China Import Licence Catalogue API

Enter an HS code or product name to check whether a product needs an import licence, which type, the regulatory document code and the declaration unit.

We continuously compile the Import Licence Goods Catalogue and Automatic Import Licence Goods Catalogue issued by MoC and GAC, cleaning, standardising and relationship-modelling HS codes, licence types and regulatory document codes, delivered uniformly through a REST API.

No need to check catalogues and notices line by line yourself.

View API Docs

Enterprise solution enquiryJSON APIAnnual catalogue sync

OverviewLicence typeRegulatory codeUnitSource

Goods search key 3

1 2903771000 Exact HS code matching

Data sources: Import licence catalogue
Code: 10 digits valid

2 Trichlorofluoromethane Product name

Data sources: Catalogue entries
Resolve: Normalised

3 Ozone-depleting substances Goods category

Data sources: Catalogue category
Classification: Classified

Master goods entity parsed

Trichlorofluoromethane
HS 2903771000

Goods category: Ozone-depleting substances
Goods name: Trichlorofluoromethane
Licence type: Import licence
Regulatory document code: 1
Declaration unit: kg
Effective date: 2026-01-01
Source notice: No. 88 of 2025

14Import licence goods categories (2026)

46Automatic import licence goods (2026)

10 digitsHS codes listed item by item

Annual updateContinuous catalogue notice sync

The catalogues are free to look up, but they are far from being "ready for a customs system".

The real problem isn't whether the catalogue exists, but how to turn public data scattered across catalogues, notices and HS code tables into licence results your business systems can fetch in one call and track over time.

Raw data scattered across multiple sources MoC / GAC public catalogues

001Import licence catalogueNotice No. 88 of 2025

002Automatic import licence catalogueNotice No. 90 of 2025

003Customs HS code tableProduct code

004Regulatory document code tableCodes 1 / 7 / O / v

Licence record aggregation One call · four data categories Aggregated, normalised and delivered

01
Data is scattered
The import licence catalogue, automatic import licence catalogue, HS code table and regulatory document codes live in different files with different naming and definitions, so your systems have to stitch them together.
02
Annual catalogue updates
The catalogue is issued and superseded by notice each year; product codes and regulatory codes change with tariff revisions, so companies must keep tracking whether their import/export goods are affected.
03
Hard to query programmatically
The official catalogues are published as notice PDFs and tables; judging licence requirements in bulk by HS code means doing your own parsing and modelling, with no direct system integration.
04
Maintenance costs keep piling up
Tariff revisions, notice supersessions and code changes all require long-term engineering effort, and missed updates easily cause declaration errors.

From scattered public catalogues to a directly callable licence record

An HS code passes through six auditable stages to become stable, structured, linkable JSON.

Collect

Continuous sync with MoC and GAC public catalogues

source.capture()

Clean

Normalises product codes, units and note formats

parse · dedupe

Normalize

Unifies licence type and regulatory document code naming

schema.map()

Relate

Links HS codes to licence types and source notices

graph.link()

Aggregate

One call returns licence type, code, unit and source

aggregate.v1

Deliver

Delivered to your business systems via a stable REST API

json_api.v1

You don't have to maintain catalogue parsing, notice tracking or HS code mapping.Call the API and use the results directly.

One API covering the core import licence lookup scenarios

Unified REST API · JSON responses · Bearer token authentication. HS code licence lookup is the core of the product, with the other capabilities built on the same data model.

HS code licence lookup API

Import/export compliance and pre-declaration screening

Enter a 10-digit HS code to check whether the product needs an import licence, the licence type, regulatory document code, declaration unit, notes, effective date and source notice. One call aggregates four data types.

Licence type
Regulatory document code
Goods category
Declaration unit
Source notice and effective date

Pre-declaration screening · compliance review · goods classification support · trade SaaS embedding

GET /v1/import-license/lookup?hsCode=2903771000

Static demo · Sample response200 OK

{
  "query": "2903771000",
  "goods": {
    "hs_code": "2903771000",
    "goods_name": "Trichlorofluoromethane",
    "category": "ozone-depleting substances",
    "unit": "kg"
  },
  "license": {
    "required": true,
    "license_type": "Import licence",
    "supervision_code": "1",
    "effective_from": "2026-01-01",
    "source": "Ministry of Commerce、GAC Notice No. 88 of 2025"
  },
  "source": "MOFCOM"
}

API 02

Query by goods category API

Returns all HS codes under a goods category with their licence requirements, for batch verification of a whole product category.

