How to export hair dye from the UK to China

Register the dye before commercial import

Hair dye and colour is a special cosmetic requiring NMPA registration before ordinary commercial import, rather than filing. The overseas registrant must designate a mainland legal-person company to handle registration, assist adverse-reaction monitoring and carry out recalls. Plan for months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides the application, and no completion date can be promised.

HMRC recorded £1.9m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 330590 in 2025 (2024: £3.0m, -35.9%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £1.1m. January to July 2026: £562k against £1.5m in the same months of 2025 (-61.5%). This code covers more than hair dye, including other hair preparations, so these are not dye-only exports.

Allow for duty and VAT in the importer’s price

Chinese tariff line 33059000 has an MFN duty rate of 3%. Import VAT has a standard rate of 13%, subject to statutory exceptions. Its base is the customs value plus duty plus consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to the dye. These border taxes add to landed cost and shape the price the importer can offer.

Prepare matching Chinese labels

For the commercial import route, the dye may carry a directly printed Chinese label or an added Chinese sticker; a sticker’s content must match the original label. Give the importer both versions for review. The importer must check registration and compliance with the cosmetics regulation, mandatory national standards and technical specifications, and must not import the dye if that review fails.

Arrange the UK export declaration

Classify the dye before export: HS6 330590 and UK export line 33059000 are the starting points for checking the correct commodity code. Exports from England, Scotland or Wales require a GB EORI and an online export declaration. Prepare the value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing-list references for the declarant. The carrier needs the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates.

Assess the personal-use e-commerce route

Chinese code 33059000, other hair preparations, appears on the cross-border e-commerce retail import list. Listed goods entering through bonded 1210 or direct 9610 channels are supervised as personal-use articles, without first-import licence, registration or filing requirements. Exceptions cover goods from epidemic areas where imports are suspended and goods subject to emergency handling for major quality or safety risks. This route cannot supply stock for resale.

The overseas e-commerce business retains primary product-quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Before ordering the dye, consumers must accept a risk notice explaining origin-country standards, possible differences from Chinese standards, possible absence of a Chinese label, access to an online Chinese label, and the personal-use restriction.

Find and check a Chinese trading partner

Check a prospective importer’s arrangements for reviewing the dye’s registration and labels before agreeing supply. Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached your brand, our staff in China check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed.

For hair dye, our help is limited to preparation, finding and checking a Chinese importer, and coordinating licensed partners in China. We prepare registration and label work with those partners; the manufacturer’s own application stays the manufacturer’s.

The importer of record and, where required, the responsible person or cross-border e-commerce agent remain with licensed partners in China. We check with those partners. Use our export-to-China service for this preparation and partner-checking work.