How to export lighting fittings from the UK to China
Classify each fitting, confirm its Chinese tariff line and check CCC catalogue coverage before agreeing a shipment. MFN duty ranges from 5% to 10%; import VAT generally uses the 13% rate. Some lines qualify for cross-border retail. Cambridge China Bridge’s own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands.
Choose the route for each fitting
For lighting fittings and lamps, agree the Chinese classification and import route with your buyer before quoting. Cross-border retail covers only selected lines, and CCC catalogue coverage needs a product-level check. Our difficulty judgement is medium because the approval position remains unresolved. The largest UK export line was 94054990, electric luminaires and lighting fittings, not of plastics, n.e.s., at £4.2m; that is the code total.
UK exports under HS 9405-9405 (15 subheadings): HMRC recorded £11.1m of UK goods exports to mainland China under 15 HS6 subheadings in 2025 (2024: £9.3m, +20.1%).
Under HS 9405-9405 (15 subheadings), UK exports continued as follows: Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £3.1m. January to July 2026: £7.4m against £6.2m in the same months of 2025 (+19.5%).
Build the Chinese border taxes into your quotation
The listed Chinese tariff lines have the MFN rates below. Import VAT generally uses the 13% rate and is calculated on customs value plus duty plus any applicable consumption tax. The importer's customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to these fittings. Border taxes add to the importer's landed cost and shape the price they can offer you.
| Chinese tariff line | Rate |
|---|---|
| 94051100 | 5% |
| 94051900 | 5% |
| 94052100 | 10% |
| 94052900 | 10% |
| 94053100 | 8% |
| 94053900 | 8% |
| 94054100 | 8.5% |
| 94054210 | 10% |
| 94054290 | 6% |
| 94054910 | 10% |
| 94054990 | 6% |
| 94055000 | 10% |
| 94056100 | 10% |
| 94056900 | 10% |
| 94059100 | 8% |
| 94059200 | 8% |
| 94059900 | 8% |
Resolve CCC coverage before committing stock
The 2020 SAMR/GACC CCC reference table has no commodity-code row starting with the listed HS6 codes. That does not settle whether a fitting falls within a CCC catalogue description. Give the buyer model specifications and intended use so the applicable approval and standards requirements can be confirmed with the relevant Chinese authority before stock is committed. Do not treat the code result as an exemption.
Prepare the UK export declaration
Classify the fittings using the correct UK commodity code. For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, obtain a GB EORI number and arrange the online export declaration. The declarant needs the code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. Give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates; agree who supplies the shipment details before collection.
Check whether cross-border retail fits your model
The cross-border retail list includes 94051100 and 94051900 chandeliers, 94052100 and 94052900 table, bedside or floor lamps, 94054100 LED photovoltaic lamps, and 94054210 LED searchlights and spotlights. Coverage is partial: do not offer every fitting or component through this route merely because it shares a heading.
For 94052100 and 94052900, the list excludes goods in the wildlife species commodity catalogue that cannot provide the specified non-catalogue species certificate from China's endangered-species import and export management office. Check the materials in decorative lamps against this remark before selecting the retail route.
Listed goods under bonded 1210 or direct 9610 are supervised as personal-use articles, with first-import licence, registration and filing requirements disapplied, subject to epidemic and emergency-risk exceptions. The overseas business retains product quality and safety responsibility and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Transaction limits are RMB 5,000 per purchase and RMB 26,000 annually per person.
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Find and check the Chinese buyer
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. Use our export service to arrange this work around the fittings you intend to sell.
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 in China; your brand's own filings remain yours. We check with licensed partners.
Frequently asked questions
Do my lighting fittings need CCC certification?
The 2020 reference table has no matching code row for these HS6 codes, but catalogue descriptions can still cover a fitting. Confirm coverage for the actual model with the relevant Chinese authority before shipping.
What Chinese duty applies to LED fittings?
The tariff line matters: 94051100 is 5%, 94052100 is 10%, 94054100 is 8.5%, 94054210 is 10% and 94054290 is 6%. Have the importer confirm the line for your model.
Can I sell every lamp through cross-border retail?
Only selected lines are listed. For 94052100 and 94052900, the wildlife catalogue remark also matters. Check the exact Chinese line and materials before choosing this route.
What must I give the UK export declarant for fittings?
Provide the commodity code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. Exports from England, Scotland or Wales require a GB EORI number.