GET /v1/import-license/by-category?category=ozone-depleting-substances JSON

Whole-category verificationReturns all HS codes under a category in one call

Licence type flaggingImport licence / automatic import licence

Catalogue change trackingContinuous tracking of annual notice changes

API 03

Search by product name API

Search catalogue entries by product name keyword and get the HS code and licence requirements.

GET /v1/import-license/by-name?keyword=trichlorofluoromethane Product name · HS code · licence type

API 04

Licence catalogue list API

Returns the currently effective licence catalogue list with notice numbers and effective dates, for system-side caching and comparison.

GET /v1/import-license/catalogs Catalogue name · notice number · effective date · supersession

API 05

Batch HS code check API

Submit a list of HS codes at once and receive each code’s licence requirements asynchronously — ideal for bulk pre-checking declarations.

POST /v1/import-license/batch Async jobs · Batch results · CSV export

This data can flow into your real business processes

Not another back office to open, but licence results where customs declaration, compliance review and product management actually happen.

Customs brokers / freight forwarders

Bulk-check whether HS codes require a licence during declaration entry, flagging the licence type and regulatory code up front to reduce rejections.

Customs HS listLicence lookup APILicence requirement notice

Importer/exporter compliance

Confirm whether goods need an import licence during procurement and contracting, and build licence requirements into your compliance review flow.

Product HSHS lookup APICompliance conclusion

Cross-border e-commerce / trade SaaS

Embed licence requirements into product management and ordering so operations are warned about restricted goods and required documents.

Product dimensionCatalogue list APIRestricted flag

ERP / customs system vendors

Integrate licence type and regulatory code as standard fields in your customs module, updated automatically with the annual catalogue.

HS fieldsBatch check APIStructured data

Data and research firms

Use structured catalogue data to research the distribution of trade-controlled goods and annual adjustment trends.

Category dimensionQuery by category APIStructured datasets

Data comes from the official 2026 published catalogue, organised item by item

Based on MoC and GAC 2026 Compiled from the Import Licence Goods Catalogue (Notice No. 88 of 2025) and the Automatic Import Licence Goods Catalogue (Notice No. 90 of 2025). It is not a live feed; the field structure matches real catalogue entries.

HS codeGoods nameLicence type / regulatory code

2903771000TrichlorofluoromethaneImport licence · code 1

2903772020Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) and othersImport licence · code 1

0201200010Fresh or chilled bone-in beef of endangered wild bovine speciesAutomatic import licence · code 7

0201300090Other fresh or chilled boneless beefAutomatic import licence · code 7

8901101000Motor vessels (passenger ships / ferries / cruise ships)Import licence · code 1

The entries above are real catalogue samples (effective in 2026). Full coverage spans the 14 goods categories in the Import Licence Goods Catalogue and the 46 goods types in the Automatic Import Licence Goods Catalogue, with HS codes listed item by item; the item-level detail is archived in import_license_sample.json.

The licence lookup API supports further analysis

Annual catalogue change comparison
HS code classification
Regulatory document code distribution
Goods category coverage statistics
Notice supersession tracking
Restricted goods list export

The value of an API is more than "returning the catalogue to you"

GooFuture's core value lies before the data reaches the API: turning public data scattered across catalogues, notices and HS code tables into a licence data model that is program-friendly, linkable and maintainable.

Aggregate

Both catalogue types in one response

Aggregates the import licence and automatic import licence catalogues into a single licence record, cutting repeated queries.

Two catalogues → one record

Resolve

HS code normalisation

Normalises differing product codes and names across catalogues so systems can match them.

Multiple naming schemes → unified entity

Structure

Licence type standardisation

Unifies import licences / automatic import licences with regulatory document codes (1 / 7 / O / v).

Catalogue text → standard fields

Flag

Source and effective date flags

Records source notice numbers, effective dates and supersession links to provide a compliance basis.

Notice text → traceable fields

Update

Annual sync

Continuous sync after each annual catalogue release, cutting your maintenance costs.

Source → sync

From enquiry to your first API call in just three steps

Code and responses are static samples. Your consultant will propose an integration plan based on data scope, call volume and delivery method.

