You have the supplier's price and a freight rate. With those two numbers you still do not know how much it costs to import to Chile, because on the way to your warehouse the shipping line, the container depot, the customs broker, the trucking company and the Treasury (Fisco) also charge you.
In short: the landed cost delivered to your warehouse is the CIF value (goods, freight and insurance), plus the shipping line and port local charges, the fees of the customs broker (agente de aduana), the truck to your warehouse and the tariff, which is 6% of CIF or 0% with a free trade agreement (FTA, tratado de libre comercio) and a certificate of origin. Import VAT (19%) is paid at customs clearance and is recovered as a VAT credit (crédito fiscal) if your company files VAT. In the example below, built with published rates and 2026 assumptions, a 20-foot container with a CIF of US$10,000 ends up costing about US$11,300 with an FTA, and requires about US$13,200 available on the day of clearance.
The six cost blocks, from the factory to your warehouse
| Block | What it includes | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Origin | Inland transport in China, export clearance and loading on board | The supplier. Under FOB it is in their price; under EXW you pay it separately |
| 2. Freight and insurance | Ocean freight, surcharges (fuel, peak season) and cargo insurance | Forwarder or shipping line, and insurer |
| 3. Shipping line and port | Destination THC, BL issuance, container administration, gate in and container guarantee | Shipping line or its agent, and container depot |
| 4. Consolidated cargo only (LCL) | Deconsolidation, documentation service and dispatch at the off-dock warehouse | Consolidator and off-dock warehouse |
| 5. Customs and taxes | Tariff, VAT and customs broker fees | Treasury (at clearance) and customs broker |
| 6. Last leg | Truck from the port to your warehouse and return of the empty container | Trucking company |
In plain terms: THC (terminal handling charge) is the charge for moving the container in the terminal, BL issuance is what the shipping line charges to deliver the bill of lading, and gate in is what the depot charges to receive the container.
Which blocks you pay depends on the Incoterm of the purchase: we compare them in FOB or CIF for importing to Chile.
Example: how much it costs to import a container to Chile with a CIF of US$10,000
The case: a 20-foot container of dry general cargo from China, bought FOB, arriving at San Antonio and delivered in Santiago. The taxes come from the rules of Chilean Customs (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas), and the shipping line charges from rates published by Maersk and MSC. Freight, insurance, handling, the broker's fees and the truck are assumptions: in your operation, those five numbers come from the quote.
| Line | US$ | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Goods (FOB) | 5,150 | Assumption |
| Ocean freight | 4,800 | Assumption. Market reference, August 2026: 4,320 to 5,280 |
| Cargo insurance | 50 | Assumption. Market reference, 2026: 0.4% to 1% of the declared value |
| CIF value | 10,000 | Basis for taxes |
| Destination THC | 175 | Rate published by Maersk, from October 15, 2026 |
| BL issuance | 70 | Rate published by Maersk and MSC |
| Container administration | 75 | Rate published by Maersk and MSC (105 for 40 feet) |
| Gate in | 78 | CLP 76,000 published by Maersk, at October's customs dollar rate |
| Forwarder handling | 100 | Assumption. Market reference, July 2026: 80 to 120 |
| Customs broker fees | 350 | Assumption |
| Truck to Santiago, with return of the empty | 450 | Assumption |
| Subtotal: local charges, broker and transport | 1,298 | Sum of the seven lines above |
| Tariff | 0 with FTA, 600 without FTA | 6% of CIF; 0% with certificate of origin |
| Import VAT | 1,900 with FTA, 2,014 without FTA | 19% on CIF plus tariff |
The math:
- Final cost with FTA: 10,000 + 1,298 = US$11,298. Without FTA, add the tariff: US$11,898.
- Money you need on the day of clearance, including VAT: US$13,198 with FTA and US$13,912 without FTA.
Here, local charges, the broker and the truck amount to 13% of CIF. Since THC, BL, gate in and the truck do not depend on the value of the goods, that percentage falls with more expensive cargo.
Which part is cost and which part is money that comes back?
In the example, import VAT is the third-largest amount in the bill, after the goods and the freight, and for a company that files VAT it is a VAT credit in Form 29 (Formulario 29). It weighs on the month's cash flow, but it does not go into the cost of the product.
