Sourcing aluminium-bronze sheet from China

UK duty on aluminium-bronze sheet

Heading 7409 covers copper plates, sheets and strip exceeding 0.15 mm in thickness. For aluminium-bronze sheet, start with the other copper alloys line, 7409 90 00 00, and confirm it against the mill's composition certificate. The table shows product forms within that same line. See the copper and brass sheet and strip guide for the wider heading.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, the other copper alloys line carried 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control for this line. The suspensions elsewhere in the heading concern specified refined-copper products.

Give your customs broker the composition, thickness and supply form before confirming the commodity code. Keep the invoice description consistent with the material certificate. For the tax calculation method, see UK import duty and VAT.

Specify the aluminium-bronze alloy and sheet condition

Specify the alloy designation and permitted composition, including aluminium, iron and nickel where present. State the delivery condition, thickness, width, length, flatness tolerance, edge finish and surface condition. Ask the mill to identify the agreed material specification on its certificate rather than accepting a certificate that says only bronze.

Agree whether the sheet will be bent, stamped or machined, and approve a sample in the intended process. Require batch identification that connects the delivered sheets to the composition and mechanical test results.

UK REACH applies to substances on their own, in mixtures and in articles. Its restrictions can limit, ban or set conditions on placing substances on the market or using them. Check the declared alloy constituents and any coating against applicable restrictions before supplying the sheet.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of aluminium-bronze sheet under 7409 90 00 00, invoiced at £22,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £22,800. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £22,800, so it is £4,560. 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

Material: match sheet and bundle identification to the mill certificate, and test sample composition against the ordered aluminium-bronze alloy.

Condition: check hardness against the agreed delivery condition and trial the intended forming or machining operation on a sample.

Dimensions: measure thickness across the sheet, width, length and flatness; inspect cut edges for burrs and distortion.

Surface and packing: check scratches, staining and trapped moisture; inspect interleaving, edge protection and bundle restraint before dispatch and on arrival.

What goes wrong

An order described simply as bronze leaves room for the wrong alloy or delivery condition. A composition mismatch can defeat the intended application even when the sheet looks correct. Excessive hardness can cause forming cracks, while warped or thin sheets can leave insufficient machining allowance.

Certificates that cannot be tied to the delivered batch make disputes harder to resolve. Agree composition testing, dimensional acceptance and packing before production, then use the quality inspection guide to organise the checks.

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.