Importing a Scissor Lift from China: How to Calculate the True Landed Cost

A Chinese supplier quotes USD 6,800. How much will you need by the time the machine reaches your warehouse?

The answer is rarely USD 6,800 plus ocean freight. Collection from the factory, origin-port handling, international transport, destination customs clearance and local delivery may all carry costs. Some will already be included in the supplier’s offer; others must be paid separately.

To calculate landed cost, first establish where the quotation’s scope ends, then account for the costs it does not include. This supports supplier comparison and helps avoid discovering a funding shortfall when the machine arrives at the port.

The complete example below is illustrative. All amounts and tax rates are assumptions, not current market quotations, actual Levantis transactions or the rates of a particular country.

1. Align the delivery scope before comparing equipment prices

Suppose two suppliers quote for the same purchasing requirement:

B is USD 500 higher, but the delivery locations differ. A delivers at its factory; B takes on the relevant obligations of getting the goods to the named location in Shanghai. The price difference alone does not show which option will cost less overall.

Under Incoterms® 2020 FCA, the seller clears the goods for export and delivers to the carrier or another person nominated by the buyer at the agreed place. Loading responsibilities depend on that place:

Source: ICC Academy’s explanation of FCA and EXW. State the applicable version and precise location in the purchase agreement, and identify any separately agreed services.

“Factory Price” does not automatically allocate loading or export-clearance responsibilities. “FOB” without a named port does not fully define the delivery scope either. This example uses FCA; it must not be calculated as though it were an EXW factory offer.

Check machine configuration differences using the scissor lift quotation comparison guide. Make the equipment and delivery scope comparable first, then compare the total cost.

2. Start with USD 6,800 and add the costs beyond the equipment

Assume one self-propelled electric scissor lift is purchased FCA a factory in Jiangsu, China, Incoterms® 2020, then shipped by sea to a named overseas warehouse.

These logistics and service costs alone increase the budget from USD 6,800 to USD 9,650—a difference of USD 2,850. Duties and import taxes have still to be added.

For a real order, also establish whether destination inspection, permits, customs examination, storage, unloading or additional delivery charges apply. Where a price is not yet available, mark the item “awaiting quotation” or identify the basis of an estimate. Do not simply enter zero.

Watch for overlapping scopes. For instance, export clearance already covered by the supplier should not be counted again merely because a freight forwarder lists a broad “China-side charges” item. Break down the charges before adding them up.

3. Establish the duty and import VAT bases separately

“Made in China” and “scissor lift” are not enough to determine an import tax rate. A real purchase requires confirmation of the destination’s classification, origin, applicable tariff, valuation rules and any other relevant taxes or trade measures.

The World Customs Organization explains that actual duty rates fall within members’ own customs systems. A commodity code or rate supplied by the seller is a starting point for verification, not a final destination-country determination.

A complete worked example

Continue with the same costs and assume a fictional import market uses the illustrative arrival-at-port valuation basis below:

The USD 8,820 is calculated as:

Equipment 6,800 + China inland transport 420 + origin-port charges 310 + ocean freight 1,250 + insurance 40 = USD 8,820.

This selects items already included in the previous table for the tax illustration. It is not an additional USD 8,820 charge. Nor does the illustrative customs-value basis change the order’s FCA delivery term. The actual destination rules determine which items belong in customs value.

Calculate the two taxes separately:

Import duty: 8,820 × 5% = USD 441.

Import VAT: (8,820 + 441) × 10% = USD 926.10.

Add both to the original subtotal:

On these assumptions, the listed purchase and delivery items require USD 11,017.10, rather than only the USD 6,800 equipment price.

The actual destination may use different valuation rules, rates and calculation sequences. Have the local importer or customs service provider confirm them. Do not apply the example’s 5%, 10% or USD 8,820 directly to an actual import.

Cash outlay and final economic cost are different figures

Separately establish whether import taxes are recoverable or refundable, and when recovery is possible.

Make one further assumption: the USD 926.10 import VAT must be paid first but can later be fully recovered under the applicable rules, with no other unlisted costs.

The first figure supports cash planning; the second supports cost comparison. Recoverability does not mean the money will not be needed when payment falls due. Actual payment and recovery depend on local rules and the importer’s circumstances. Include foreign-exchange, financing or other actual expenses in the appropriate budget where they arise.

4. A cheaper freight quote may simply cover less

Suppose another quotation says only “ocean freight: USD 1,200”. Is that port-to-port freight, or a total including origin handling, destination-port charges, customs brokerage and final delivery?

A more useful request is:

Based on this shipment’s packed dimensions, gross weight, machine and battery configuration, collection point and final delivery address, please provide an itemized transport quotation. State the scope of each charge, who pays it, all exclusions and the quotation’s validity.

The aim is not to collect the longest possible list of charges. It is to assign responsibility for every leg and define the scope of each cost. If destination charges cannot yet be confirmed, list the possible items and how they will be verified later.

Use dimensions and weights for the actual supply and packing arrangement, not figures copied uncritically from a product catalogue. The shipping-document review guide helps reconcile equipment, packing data and paperwork.

If you are also purchasing accessories from other suppliers, compare a multi-supplier container consolidation arrangement. Include collection within China, waiting, storage and handling—not just the ocean-freight figure.

5. Separate confirmed costs, estimates and items awaiting quotation

Bring quotations from all parties into one cost sheet rather than repeatedly adding figures from message histories.

See the guide to the purchasing cash gap for the relevant checks.

Retain each quote’s source, date, validity and inclusions. An early budget may use a reasoned estimate; it should not label that estimate a confirmed price. Where several currencies are involved, record the conversion date and exchange-rate basis so that amounts from different periods are not compared as though they were equivalent.

The US International Trade Administration’s landed-cost guidance likewise considers goods, freight, insurance, duties, taxes and other charges together. For buyers, the principle is straightforward: omit nothing, count nothing twice, and know both the expected total and the items that remain uncertain.

Have a quotation and want to check which costs are missing?

Send Levantis the supplier’s quotation, destination country or city, and any transport quotations already received. We can help break down the delivery scope, identify duplicated or missing costs and organize the questions for the supplier, freight forwarder and local import service provider.

You do not need a complete budget before contacting us. Tariff classification, tax rates and actual clearance requirements must still be confirmed with the relevant destination authorities or qualified service providers.