How to export Filtration equipment from the UK to China

Choose the route for your equipment

For filtration and purification equipment, start with the model's function and intended use: the Chinese tariff line determines the duty comparison, while the CCC reference table identifies specific certification matches. Our difficulty judgement is medium. The largest UK export line under HS 842139 was 84213985 at £28.2m in 2025. The codes also cover laboratory equipment and glassware, so these totals are broader than this product alone.

Under HS 8421-8421 (12 subheadings): HMRC recorded £96.8m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 12 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £111.6m, -13.3%).

Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £8.8m. January to July 2026: £49.6m against £51.6m in the same months of 2025 (-3.8%). These are UK exports under HS 8421-8421 (12 subheadings), rather than equipment-only market figures.

Resolve the CCC match before committing stock

The CCC reference table matches household electric washing machines to 8421121000 and 8421191000 and specifies third-party certification. Have the importer establish whether your actual model falls within that product scope before committing stock. Where approval is required, allow months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides. GACC Decree 280 concerns overseas food producers, processors and storage enterprises, so its food-manufacturer registration does not apply to this equipment.

Price against the Chinese tariff line

The 2026 Customs Import and Export Tariff splits these HS6 headings into the Chinese lines below. Keep the MFN and provisional rates distinct: 84211910 has a 6% provisional rate against 10% MFN, while 84212110, 84213910 and 84219910 have 5% provisional rates against 7% MFN. Ask the importer's customs broker to confirm the applicable line and rate for your model.

Import VAT is 13% except where the 9% list or other special rules apply. Its base is customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer's customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to this equipment. Border taxes add to landed cost and shape the price the importer can offer you.

Prepare the UK export declaration

Classify each unit or part using the correct UK commodity code. Exports from England, Scotland and Wales require a GB EORI and an online export declaration. Give the declarant the equipment's value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. The carrier needs the invoice and any export licences or certificates. Agree who prepares these details before the importer books the shipment.

Use retail e-commerce only for listed products

The retail import list covers only part of this range: 84211210 centrifugal clothes-dryers with capacity ≤10kg; 84211990 other centrifuges; 84212110 household water filters; 84212990 other liquid filters; 84213910 household gas filters; and 84213990 other gas filters. The entries for 84211990 and 84212990 exclude goods managed as medical devices. Check the actual product against the entry before choosing this route.

Listed goods imported through bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail channels are supervised as personal-use articles, without first-import licence, registration or filing requirements, subject to epidemic-area suspensions and emergency risk handling. The overseas business retains primary quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability.

The consumer must accept a risk notice before ordering: origin-country standards may differ from Chinese standards, Chinese labelling may be absent with an electronic Chinese label available online, and the goods cannot be resold. The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person. Assess whether your equipment and retail offer fit those conditions.

Find and check the Chinese trading partner

Discuss the model, intended use, tariff line and proposed import route with prospective importers before negotiating stock commitments. 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.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. The importer of record and, where required, the cross-border e-commerce agent remain licensed partners' regulated roles; your own filings remain yours. We check with licensed partners. See our export-to-China service to arrange partner checks and preparation.