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

Choose the route before offering stock

Face make-up and powders can take the ordinary cosmetics filing route unless their claims put them into the special cosmetics class. Start with the formula and claims, then agree the import route with your buyer. HS6 330491 covers make-up or skin care powders; HS6 330499 covers other beauty, make-up and skin care preparations. Their Chinese tariff lines are 33049100 and 33049900. For accompanying tools, see our guide to exporting make-up brushes to China.

HMRC recorded £56.4m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 330491, 330499 in 2025 (2024: £53.1m, +6.4%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £20.4m. January to July 2026: £36.6m against £31.9m in the same months of 2025 (+14.9%).

These codes cover more than face make-up, including skincare, sun protection, whitening and hair-loss products. The largest UK export line was 33049900, beauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin, at £56.3m in 2025. Treat these totals as context for the shared codes, rather than sales of face make-up alone.

Prepare the filing and Chinese label

Imported ordinary cosmetics must be filed with NMPA before import. As the overseas filer, you must designate a mainland legal-person company to handle filing, help monitor adverse reactions and carry out recalls. Sun protection, spot removal and whitening, or new efficacy claims can put make-up into the special cosmetics class. Plan filing and approval work in months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides the outcome.

Imported make-up may use a directly printed Chinese label or an added Chinese sticker matching the original label's content. Your importer must check the registration or filing and compliance with mandatory national standards and technical specifications, and must not import if the check fails. Agree the Chinese artwork and the applicable requirements with the responsible person before preparing stock.

Price the correct tariff line

Chinese tariff line 33049100 has an MFN rate of 5%, while 33049900 has an MFN rate of 1%. Classification therefore affects the landed cost and the price your importer can offer. Have the importer's customs broker confirm which line fits the actual make-up or powder.

The standard import VAT rate is 13%. Its base is the customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer's customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to this product. Build the confirmed border charges into the price discussion before accepting the buyer's offer.

Arrange the UK export declaration

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, obtain a GB EORI and classify the goods under the correct UK commodity code. Agree who will submit the online export declaration. The declarant needs the value, weight, packaging, destination, transport and invoice and packing list references; the carrier needs the invoice and any required export licences or certificates. Keep the declaration details consistent with the make-up being shipped.

Use cross-border retail within its conditions

The cross-border retail import list includes 33049100 and 33049900. Both exclude goods in the seventh prohibited-import catalogue. For 33049900, goods listed in the wildlife import and export species catalogue are also excluded if the required certificate confirming non-listed species status cannot be provided. Check the ingredients against these remarks before choosing this route.

Listed goods entering through bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail channels are treated as personal-use articles, without first-import licensing, registration or filing requirements, subject to epidemic-area suspensions and emergency risk handling. The overseas business retains primary responsibility for quality and safety and must appoint a mainland-registered company to register with customs, declare truthfully and share civil liability.

Consumers must accept a risk notice before ordering: origin-country standards may differ from Chinese standards, goods may lack Chinese labels, and a Chinese electronic label can be viewed online. Purchases are for personal use and cannot be resold. The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 per person annually, so this route cannot supply a distributor's resale stock.

Check the importer before committing

Ask a prospective make-up importer how it will check your filing and labels, which company will act as the mainland responsible person, and how it has priced the two possible tariff lines. If it proposes cross-border retail, establish the mainland company's responsibilities and how it will keep sales within personal-use conditions.

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 and check requirements with those partners. The importer of record, responsible person and cross-border e-commerce agent remain licensed partners' regulated roles in China; your own filings remain yours.