Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Seychelles is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
What to expect on the China–Seychelles Air Freight lane
Air Freight into Seychelles runs through SEZ (Mahé Seychelles International). Clearance is by Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division and typical dwell before release is 3–8 days.
Port Victoria is small and served by feeder from Colombo, Salalah or Port Louis rather than by direct Asian calls. Tourism and construction drive almost all import demand, and the market is small enough that LCL consolidation timing usually matters more than freight rate.
Route facts
| Destination country | Seychelles |
|---|---|
| Region | Africa |
| Mode | Air Freight |
| Gateways used | SEZ (Mahé Seychelles International) |
| Transit, China to gateway | 5–8 business days |
| Clearance / dwell | 3–8 days |
| Peak season | Sep–Nov |
Delivery cities on this lane
Each city below has its own guide covering the gateway that serves it, the inland leg after clearance and the local delivery requirements.
- China to Victoria — capital and the single clearance point. Via SEZ air / Port Victoria sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Beau Vallon — northern tourism district on Mahe. Via SEZ air / Port Victoria sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Anse Royale — southern Mahe residential area. Via SEZ air / Port Victoria sea; inland leg same day. Air Freight guide →
- China to Praslin — second island requiring inter-island transfer. Via SEZ air / Port Victoria sea; inland leg +2 days. Air Freight guide →
The per-kilogram rate above applies to chargeable weight, not to what the scale says. At 166.7 kg per cubic metre, a carton of light goods can be billed at several times its actual weight, so send dimensions with the weight when you ask for a quote into Seychelles — a rate quoted without them is only ever provisional.
In practice the cargo we move on this lane clusters into a few recognisable shapes — semiconductor equipment (HS 84), where clearance turns on cE machinery file, plus food-contact or GMP evidence where the line touches product, hospital equipment (HS 90) and e-commerce fulfilment (HS mixed). Each behaves differently against the rate: one fills the payload before it fills the space, the next does the reverse, and the packing brief we send back with the quote is written to the one you are actually shipping.
Air consignments for Seychelles arrive through SEZ (Mahé Seychelles International). The airport of arrival is the one the allocation is booked against and it decides where clearance happens, which matters more than it sounds: cargo landing at one gateway is not simply trucked to another without a fresh customs movement, so confirm the arrival point before you commit.
If your delivery address is inland rather than at the port, the destination guides are the useful read: Beau Vallon, Praslin, Anse Royale and Victoria each document their clearing gateway, typical inland transit and local customs behavior, none of which is visible in a rate table. See all Seychelles destinations we cover.
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Additional Information
Clearance requirements into Seychelles
VAT 15%; duty 0–25%, with excise on selected goods. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo.
Conformity: Import permits for controlled goods; health clearance for food products.
Known friction points: Feeder frequency from the Indian Ocean hubs is the main schedule driver. Import permits apply to a range of controlled goods. Inter-island delivery beyond Mahé is a separate arrangement.
Documents we file under DDP
- Commercial invoice showing HS codes and the true transaction value
- Packing list with carton count, gross and net weight, and dimensions
- Air waybill
- Certificate of origin where it reduces the duty rate
- Product certification or conformity documents where the commodity requires them
Packing notes
- Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000)
- Use ISPM-15 treated wood for any pallet or crate — untreated timber is a common hold
- Mark every carton with the consignee name, city and carton number of total
- Declare lithium batteries, magnets, liquids and powders before booking, not after
Other modes into Seychelles
Duty rates, thresholds and conformity rules change by ministerial decision. The figures here are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your HS code with Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division or your broker before shipping.
Where these numbers come from
Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.
Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.
On the air side, anything with a cell or a battery in it, plus liquids, powders, magnets and aerosols, is governed by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Those articles are not refused outright, but they need to be declared at booking so the shipment is built correctly — declaring them late is the single most common cause of an air consignment being offloaded.
China to Seychelles — Shipping Reference Data
| Main air gateways | SEZ (Mahé Seychelles International) |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo |
| Import tax & duty regime | VAT 15%; duty 0–25%, with excise on selected goods |
| Local currency | SCR |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 3–8 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | Import permits for controlled goods; health clearance for food products |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Air Route
This page covers a Air freight service from China to Seychelles. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Carton Packing Calculator
Air freight to Seychelles is billed on chargeable weight, so tight carton packing directly lowers your cost per shipment. Enter your product size and see the optimal carton layout in 3D before you book.
Open Packing Tool →Seychelles Air Freight Checklist
- Confirm whether the Seychelles rate includes fuel and security surcharges or lists them separately.
- Lithium batteries and liquids need pre-approval on most air routes — declare them upfront.
- Label every carton with destination, carton number, and total count (e.g. 3/12).
- Compare volumetric weight (L×W×H÷6000) with actual weight — the higher one is billed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Air DDP Door-to-Door from China to Seychelles take?
Air freight on this route runs about 5–10 business days door-to-door, plus roughly 3–8 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Seychelles?
Clearance is handled by Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division. The regime is: VAT 15%; duty 0–25%, with excise on selected goods, with a de-minimis position of No practical de-minimis for commercial cargo. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
Can you ship special cargo (batteries, branded goods) to Seychelles?
Yes — battery cargo by air follows IATA PI966/PI967; we run certified battery channels via SEZ (Mahé Seychelles International). Brand-goods and DG paperwork are handled within the DDP service. Surcharges apply.
In what currency is this route priced and paid?
Freight is quoted and invoiced in USD; the destination-side currency is SCR. Payment is typically due before departure, and DDP means you settle the full landed cost once.
What certification is needed to import into Seychelles?
For regulated goods, plan for: Import permits for controlled goods; health clearance for food products. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Seychelles Revenue Commission — Customs Division, so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.
How is the shipping cost on this route calculated?
We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight (L×W×H ÷ 6000, so one cubic metre counts as about 166.7 kg) and charge whichever is greater, rounded up to the next kilogram, then apply the per-KG rate shown in the table above. A 300 kg consignment measuring out to only 200 kg volumetric is still charged on the 300 kg.
Inland Delivery Coverage — Seychelles
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- Victoria SEZ air / Port Victoria sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Beau Vallon SEZ air / Port Victoria sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Anse Royale SEZ air / Port Victoria sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Praslin SEZ air / Port Victoria sea inland +2 days Guide only — no rates
Shipping Seychelles cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Outdoor Products Toys, Sports, Outdoor & Leisure
- Office Supplies Consumer Goods & Gifts
- Cross-border E-commerce E-commerce & Retail Channels
- Metal Products Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Architectural Hardware Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Production Line Equipment General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Aerial Work Platform Construction, Mining & Material Handling
- Switchgear New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Automotive Electronics Automotive & Vehicles
- Sanitary Ware Building Materials & Construction Products
- Pallet Wood, Bamboo & Paper Products
- Conveyor Belts Plastics, Rubber & Packaging