Package Stuck in Customs? Here’s a Step by Step (Tedious) Guide
Hooray! Your parents have just told you they’ve sent you some surprise goodies from alllll the way back home. But wait! There’s just one little problem- It seems the package has got stuck in customs. What do you do now? Oh, boy, are you in for an adventure! Step One: First, you need to bring your passport to a China Post office that has a customs department and you’ll need the package’s tracking number (邮件号 yóujiàn hào) as well. You will get a letter in the mail telling you to do this, along with the address of the one nearest to you. In my case, it was at 18 Futongdong Dajie (复通东大街18号) in Wangjing. Inside, you will sign a document and be given a piece of paper with the address of the NEXT post office on it. After one to two business days, you’ll get a text and phone call telling you it’s time for step two. Step Two: Now it was time to head to Jianguomen* (50 Guanghua Lu 光华路50号), just next door to La Maison Lyonnaise. Once again, you’ll need your tracking number and your passport. You will be greeted by a friendly officer who will question you about your occupation, your travel history, and whether or not you work for an embassy. Then you’ll be sent to have your passport copied in an adjacent office. Step Three: Next comes the important part. Even though this was meant to be a gift, you need to know the exact contents of the box, as well as how much each item costs! Kind of ruins the surprise, doesn’t it!? This means you must ask the sender for all of this information before you get to this office so that you can fill out this form accurately. Step Four: Then, you will be asked to pay the taxes on everything! Hopefully, the stuff you were sent wasn’t too expensive, right? Once you’re all paid up, you’ll be informed that the package will be delivered to your address in three to five business days. Huzzah! Congratulations, you finally got your hometown treats! That wasn’t so bad, was it? * Where you need to go for step two may differ depending on where you live. Editors note: An option on the letter is to use the EMS WeChat mini program to pay the tax on the package, it wouldn't work for Jenna but one of our editors did manage to use it for their package and here's their experience: Step One: Open up the EMS WeChat mini program (search EMS邮件代理报关 EMS yóujiàn dàilǐ bàoguān) and insert your tracking number in the search bar at the top, if it shows up, move onto step two, if it doesn't see the note below step three**. Step Two: Simply click on the package and pay the required tax via WeChat pay. Step Three: Go into the EMS tracking WeChat mini program (search EMS中国邮政速递物流 EMS zhōngguóyóuzhèng sùdì wùliú) then you can click the search button at the bottom to track the progress of where your package is. Once the tax has been paid it should update within a few hours saying that it's been released from customs and will be out for delivery soon. **My package didn't show up when I input the number in the mini program so I decided to try clicking the "帮他人缴税 " bāng tārén jiǎoshuì (help someone pay tax) option instead. I put in the tracking number and then voila it showed up! If it appears for you here then you can continue to step two above, if it doesn't, I'm afraid you'll need to go through the same process as Jenna outlined in the article. READ: Tips and Products For Preventing Dry Skin Images: courtesy of Jenna Lively, the Beijingers, Canva Provided:Paid:
Hooray! Your parents have just told you they’ve sent you some surprise goodies from alllll the way back home. But wait! There’s just one little problem- It seems the package has got stuck in customs. What do you do now? Oh, boy, are you in for an adventure!
Step One: First, you need to bring your passport to a China Post office that has a customs department and you’ll need the package’s tracking number (邮件号 yóujiàn hào) as well. You will get a letter in the mail telling you to do this, along with the address of the one nearest to you. In my case, it was at 18 Futongdong Dajie (复通东大街18号) in Wangjing.
Inside, you will sign a document and be given a piece of paper with the address of the NEXT post office on it. After one to two business days, you’ll get a text and phone call telling you it’s time for step two.
Step Two: Now it was time to head to Jianguomen* (50 Guanghua Lu 光华路50号), just next door to La Maison Lyonnaise.
Once again, you’ll need your tracking number and your passport. You will be greeted by a friendly officer who will question you about your occupation, your travel history, and whether or not you work for an embassy. Then you’ll be sent to have your passport copied in an adjacent office.
Step Three: Next comes the important part. Even though this was meant to be a gift, you need to know the exact contents of the box, as well as how much each item costs! Kind of ruins the surprise, doesn’t it!? This means you must ask the sender for all of this information before you get to this office so that you can fill out this form accurately.
Step Four: Then, you will be asked to pay the taxes on everything! Hopefully, the stuff you were sent wasn’t too expensive, right?
Once you’re all paid up, you’ll be informed that the package will be delivered to your address in three to five business days. Huzzah!
Congratulations, you finally got your hometown treats! That wasn’t so bad, was it?
* Where you need to go for step two may differ depending on where you live.
Editors note:
An option on the letter is to use the EMS WeChat mini program to pay the tax on the package, it wouldn't work for Jenna but one of our editors did manage to use it for their package and here's their experience:
Step One: Open up the EMS WeChat mini program (search EMS邮件代理报关 EMS yóujiàn dàilǐ bàoguān) and insert your tracking number in the search bar at the top, if it shows up, move onto step two, if it doesn't see the note below step three**.
Step Two: Simply click on the package and pay the required tax via WeChat pay.
Step Three: Go into the EMS tracking WeChat mini program (search EMS中国邮政速递物流 EMS zhōngguóyóuzhèng sùdì wùliú) then you can click the search button at the bottom to track the progress of where your package is. Once the tax has been paid it should update within a few hours saying that it's been released from customs and will be out for delivery soon.
**My package didn't show up when I input the number in the mini program so I decided to try clicking the "帮他人缴税 " bāng tārén jiǎoshuì (help someone pay tax) option instead. I put in the tracking number and then voila it showed up! If it appears for you here then you can continue to step two above, if it doesn't, I'm afraid you'll need to go through the same process as Jenna outlined in the article.
READ: Tips and Products For Preventing Dry Skin
Images: courtesy of Jenna Lively, the Beijingers, Canva
