How Serbia–China Free Trade Agreement Duty Groups Work

As of 1 July 2024, customs duties on a large share of goods imported from China into Serbia have started to gradually decrease, and for some products the duty is already 0%. This is the result of the Serbia–China Free Trade Agreement, which phases out customs duties on many products over a period of up to 15 years.

In practice, this means that importing certain product groups will become significantly cheaper over time, while for others nothing changes and the duty stays the same.

The free trade agreement between Serbia and China is important not only for imports from China into Serbia, but also for exports of Serbian products to the Chinese market.

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

For exporters from Serbia, this opens up extra opportunities, because some products can enter the Chinese market with lower duties – or even duty‑free – depending on the group they’re in.

If you’re thinking about importing from China (or you already are), the key question is:

Does your product fall into a group with zero duty already, a group with gradual duty reduction, or a group where the duty remains unchanged?

Below we explain how products are grouped and what that means for your actual import costs.

How goods are grouped

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

Each group has its own “speed” of duty reduction – from products that became duty‑free on day one, to products where the duty doesn’t change at all.

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

Even when the duty rate is 0% (group A0), you still pay VAT on import, as well as other costs such as freight, forwarding, and any additional fees.

The real picture of how much trade is covered by each group becomes clear when you look at the distribution of tariff lines for imports and exports:

Duty groups – imports from China into 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%

Duty 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 your product belongs to, you first need to identify its HS code and then check whether it falls under A0, A5, A10, A15 or E.

We’ve prepared Excel tables where you can search by product name or HS code and see both the current duty rate and how it decreases over the years.

How to check the duty rate for your product

Customs duties are listed in the Serbian CN tariff, which you can browse on the website of the Serbian Customs Administration.

For practical use, download the duty tables in Excel format:

In these tables you can use either the product name or HS code to see which group (A0, A5, A10, A15 or E) your product belongs to, what the current duty rate is, and what it will be in the coming years.

Example: As you can see in the table below, DVD discs have a base duty rate of 5%, and category A10 means the duty gradually falls to 0% over 10 years.

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

If you export goods from Serbia to China, the export table shows whether your product is already duty‑free or whether it’s still in the phase‑out period.

You can also see the Chinese side’s view of the agreement on their official website: China–Serbia Free Trade Zone.

If you want to import a specific product into Serbia from China, use the Excel tables above to find your product and see the duty that applies.

Still, we strongly recommend talking to a customs broker or directly to Customs for precise information, because regulations and interpretations can change, and every shipment has its own specific details.

Frequently asked questions

1. Does zero duty mean I don’t pay anything anymore?

No. Even when the duty rate is 0%, you still pay VAT on import, as well as other costs such as freight, customs brokerage, and any extra fees – so your total landed cost is always higher than just the supplier’s invoice from China.

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

You can look up the HS code using the product description in the customs tariff or by asking a customs broker. The most practical approach is to contact a forwarding company or Customs, send them a detailed description and intended use of your product, and ask them to confirm the correct code.

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

It applies both ways – to imports from China into Serbia and to exports from Serbia to China. Both sides use the same A0, A5, A10, A15 and E groups with gradual duty reductions for liberalized products.

4. How much trade actually benefits from zero or reduced duties?

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

Sources: Serbian Parliament, Paragraf, Ministry of Trade.

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