Sourcing acid textile dyes from China

Acid dye duty and suspension conditions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 24 October 2026, heading 3204 covers synthetic organic colouring matter and related preparations. Its acid dye branch includes premetallised acid dyes and also mordant dyes. This guide focuses on acid dyes for textiles; see the wider dyes and colourants guide for other dye families.

The listed acid dye lines have a standard Chinese-origin duty of 6% and autonomous suspensions to 0%. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty is recorded for these lines. Match the named substance and minimum content, and check the suspension footnote excluding mixtures, preparations or products made up of different components containing these substances. A colour name or supplier's strength rating alone does not establish eligibility.

The tariff attaches veterinary control and waste import and export controls to these lines. Waste shipment controls apply only to waste. The precise requirements for an acid dye formulation from China remain to be confirmed: ask your customs broker to check the attached controls against its ingredients and waste status before shipment. Confirm the commodity code using the full composition, not just the trade name.

Specify the dye and the textile process

State the Colour Index identity, chemical identity, powder or liquid form, active content and any salt or other standardising ingredients. Specify wool or nylon, the approved shade reference, relative strength, solubility, insoluble matter and moisture acceptance criteria. Agree the trial dyeing recipe and fastness checks on your actual textile before approving the production batch.

For Great Britain, substances and mixtures placed on the market must be classified and labelled under GB CLP. Establish the UK REACH registration position for each substance with HSE, including whether the manufacturer's only representative covers your imports. Obtain an English safety data sheet where required, and check the azo dye restriction for the intended dyed textile.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5 tonnes of Acid Blue 25; use the standard duty if suspension eligibility is not established under 3204 12 00 70, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £32,000. Duty at 6% is £1,920. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £33,920, so it is £6,784. Import taxes total £8,704; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,920 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match the batch certificate, chemical composition and labels to the order, including whether the dye is premetallised and whether the stated content supports the proposed tariff line.

Shade and strength: dye the batch sample beside the retained approved standard on the intended wool or nylon, using the agreed recipe. Compare shade, relative strength and levelness.

Dissolution and fastness: check dissolution and filter residue under the agreed process conditions, then assess washing and light fastness on the dyed textile.

Packing and paperwork: check seals, liners, moisture ingress, caking, sampled net weights and batch traceability. Compare the safety data sheet and hazard label with the supplied formulation.

What goes wrong

A matching powder colour does not prove a matching dyed shade. Reduced strength changes recipe consumption; poor dissolution leaves specks, and uneven dyeing can make a batch unusable for the intended fabric. Damp packing causes caking. Keep retained samples and agree batch acceptance against the approved textile trial.

A standardised dye can miss a suspension's composition conditions even when the colourant name matches. Chemical paperwork can also describe a different formulation from the goods supplied. Resolve composition and document discrepancies before dispatch, and arrange testing and certification support for the intended textile use.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.