Sourcing aluminium recovery cylinders from China

Duty on aluminium refrigerant recovery cylinders

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 7613 covers aluminium containers for compressed or liquefied gas. The supplied commodity line, 7613 00 00 90, carries 6% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty listed. The table shows configurations within that same line, rather than separate tariff subdivisions.

The listed 0% suspensions concern specified carbon-fibre-overwrapped natural gas or hydrogen containers and empty portable medical oxygen cylinders fitted with a valve and pressure and flow regulator. Ordinary refrigerant recovery cylinders do not meet those descriptions. The UK Trade Tariff also attaches an import control of fluorinated greenhouse gases; ask your customs broker to confirm the requirement for your shipment from China, stating whether the cylinders are empty or contain refrigerant.

Confirm the complete cylinder specification and shipment contents through finding your commodity code. Separately supplied valves are classified by what they are. Our aluminium gas cylinders guide covers the wider heading. The import duty and VAT guide explains the calculation method.

Specify the refrigerant service and recovery connections

Specify an empty, refillable aluminium cylinder for the named refrigerants. Agree water capacity, working and test pressure, alloy, neck thread, valve outlet connections, liquid and vapour ports, dip-tube arrangement, tare weight and external finish. Ask the intended recovery operator to approve the connections and cylinder design before ordering.

For cylinders used to transport refrigerant, confirm with the relevant authority whether transportable pressure equipment rules apply and what conformity assessment, marking, periodic inspection and testing are needed before supply or use in Great Britain. For a direct China-to-Great-Britain supply, confirm whether Rho marking is required and specify matching approval evidence. If you sell fluorinated gas in cylinders, those cylinders must be refillable.

Agree the internal cleanliness and dryness checks, valve leak-test method, protective caps and serial-number records. Ask for drawings showing the dip tube and valve passages, rather than accepting a photograph of the outside. Use factory verification to check the maker's cylinder production and test records.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 64 empty aluminium refrigerant recovery cylinders under 7613 00 00 90, invoiced at £4,725 free on board, with £2,400 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,125. Duty at 6% is £427.50. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,552.50, so it is £1,510.50. Import taxes total £1,938; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £427.50 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Approval: check that design approval, conformity evidence, batch test records and cylinder serial numbers describe the supplied aluminium recovery cylinder and valve assembly.

Connections: gauge neck and outlet threads, confirm liquid and vapour port identification, and compare the dip-tube arrangement with the agreed drawing.

Condition: inspect for dents, damaged necks and threads, corrosion and contamination; compare tare weight and dimensions with the specification and review dryness and valve leak-test records.

Marking and packing: compare permanent markings and labels with the approved specification, check serial-number legibility, and inspect caps and packaging on arrival. Agree these checks through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A cylinder can look suitable while its approval covers another design, its outlets do not fit the recovery hoses, or its dip tube does not match the intended liquid connection. Dents and damaged threads can make an otherwise documented shipment unacceptable to the operator.

Residual moisture, dirt or unidentified contents undermine a recovery operator's handling process. Make empty supply status explicit in the order and shipping documents, approve the valve drawing before production, and compare the arriving batch with the approved sample and certificates before putting it into service.

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.