanent registered member of staff with duties, the permanent registered member of staff may not transfer the titles to their vehicles until at least one year after they have completed the vehicle registration formalities with the competent traffic administration agency of the Public Security Bureau.
To transfer such titles, the permanent registered member of staff should file a written application with the competent customs office and provide the following documents for examination:
1. Identity papers
2. Long-term residence permits
3. The Motor Vehicle Driving Permit for the imported motor vehicle
4. Their resident office's Filing Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Resident Offices or their foreign-invested enterprise's Registration Certificate of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Consignor and Consignee Customs Declaration of Cargo Imports and Exports
5. Other supporting documents as required by Customs
After being approved by the competent customs office and obtaining the Notice of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on the Issuance/Cancellation of Licenses for Imported/Exported Vehicles under Supervision, the permanent registered member of staff may complete the procedures for the transfer of the titles to their vehicles with the competent traffic administration agency of the Public Security Bureau.
In shipping goods from China to other countries, costs and procedures are quite complicated, but if you have entrusted with an experienced import service then it is easy because currently there are importers who facilitate the search for reliable suppliers in the Chinese marketplace.