01
Contact a consultant
Scan the QR code to add us on WeCom and tell us your business scenario, the data you need and your expected call volume.
02
Confirm the plan
Confirm endpoint scope, monitoring conditions, delivery method and enterprise support needs.
03
Start integration
Get your API key and integration materials, then wire the JSON results into your customs, compliance or SaaS product.

cURLResponse

curl "https://api.goofuture.com/v1/import-license/lookup?hsCode=2903771000" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Static demo · JSON response200 OK

{
  "data": {
    "hs_code": "2903771000",
    "goods_name": "Trichlorofluoromethane",
    "license_type": "Import licence",
    "supervision_code": "1",
    "unit": "kg",
    "effective_from": "2026-01-01"
  }
}

From testing to production

Choose a plan by call volume, batch capability, notification method and enterprise support. Your consultant will quote based on your business needs.

Basic

For API testing and product validation

Contact a consultant

Monthly requests: 100
Core endpoints: HS lookup / lookup by category
Rate limits: Basic rate limiting
Monitoring conditions: —

Standard

For customs brokers and small teams

Contact a consultant

Monthly requests: 5,000
Core endpoints: All core queries
Monitoring conditions: 10 conditions
Notification method: Email

Recommended plan

Professional

For importers, exporters and SaaS

Contact a consultant

Monthly requests: 50,000
Concurrency: Higher concurrency
Monitoring conditions: 50 conditions
Data delivery: Webhook / CSV

Enterprise

For platforms, data companies and large enterprises

Contact a consultant

Monthly requests: High-volume usage
Data delivery: Incremental data push
Customisation: Field / dataset
Technical support: Enterprise technical support

The questions worth confirming before integrating an import licence data API

Straight answers on public catalogues, HS code matching, update frequency and commercial integration.

The catalogue data is public — why do I still need this API?

If you only need to look up a product occasionally, the official MoC and GAC channels are enough. GooFuture is built for teams that need bulk lookups, system integration, unified fields and continuous updates — aggregating public data scattered across the import licence catalogue, the automatic import licence catalogue, the HS code table and the regulatory code table into a licence record you can get in one call.

Where does the data come from?

Data comes from the Import Licence Goods Catalogue and the Automatic Import Licence Goods Catalogue publicly issued by China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, plus the corresponding notices (No. 88 and No. 90 of 2025). GooFuture collects, cleans, standardises, links and aggregates the raw catalogues and delivers them via API.

How often is the data updated?

The catalogue is published annually, usually updated by public notice early each year and replacing the previous year's version. We keep syncing after each new notice; see the API documentation for specifics.

Which fields are returned for an HS code?

The HS code licence lookup API returns product name, goods category, licence type (import licence / automatic import licence), regulatory document code (1 / 7 / O / v), declaration unit, notes, effective date and source notice number.

What is the difference between an import licence and an automatic import licence?

An import licence (regulatory code 1) applies to quantity-restricted or otherwise restricted imports and must be applied for; an automatic import licence (codes 7 / O / v, subdivided for machinery and processing trade) must also be arranged before declaration but is different in nature. The API returns the exact type and code per the catalogue.

How are you different from the official catalogue publishers?

The official catalogues are published as notices and tables, one product at a time, with no direct system integration. GooFuture parses the catalogues, normalises HS codes and standardises licence types into a single call, with batch checks and continuous sync. All raw data comes from public catalogues.

Can I integrate the data into my own customs / ERP product?

Yes. The API can be used in internal systems and integrated into customs declaration, compliance review, cross-border e-commerce and trade SaaS products; commercial usage is governed by the applicable plan and service agreement.

How do I tell whether a product needs an import licence?

Pass a product HS code to the licence lookup API to get whether a licence is required, the licence type and the regulatory code; if the catalogue does not list it, the API returns a no-licence conclusion so your system can decide automatically.

No more checking catalogues and notices line by line yourself.

From collecting the public catalogues to HS code normalisation, licence type standardisation and source notice linking — we handle it all. Your systems just call the API.

Enterprise consultant onboarding · REST API · JSON responses

China Import Licence Catalogue API

Goods search key 3

Master goods entity parsed

Data is scattered

Annual catalogue updates

Hard to query programmatically

Maintenance costs keep piling up

Collect

Clean

Normalize

Relate

Aggregate

Deliver

HS code licence lookup API

Query by goods category API

Search by product name API

Licence catalogue list API

Batch HS code check API

Customs brokers / freight forwarders

Importer/exporter compliance

Cross-border e-commerce / trade SaaS

ERP / customs system vendors

Data and research firms

The licence lookup API supports further analysis

Both catalogue types in one response

HS code normalisation

Licence type standardisation

Source and effective date flags

Annual sync

Contact a consultant

Confirm the plan

Start integration

No more checking catalogues and notices line by line yourself.