How to export make-up brushes from the UK to China

Choose the route for your brushes

Make-up brushes and grooming tools fall within the broad HS6 heading 960329; the Chinese tariff line is 96032900. Have the importer confirm the requirements for your exact brushes and intended sales route before agreeing shipment terms. GACC Decree 280 concerns overseas food manufacturers, so its food-manufacturer registration does not apply to these brushes.

HMRC recorded £883k of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 960329 in 2025 (2024: £1.5m, -40.8%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £93k. January to July 2026: £404k against £547k in the same months of 2025 (-26.1%). The largest UK export line was 96032930 Hair brushes £879k, so these totals should not be treated as make-up brush sales alone.

Build border taxes into your export price

Chinese tariff line 96032900 has an MFN duty rate of 6%. The VAT Law’s standard import rate is 13%; import VAT is calculated on customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to these brushes. Duty and import VAT add to landed cost and affect the price your importer can offer.

Prepare the UK export declaration

Find the correct UK commodity code for your brushes rather than using HS6 960329 as the complete declaration code. Exporting from England, Scotland or Wales requires a GB-prefixed EORI and an online export declaration. Give the declarant the code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. The carrier needs the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates.

Use cross-border retail only within its conditions

Chinese line 96032900 is on the cross-border e-commerce retail import list for shaving, hair, eyelash and other brushes for use on the body. Its remark excludes goods in the wildlife species commodity catalogue that cannot provide the certificate from China’s endangered-species office confirming they are outside that catalogue. Check the bristle material against this condition before choosing the route.

Under bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail imports, listed brushes are supervised as personal-use articles without first-import licence, registration or filing requirements, subject to suspended epidemic-area goods and emergency risk handling exceptions. The overseas business carries the main product quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company to register with customs, declare truthfully and share civil liability.

The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person. Before ordering, consumers must accept a notice covering origin-country standards, possible differences from Chinese standards, possible absence of a Chinese label and access to a Chinese electronic label. The brushes are for personal use and may not be resold; this route therefore cannot supply a distributor’s resale stock.

Find and check a Chinese trading partner

Check whether a prospective partner plans to distribute the brushes or operate cross-border retail, and who will handle the Chinese requirements for that route. Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached you, our staff in China check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed.

Through our export-to-China service, we prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. The importer of record and any required cross-border e-commerce agent remain with licensed partners in China; the brand’s own filings remain the brand’s. For these brushes, confirm the work required for the chosen route before commissioning it.