Sourcing aluminium can body stock from China

UK duty on aluminium can body stock

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 7606 covers aluminium plates, sheets and strip exceeding 0.2 mm thick. Beverage can body stock has the dedicated code 7606 12 11 00. The table also shows neighbouring lines to distinguish can ends and other sheet products; these are not interchangeable body-stock codes. See the wider aluminium sheet guide.

The supplied record gives body stock 6% ordinary duty, no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no attached import controls. It records separate 0% suspensions. A complete description covers cold-rolled alloy sheet for beverage cans with tensile strength of 270–320 MPa, width of 692–1579 mm and thickness of 0.240–0.272 mm. Another description is truncated in the supplied record; ask your broker to obtain its full wording before relying on it.

Importers must demonstrate that stock meets the suspension specifications. Give your broker batch-linked tensile results, dimensions and intended-use details, and confirm the current treatment before shipment. The neighbouring can-end line has separate suspensions; the other coil line's balcony-parts suspension does not cover can manufacture. Confirm composition, thickness, coating and supplied form using finding your commodity code. Ask your broker whether the UK's carbon border adjustment mechanism will apply to the shipment.

Specify stock for drawing and ironing

Specify alloy composition, temper, thickness and width tolerances, tensile properties, elongation, surface cleanliness and rolling lubricant. Agree coil bore, maximum coil weight, winding direction, permitted joints and slit-edge condition with the can maker. Request mill certificates linked to individual coils, and approve production material through the intended cupping, drawing and ironing process before accepting a repeat order.

If you package food yourself, the packaging must be suitable for food use. For this stock, agree who will assess the finished can with its intended internal coating, beverage and processing conditions. Ask for material, lubricant and coating information to support that assessment. Treat a mill certificate as material evidence, and obtain separate evidence of suitability for the finished packaging through testing and certification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 6 tonnes of aluminium can body stock for a can-making trial, assuming ordinary duty without a suspension; FOB and freight values are illustrative. under 7606 12 11 00, invoiced at £36,000 free on board, with £4,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £40,000. Duty at 6% is £2,400. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £42,400, so it is £8,480. Import taxes total £10,880; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,400 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Material identity: match coil labels and mill certificates to the ordered alloy, temper and batch; check that tensile results identify the delivered material.

Gauge and edges: measure thickness across the strip width and along sampled material; inspect slit burrs, edge cracks and camber against agreed acceptance criteria.

Forming performance: trial production stock through cupping, drawing and ironing; inspect tearing, uneven cup rims, wall variation and surface scoring.

Coils and packing: inspect crushed bores, displaced windings, dents, wet wrapping and corrosion staining; record findings during quality inspection.

What goes wrong

Nominal thickness and alloy alone do not establish forming performance. Changes in temper, mechanical properties or lubrication can cause tearing, uneven rims or scoring during can manufacture. A clean outer wrap can conceal damaged inner windings. Agree production-lot sampling and retain material from an approved forming trial.

A supplier may describe body stock and end stock simply as can aluminium. Keep their specifications and certificates separate. A zero-duty assumption can also fail when the delivered dimensions or tensile properties do not match the suspension description. Obtain the complete wording and compare it with the actual lot before calculating landed cost.

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.