Australian export to Cambodia are principally prams, toys, sporting goods, games, cereal preparations, wheat and paper and paperboard. As part of the process of Cambodia's accession to the WTO, Cambodia and Australia concluded a bilateral agreement on market access.
Australia and Cambodia are parties to the concluded negotiations on the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The Agreement was signed in the beginning of 2009.
Import tariffs
Tariff duties on goods are levied on import articles and consist of only ad valorem duties. Imported goods are assessed at their customs value plus insurance, customs duties, freight and special tax. Imported goods are subject to Cambodia’s VAT of 10 %.
Cambodia follows the harmonised system of tariff, classified into 8 digits. While on paper there are currently 12 import tariff bands, duties have been simplified commonly to a 4 band system, with rates ranging from 0 to 120 %.
Tariff duties are imposed on the following goods: raw materials including cement, iron, tile and brick, and items considered essential to daily life, including meats and fruits - 7 %; equipment and machinery - 15 %; finished products such as television, radios and house furnishings - 35 %; luxury goods, including automobiles, wine, cigarettes and cosmetics - 70 %.
Imports, which are exempt from tariffs include imports: by diplomatic missions; for humanitarian or religious purposes; that provide incentives in accordance with the 1994 Law on Investment; of commercial samples; of various ad hoc exemptions (as decided by the Prime Minister).
All goods, on which the customs duty is more than US $300 must have their customs value approved by the Valuation Office at the Department of Customs and Excise Headquarters in Phnom Penh. 7 major border checkpoints are empowered to approve customs values for goods with a customs duty of US $300 or less. There is a fee of about US $4 for this service.
Cambodia operates a Pre-Shipment Inspection Scheme - PIS, which requires the inspection company, SGS, to determine whether the invoice price corresponds to the open market price of the products. Exemptions for pre-shipment inspection would be shipments with a FOB value of less than US $4000. Under thes scheme, importers will have to pay the intervention fee for the PIS service prior to application for inspection.
Non-tariff import barriers
There are no quantitative restrictions on imported goods into Cambodia. There are import prohibitions on narcotics and poisonous chemicals.
The majority of imported goods may enter Cambodia without an import license. Import licensing requirements cover only a small number of goods, as specified in the Ministry of Commerce Announcement No.2211 and as described below: weapons, explosives and ammunitions (permit required from the Ministry of National Defence); vehicles and machinery for military purposes (permit required from the Ministry of National Defence); gold, silver, precious stones and articles thereof (permit required from the National Bank of Cambodia); pharmaceuticals and medical material (permit required from the Ministry of Health).
Import documentation: packing list. Particulars required in the cargo manifest are as follows: bill of lading number; port of loading and unloading; consignee and consignor; description and gross weight of goods; quantity, marks, numbers and type of packages.
Imported products require an import declaration form. Goods shipped through Vietnam via the Mekong River must also be accompanied by a transit licence.
Very few trade samples can be brought into Cambodia free of tax. A letter to the Director of the Customs Department seeking an import tax exemption and with supporting reasons must be sent before import. Larger quantities of trade samples are subject to payment of import tax.
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