Importing air conditioners from China to Germany

Short answer: how do you import air conditioners from China to Germany?

Before paying a deposit or booking freight, build one model-level import file that joins the exact indoor and outdoor units, refrigerant and charge, German importer and EORI, correct F-gas Portal registration and business specification, import licence, quota or authorisation where applicable, declaration and customs data, prohibition and label review, product and energy file, carrier acceptance, and final German delivery. A China invoice, CE mark, or DDP quote does not resolve these gates.

Download the editable 42-field Germany air-conditioner F-gas and customs register

The starting file contains six unresolved example product families and one working row so a buyer can keep exact model combinations, gas and CO₂e, importer and Portal identity, quota or authorisation, declaration, customs, product file, carrier, packing, delivery, owner, and next action on the same line. It is a decision worksheet, not an import licence, quota allocation, authorisation, classification, product approval, customs outcome, or substitute for responsible-party confirmation.

Identify the exact equipment configuration

Separate portable units, single-split systems, multi-split combinations, heat pumps, larger commercial equipment, uncharged components, and spare parts. Record indoor and outdoor model combinations, rated cooling/heating capacity, voltage/frequency, refrigerant type and charge, package count, dimensions, weights, accessories, and intended German sales channel.

Different configurations can change the applicable product requirements, F-gas workflow, energy information, dangerous-goods review, freight allocation, and installation responsibility. A generic “air conditioner” description is not enough for the purchase order or customs file.

Resolve the F-gas decision before the order

The European Commission states that importers of relevant pre-charged refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment need the appropriate F-gas Portal registration/import licence before import, and that HFC-containing equipment within the quota framework needs sufficient authorisations before release for free circulation. Required customs-declaration information, labelling, prohibitions, and reporting questions depend on the refrigerant and equipment.

Use the Commission source below and obtain product-specific professional confirmation. Do not treat a supplier statement, a refrigerant label, or a freight booking as proof that the importer, authorisation, quota, and customs requirements are resolved.

Why the German importer file must be executable

In April 2024, Hamburg customs reported stopping 170 heat pumps from China after deficient markings created product-conformity concerns. The responsible market-surveillance authority confirmed the concerns, so the importer had to remedy the equipment or could not place it on the German market.

That heat-pump event does not prove that every air-conditioner shipment will be stopped, and it is not evidence about a particular supplier. It does show why a freight booking and supplier assurance are not release gates: the exact product, marking, importer, and supporting file must survive customs and market-surveillance review.

Separate licence, quota, declaration, and customs gates

A valid registration/import licence is not the same gate as HFC quota coverage. Germany's Umweltbundesamt says F-gas Portal registration and the resulting import licence are required for imports of F-gases listed in Annexes I, II, and III regardless of their global-warming potential or amount. The European Commission separately states that the minimum HFC quantity in imported products or equipment that must be covered under the quota system is 10 t CO₂e. Do not use that quota threshold as an import-licence exemption.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2155 makes the model list operational: for imported pre-charged equipment it specifies model information, units per model, HFC type, charge per unit rounded to the nearest gram, and totals in kilograms and tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. These are evidence fields, not permission for LandedSpec to select a gas value, scope outcome, authorisation, or customs treatment.

Energy and product-information file

For air conditioners within the relevant scope, EU ecodesign and energy-labelling requirements cover minimum energy performance, sound and product information. Build a model-level file covering the applicable declaration and technical documentation, model combination, energy label and product information, instructions, German-language requirements, markings, traceability, and EPREL responsibilities where applicable.

China-to-Germany logistics and cost stack

Model the cash requirement and economic cost separately in the landed-cost calculator. Import VAT may be recoverable while remaining a working-capital requirement.

Pre-booking evidence checklist

• Line-level model and configuration dictionary
• Refrigerant type, charge, labels, and F-gas workflow confirmation
• Importer registration/licence and authorisation questions resolved where applicable
• Applicable declarations, technical documentation, energy label/information, instructions, and traceability
• Final commercial invoice and packing-list drafts aligned
• Carrier/forwarder acceptance of the exact equipment and refrigerant profile
• German broker and destination-delivery instructions

Build the customs-ready F-gas model list

Download the Germany air-conditioner F-gas and customs register. It keeps the importer, Portal, EORI, procedure, model, unit count, refrigerant, per-unit charge, total kilograms, CO₂e, quota/authorisation, declaration, commodity-code, label, prohibition, reporting, verification, energy-file, carrier, packing, and German-delivery fields in one reviewable row.

The six example product families deliberately leave gas quantities, GWP values, CO₂e, scope, authorisations, and customs outcomes unresolved. Replace them with transaction evidence and responsible-party confirmation. Use the separate mixed-HVAC line-item register for accessories, uncharged components, freight drivers, and shared-cost allocation. Keep pre-charged equipment on distinct rows from uncharged parts and spares.