Customs charges in pesos at the month's customs dollar rate (dólar aduanero), which is set using the dollar rate published by the Central Bank of Chile on the second-to-last business day of the previous month. In October 2026 it is CLP 969.70, so the US$1,900 of VAT in the example equals CLP 1,842,430.
Several local charges are published net and carry VAT on services: if the seven expense lines in the example were subject to it, they would add up to US$247 more (19% of US$1,298). The container guarantee, when it is required as a refundable deposit, ties up money until you return the unit. There is no general published amount: ask for it in writing.
The tariff, on the other hand, is a final cost. Check before shipment whether your product qualifies for 0% with a certificate of origin (with China, Form F).
What if my cargo is consolidated (LCL)?
With consolidated cargo you pay per cubic meter, but fixed per-BL charges appear that do not depend on volume. In the 2026 public rate sheets of off-dock warehouses (almacenes extraportuarios) in San Antonio, the documentation service runs from US$300 to US$390 per BL, dispatch from US$42 to US$46.40 per tonne or cubic meter, and storage from US$10 to US$12 per tonne or cubic meter per day.
Suppose 2 m³ and freight of US$220 per m³, the market reference for August 2026 (in April, rates of US$80 to US$150 were being published). Freight comes to US$440, close to what the documentation service alone can cost at destination. Since the consolidator passes these charges on in its own way, its per-BL rate has to be in writing. When each mode makes sense is covered in FCL, LCL or consolidated cargo.
Which lines are usually missing from a quote?
The freight rates going around are port to port and usually leave out the following:
- The local charges of the shipping line and the depot: THC, BL issuance, container administration and gate in.
- Freight surcharges, such as fuel or peak season, which have no single published amount.
- Insurance, with its calculation basis and its coverage.
- Free days and what runs after them: shipping lines publish 5 free days and then US$85 to US$110 per day for a 20-foot container; an off-dock warehouse, US$100 per day.
- Physical inspection (aforo), if you are selected: US$290 per container in the 2026 rate sheet of an off-dock warehouse in San Antonio.
To compare two quotes, ask for one line per charge, with billing unit, minimums, VAT, validity and free days. The charges that appear when something is delayed are in hidden costs of importing and in demurrage, free days and storage.
What SICE does in this case and where its responsibility ends
SICE puts together the full bill before you buy: the total landed cost delivered to your warehouse, in writing, with freight, insurance, transport and fees as firm figures, and duties and VAT as estimates. It does this as a coordinator, through its network of forwarders, customs brokers, transport and insurers, with a single partner as your point of contact. Clearance is carried out by a customs broker from that network, THC and demurrage rates are set by the shipping line, and the final amount of taxes is determined by Customs when it processes the declaration.
Frequently asked questions
What exchange rate does Customs charge me at?
At the month's customs dollar rate, which in October 2026 is CLP 969.70. Shipping line charges do not use that rate: MSC, for example, invoices in pesos at the Central Bank exchange rate on the invoice date.
How much do tariff and VAT add up to on the CIF value?
Without an FTA, 26.14% of CIF. With a 0% tariff, only the 19% VAT, which is recoverable.
Why are two freight rates for the same route so different?
Because the market moved a lot in 2026 and because they do not include the same things. Market references for a 20-foot container from China were US$1,500 to 2,800 in April, US$4,320 to 5,280 in August and US$7,700 in September.
Official sources (in Spanish)
- Customs: How much tax is paid when importing? 6% tariff and 19% VAT on the CIF value.
- Customs: Equivalencies October 2026 Customs dollar rate for the month.
- SUBREI: Chile-China Free Trade Agreement Tariff preference for originating products.
- SII: using the VAT credit on imports Period in which the VAT paid on imports is used.
- Maersk: local import information for Chile BL issuance, gate in, container administration and demurrage. Destination THC: notice of September 16, 2026.
- MSC: local information for Chile BL issuance, administration fee and 2026 import demurrage.
If you want this same spreadsheet with the numbers for your cargo, ask for the free complete quote or message us on WhatsApp at +56 9 9872 6863. We reply the same day and quote within 1 business day.
