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I need to take 10 bottles of wine from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. They're samples for a tasting. Will it be possible to take them there by train or boat? Will Customs have any problem with 10 bottles of wine? Thank you.

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  • Probably it is good to contact the custom authorities in advance, to get more information. This site is more about tourism and travel, not very much on commercial relations. Samples may get tax free (and maybe some conditions), .e.g. clear labels, so nobody will resell it, etc. But if you intend to do it only once, it may cost less to just ship them and pay normal import taxes as you find the the answer
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Jun 5 at 11:19

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Hello fellow wine trader. Yes China Customs is going to have LOTS of problems with you trying to take 10 bottles across the border... That's way over the legal, duty-free, allocation (1 litre, with two 75-cl bottles being usually tolerated).

You either need to find 4 travel companions, who will carry 2 bottles each, or leave 8 of these bottles in HK.

There used to be ways, before Covid, to take "excess" amounts of bottles across the border, but that's a thing of the past...

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    It's probably easier to ship them, they will take care of the whole import process, but one must be prepared to pay for the relevant taxes and duties, and if the documentation is not well prepared it can take ages to be processed.
    – jcaron
    Commented Jun 5 at 10:58
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    I do not know custom borders in China, but your answer seems more about the tourist free allowance (which I'm not sure it is valid for such case).
    – Giacomo Catenazzi
    Commented Jun 5 at 11:14
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    Presumably just declaring the bottles and paying the relevant duties would also be an option?
    – CMaster
    Commented Jun 5 at 11:20
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    @GiacomoCatenazzi But that's exactly what it would be treated as anyway, a tourist crossing the border with 10 bottles. Been there done that (I live in HK, go to SZ a couple of times a week, and am in this business).
    – user138870
    Commented Jun 5 at 11:30
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    @jcaron It's worse than that: importing wines officially requires a lengthy process that's not just expensive, but also involves giving away a bottle per wine for chemical analysis... Which explains why there was so much smuggling, and still is, to some extent...
    – user138870
    Commented Jun 5 at 15:46

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