How to export wine from the UK to China

Register the wine manufacturer before ordinary imports

Wine and sparkling wine take the manufacturer application route under GACC Decree 280: the manufacturer applies itself or through an agent. Confirm the category in GACC’s registration system. The UK food safety MoU took effect on 29 January 2026, creating the cooperation mechanism required for simplified batch registration; confirm with GACC which route your manufacturer can use. Plan for approvals in months, not weeks; GACC decides. The overseas exporter files with GACC, while the importer files with its local customs office.

HMRC recorded £1.7m of UK goods exports to mainland China under HS 220410, 220421, 220429, 220430, 220510, 220590 in 2025 (2024: £2.7m, -35.3%). Exports to Hong Kong under the same codes were £93.6m. January to July 2026: £2.3m against £1.1m in the same months of 2025 (+107.7%).

The largest listed UK export line to China was HS 22042142, wines produced in Bordeaux, in containers holding <= 2 l, at £527k in 2025. These are UK export totals under the stated codes; they include wines produced outside the UK. Use them as market context, and present your wine’s actual origin clearly to prospective buyers.

Price against the exact Chinese tariff line

The listed Chinese tariff lines distinguish sparkling wine, small-pack wine, other-pack wine, grape must and flavoured wine. The table gives the MFN rates; 22051000 also has a provisional 2026 rate of 30%. Have the importer settle the classification before you agree a selling price.

The VAT Law sets a general import VAT rate of 13%, subject to reduced-rate categories and special rules. Its calculation base is customs value plus customs duty plus consumption tax. The importer’s customs broker or adviser confirms whether consumption tax applies to this wine. Border taxes add to landed cost and therefore shape the price the importer can offer.

Prepare the Chinese label and check the wine standard

For ordinary imports, prepackaged wine must have a compliant Chinese label stating origin and the domestic agent’s name, address and contact details. The manufacturer’s China registration number, or the number approved by its home authority, must appear on the packaging. GB 2758-2012 covers fermented alcoholic beverages and their preparations; have the importer check its application to your wine and review the label artwork before production.

Arrange the UK declaration and excise movement

For exports from England, Scotland or Wales, the declarant needs an EORI number, the correct commodity code, value, weight, packaging, destination and transport details, plus invoice and packing list references. Agree who will make the online export declaration and give the carrier the invoice and any required export licences or certificates.

HMRC Excise Notice 196 lists goods for export among goods that will not bear UK excise duty within its duty-suspension framework. Confirm the movement and declaration arrangements for your wine with your excise adviser before dispatch; do not build the quotation around an assumed excise outcome.

Use cross-border retail only for personal-use sales

Chinese lines 22041000, 22042100, 22042900, 22043000, 22051000 and 22059000 appear on the cross-border e-commerce retail import list. Under the retail rules, bonded 1210 and direct 9610 imports are supervised as personal-use articles, with first-import licence, registration and filing requirements disapplied, subject to the stated epidemic-area and emergency-risk exceptions.

The overseas business retains responsibility for quality and safety and must appoint a mainland-registered company for customs registration, truthful declarations and shared civil liability. Consumers must accept the risk notice before ordering: the wine may have no Chinese label, a Chinese electronic label can be viewed online, and the purchase is for personal use and may not be resold. This route therefore cannot supply a distributor’s resale stock.

Find an importer and check the company before committing

Ask a prospective wine importer how it will handle its food-importer filing, tariff classification, label review and customs declaration. Match those arrangements to the actual manufacturer and packaging, and establish whether the proposed purchase is ordinary trade or cross-border personal-use retail before agreeing stock or terms.

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.

We prepare registration and label work with licensed partners in China. Regulated roles stay with licensed partners; your own filings remain yours. We check with licensed partners and give no legal or tax advice. See our export service.