Sourcing adjustable spanners from China

Adjustable spanner duty: 0%

Heading 8204 covers hand-operated spanners and wrenches, including torque meter wrenches, and interchangeable sockets. Adjustable spanners fall under 8204 12 00 00. The table shows product variants sharing that commodity line, rather than separate tariff classifications.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 16 October 2026, adjustable spanners from China carried 0% duty. The supplied record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control for this line. Import VAT is normally 20%; see import duty and VAT.

Confirm the commodity code against the actual tool and any retail set contents. For other products within the heading, see the torque wrenches guide. For hex keys, see our guide to sourcing hex key sets.

Specify the jaws and adjustment mechanism

Specify overall length, maximum jaw opening, jaw thickness, jaw parallelism and permitted movement of the sliding jaw. Agree how these will be measured at different openings. A wide-opening design still needs enough material around the head to withstand the agreed load.

State the steel grade, heat-treatment hardness, finish and grip material. Approve a sample with a smooth worm adjustment and a jaw that holds its setting. Agree a proof-load test and acceptance criteria before production, then retain the tested sample for comparison.

For Great Britain, the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 apply to products intended for or likely to be used by consumers. Those products must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Include jaw slip, sharp edges and grip movement in the assessment.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 1,000 plain-handle adjustable spanners, illustrative order under 8204 12 00 00, invoiced at £4,000 free on board, with £1,580 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £5,580. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £5,580, so it is £1,116. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Jaws: measure opening, thickness and parallelism against the drawing; check sliding-jaw movement and fit on the agreed test fasteners.

Adjustment: move the worm through the full travel; check for binding, rough threads and a setting that changes during the agreed load test.

Steel and finish: compare material and hardness reports with the specification; test sampled tools for permanent jaw spreading and inspect for cracks, burrs and peeling plating.

Grip and packing: check grip security, readable opening scales where supplied, product identification and carton contents. Compare arriving goods with the approved sample and inspection brief.

What goes wrong

Excessive sliding-jaw movement lets the tool rock on a fastener, while non-parallel faces concentrate the load and damage nut corners. A rough worm can bind or feel loose, and poorly controlled heat treatment can leave jaws that spread under load.

A polished sample can conceal inconsistent production. Inspect tools across the shipment, repeat the agreed functional tests and hold affected stock while the factory investigates failures. Compare test results rather than accepting a steel name stamped on the handle.

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.