Sourcing borax and borates from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, heading 2840 covers borates and peroxoborates (perborates). All nine leaves, including anhydrous refined borax (2840 11 00 00), disodium tetraborate pentahydrate (2840 19 10 00), zinc borate (2840 20 90 10) and sodium perborate (2840 30 00 10), carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure, no registration and no suspension.

Boric acid and boron oxides are heading 2810, and natural borates are heading 2528; confirm the commodity code.

Chemical rules

Borates are substances under UK REACH, so importers of one tonne or more a year need a registration position, and the safety data sheet and label follow the retained CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. Check the hazard classification the supplier gives for each borate before selling it on.

Appendix 11 to Annex XVII of UK REACH named sodium perborate among substances with a derogation from entries 28 to 30, the restrictions on supplying substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction to the general public. That derogation was for detergents and applied until 1 June 2013, so check the classification before supplying perborate to consumers.

Borax in toys and slime

The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 set boron migration limits from toy materials: 1,200 mg/kg in dry, brittle, powder-like or pliable material, 300 mg/kg in liquid or sticky material and 15,000 mg/kg in scraped-off material. Borax sold for making slime, and slime toys themselves, need to be tested against these limits. See our toy safety guide.

Specifying borates

Specify the compound and hydrate, B2O3 or boron content, Na2O content for sodium borates, particle size, insolubles, chloride, sulphate and iron limits, for zinc borate the zinc oxide content and water release temperature, and packing in lined bags kept dry.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 25 tonnes of borax pentahydrate in 25 kg bags, entered under 2840 19 10 00: £15,000 free on board plus £2,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £17,000. Borax pentahydrate carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £17,000, £3,400, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

Inspection checklist

Assay: check B2O3 content and water content against the certificate, and verify a sample in an independent laboratory.

Labelling: check the hazard pictograms and statements on bags against the safety data sheet.

Packing: check for caking, bag integrity, weight and lot marking.

What goes wrong

Borate orders fail on hydrate, assay and caking. Decahydrate is shipped instead of pentahydrate, B2O3 content is low, product cakes from moisture, and bags carry no GB hazard labels.

Test samples before shipping. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources borax and borates for UK glass, ceramic, detergent, flame retardant and fertiliser buyers, checking the producer's lab first. See factory verification.