Colombia has no free trade agreement with China, so Chinese goods pay the general tariff — which is zero for computers. What takes planning is the technical regulation for batteries and inverters, the paperwork on customs value and paying the factory through the exchange market. Here is what a company in Colombia pays and prepares when it buys equipment from a Chinese factory — checked against official Colombian sources in October 2026.
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Duty: 0% for computers, up to 15% for displays
Colombia's Customs Tariff (Decree 1881 of 2021) sets the duty by tariff subheading, as a percentage of the customs value. In the official schedule: computers and their units (subheadings 8471.30, 8471.41, 8471.49 and 8471.50) — 0%; monitors designed for computers (8528.52) — 0%; other monitors and displays (8528.59) — 15%; UPS units and inverters (8504.40) — 0%; other machines with their own function (8479.89) — 5%. Industrial robots (8479.50) and lithium-ion batteries (8507.60) have a base rate of 5%, but Decree 272 of 2018, which cut the duty to 0% for raw materials and capital goods not produced in Colombia, still applies to them (Decree 1881 of 2021, article 2), so they pay 0%. The list is reviewed regularly — ask your customs agency to confirm the rate for your code before each order.
The code decides the rate, and similar products can fall under different codes: an interactive panel with a built-in computer may be classified as a computer or as a display. On request, DIAN issues a binding tariff classification ruling (Decree 1165 of 2019, article 304) — worth having before a large or repeat order. Colombia has no free trade agreement with China, so goods from China pay these general rates.
VAT: 19% on the value plus duty
On top of the duty, Colombia charges 19% VAT (IVA) on the customs value plus the duty (Tax Statute, articles 459 and 468). Duty and VAT are paid before the goods are released. A company that charges VAT on its own sales can normally credit the import VAT on goods it resells or uses as inputs; VAT on fixed assets, as a rule, cannot be credited (article 491), but for productive fixed assets it can be deducted from income tax (article 258-1) — confirm the details with your accountant. Inverters for solar systems with panels (code 8504.40.90.90) are exempt from VAT (article 477); for a hybrid inverter, confirm the code of your model with DIAN. Equipment for renewable-energy projects certified by the mining and energy planning unit UPME can be excluded from VAT and, if it is not produced in Colombia and can only be obtained by import, exempt from duty (Law 1715 of 2014, articles 12 and 13); the duty exemption has to be requested from DIAN at least 15 business days before the import.
Customs agency and the Andean Value Declaration
Since 2019 an importer may deal with DIAN directly for any amount (Decree 1165 of 2019, article 33). Many companies still hire a licensed customs agency (agencia de aduanas) to file the declarations.
Imports of US$5,000 FOB or more need an Andean Value Declaration (DAV) on the customs value; split shipments from the same supplier under one deal are added together. Below the threshold the customs value still has to be declared and justified on request, and the insurance document — or proof of the usual insurance rate — must always accompany the import declaration (article 327).
RETIE: storage batteries, inverters and UPS units
Colombia's technical regulation for electrical installations, RETIE (latest version: Resolution 40284 of 23 June 2026 of the Ministry of Mines and Energy), covers batteries for UPS, solar and energy-storage systems, DC/AC inverters for solar and storage systems, and UPS units. Batteries inside vehicles, machines, equipment or tools — for example in a robot — are outside its scope.
Imported products on the list must have their conformity document before customs release: a product certificate from a certification body accredited by ONAC, or — for products added to RETIE for the first time, such as storage batteries and inverters — a supplier's declaration of conformity signed by the importer and validated by a licensed electrical or electromechanical engineer. UPS units are not new to RETIE, so they need a certificate. The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) checks the documents through an import registration in the VUCE single window before release, and producers and importers must be registered with the SIC.
Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth and 4G devices
Colombia's communications regulator CRC homologates mobile terminal equipment — devices with an IMEI that connect to mobile networks, such as phones, 4G routers or a kiosk or robot with a built-in cellular modem. Under CRC Resolution 5050 of 2016 (article 7.1.1.1) only mobile terminal equipment is homologated, so devices with only Wi‑Fi or Bluetooth do not go through it. If your device has a cellular modem, plan the homologation of that brand and model before shipping.
E-waste: the importer counts as the producer
In Colombia an importer of electrical and electronic equipment counts as its producer. Once yearly volumes exceed the threshold set for the product's subheading, the importer must register in the producers' register RPCAEE of the Ministry of Commerce (Resolution 480 of 2020) and run or join an e-waste collection system (Resolution 851 of 2022, which replaced the earlier separate rules for batteries, computers and lamps). For mass-consumption products the system is approved by the environmental licensing authority ANLA; for professional and industrial equipment it is still required, but ANLA does not approve it. Check the thresholds for your subheadings before you plan volumes.
Paying the factory
Payments for imported goods must go through Colombia's foreign exchange market — an authorized exchange intermediary such as a Colombian bank, or a registered compensation account — and the importer reports the data of each operation (Banco de la República, External Resolution 1 of 2018, articles 41–42 and 88–89). Keep the invoice, the payment and the import declaration consistent: the same supplier, amounts and currency.
Lithium batteries: shipping as dangerous goods
Batteries and devices with batteries travel as dangerous goods. The batteries must have passed the UN 38.3 tests, and the factory must make the test summary available — the carrier or forwarder may ask for it; forwarders usually also ask for a safety data sheet, although IATA rules do not require one. By air, lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own travel on cargo aircraft only, and those shipped on their own or packed with (not inside) equipment must as a rule be at no more than 30% state of charge.
Documents for the shipment
Commercial invoice; packing list; bill of lading or air waybill; insurance policy or proof of the usual insurance rate; Andean Value Declaration from US$5,000 FOB; RETIE certificate (UPS units) or certificate or supplier's declaration (storage batteries and inverters), with the import registration approved in VUCE; CRC homologation for devices with a cellular modem; for batteries — the UN 38.3 test summary and, if the forwarder asks, a safety data sheet.
How we help
We match the model to your task, check the tariff code against the factory's technical data, request before production the test reports a Colombian certification body needs and check that the documents match the goods. Your customs agency in Colombia clears the cargo; we prepare everything it needs.
Rules and rates were checked against official Colombian sources — DIAN, the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the CRC, Banco de la República and the published texts of the decrees and resolutions — in October 2026 and can change. Confirm them with your customs agency before shipping.