How to export lipstick from the UK to China

Choose the route for your lipstick

Lipstick and lip care can enter China as ordinary cosmetics where their purpose and claims fit that classification. General trade requires filing before import through a mainland responsible person; eligible cross-border retail offers another route. Treat this as a starting category, with filing work still required. HS6 330410 covers lip make-up preparations; confirm that each product belongs under it, particularly where a balm carries sun-protection claims.

HMRC recorded £444k of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 330410 in 2025 (2024: £322k, +37.7%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £925k. January to July 2026: £1.7m against £355k in the same months of 2025 (+364.7%).

File the product and align the labels

Imported ordinary lipstick must be filed with NMPA before import. The overseas filer must designate a mainland legal-person company to handle filing, assist with adverse-reaction monitoring and carry out recalls. Sun-protection or new-efficacy claims can put a lip product into the special-cosmetics category. Allow months, not weeks for the filing or approval process; the Chinese authority decides the outcome.

For general trade, prepare a directly printed Chinese label or a Chinese sticker matching the original label’s content. Your importer must check filing or registration and compliance with mandatory national standards and technical specifications before importing; a failed check prevents import. Give the responsible person and importer the same product claims and label artwork so they can review them together.

Build the border taxes into your price

Chinese tariff line 33041000 has an MFN duty rate of 5%. The standard import VAT rate is 13%, subject to exceptions, with its base comprising customs value, duty and consumption tax. Have the importer’s customs broker or adviser confirm the applicable VAT treatment and whether consumption tax applies to your lipstick. These border taxes add to landed cost and shape the price an importer can offer, so confirm classification and the tax calculation with the broker before agreeing your supply price.

Prepare the UK export shipment

The UK export line for lip make-up preparations is 33041000. Confirm the correct commodity code for your lipstick. Exports from England, Scotland or Wales require a GB EORI and an export declaration. Prepare the value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details and invoice and packing-list references for the declarant. Give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates.

Check cross-border retail eligibility

The cross-border retail import list includes 33041000, lip cosmetics. Its remarks exclude goods in the Prohibited Import Goods Catalogue, seventh batch. They also exclude goods in the Import and Export Catalogue of Wild Fauna and Flora Species where the specified certificate confirming a species is outside that catalogue cannot be supplied. Check these exclusions against your lipstick’s ingredients 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 the stated epidemic-area and emergency-risk exceptions. This route therefore changes the import procedure for eligible lipstick.

The overseas seller retains primary responsibility for quality and safety and appoints a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Consumers must accept a risk notice before ordering: origin-country standards may differ from Chinese standards, Chinese labelling may be electronic, and purchases are for personal use and cannot be resold. This is a consumer retail route, so plan your distribution accordingly.

Find and check your Chinese trading partner

Before supplying lipstick, establish whether the prospective partner will import through general trade or operate cross-border consumer retail. For general trade, check how it reviews filing status, product claims and Chinese labels. For cross-border retail, establish which mainland company handles customs declarations and the required liability. Match the partner’s intended sales channel to the route before agreeing stock commitments.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. Regulated roles remain with licensed partners in China, including the importer of record and the responsible person or cross-border e-commerce agent where required. The brand’s own filings remain the brand’s, and we check the work with licensed partners.

Our own staff in China find and check Chinese importers and distributors for UK brands. If an importer has already approached you, our staff check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed. Use our export-to-China service to arrange this work.