How to export perfume from the UK to China

Choose the route before agreeing a perfume order

Perfume and eau de toilette fall under HS 330300, with Chinese tariff line 33030000. Conventional imports of ordinary cosmetics need filing before import through a mainland responsible person; cross-border retail offers a separate personal-use route. The largest UK export line to China was 33030010, perfumes, at £830k in 2025. Establish which route the prospective buyer intends to use before agreeing packaging and supply terms.

HMRC recorded £1.3m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 330300 in 2025 (2024: £3.7m, -64.2%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £7.3m. January to July 2026: £325k against £578k in the same months of 2025 (-43.7%).

Prepare the filing and Chinese label together

Imported ordinary cosmetics must be filed with NMPA before import. Your overseas filing entity must designate a mainland legal-person company to handle filing, help monitor adverse reactions and carry out recalls. Plan in months, not weeks; the Chinese authority decides the outcome. The importer must check the filing and compliance with the cosmetics regulation and mandatory national standards and technical specifications before importing.

Imported perfume may use a directly printed Chinese label or an added Chinese sticker. The sticker's content must match the original label. Prepare the original pack text and Chinese artwork together so the responsible person and importer can review them before stock is committed.

Leave room for Chinese border taxes

Chinese tariff line 33030000 carries an MFN duty rate of 3%. Standard import VAT is 13%, calculated on customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer's customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to this perfume. Duty and VAT add to landed cost and shape the price the importer can offer; agree your export price with that calculation in view.

Get the UK shipment ready for declaration

Classify the perfume using the correct UK commodity code. For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, arrange a GB EORI and the online export declaration. Give the declarant the code, value, weight, packaging, destination, transport details, and invoice and packing list references. The carrier needs the invoice and any applicable export licences or certificates. Agree who will make the declaration before releasing the shipment.

Use cross-border retail for personal-use sales

Chinese code 33030000 is on the cross-border e-commerce retail import list. Through bonded 1210 or direct 9610 retail channels, listed perfume is supervised as personal-use goods without first-import licensing, registration or filing requirements, subject to suspended epidemic-area goods and emergency risk exceptions. The limits are RMB 5,000 per transaction and RMB 26,000 annually per person.

Your overseas cross-border business retains primary responsibility for quality and safety and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declaration and shared civil liability. Before ordering, consumers must accept a risk notice covering origin-country standards, possible differences from Chinese standards, Chinese electronic labels where packs lack Chinese labels, and the personal-use restriction. These purchases may not be resold.

Find an importer and check its intended route

Ask a prospective Chinese importer how it will handle perfume filing, the responsible person and label review, or how its cross-border retail operation meets the 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 check that company before stock is sent or anything is signed.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. Regulated roles, including the importer of record and the required responsible person or cross-border e-commerce agent, stay with licensed partners in China; the brand's own filings stay the brand's. Use our export-to-China service to arrange the company checks and preparation around your chosen perfume route.