Sourcing bottle cleaning brushes from China

Bottle brush duty and classification

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 9603 covers brushes, including household brushes and brushes that form parts of machines. Household bottle cleaning brushes fit the household-brush description at 9603 90 91 00. The table shows product variants sharing that line. See the wider brushes guide.

The supplied tariff record gives 2% duty for goods from China throughout this heading, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension listed. The household-brush line carries a cat and dog fur import control. Brushes containing cat or dog fur cannot be imported into Great Britain or placed on its market. Specify the bristle material explicitly.

Confirm the commodity code from the brush's construction and use. A brush supplied as a bottle-washing machine part needs a separate classification check against 9603 50 00 00. The duty and VAT guide explains the calculation.

Specify the bottle and the brush together

Give the factory representative bottles and specify neck opening, bottle depth, brush-head diameter, usable reach and handle grip. Agree filament material, stiffness, fill density, shaft material and how the wire tip is covered. Check whether the head reaches the base and shoulders without excessive force or scratching.

Agree cleaning, drying and storage instructions, and verify any dishwasher or hot-water claims on the finished brush. Confirm with Trading Standards how the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 apply to consumer brushes sold in Great Britain. Assess loose bristles, detachable heads, sharp wire and rough handle edges against the intended use.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 800 household bottle cleaning brushes; illustrative FOB and freight values under 9603 90 91 00, invoiced at £2,500 free on board, with £590 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,090. Duty at 2% is £61.80. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,151.80, so it is £630.36. Import taxes total £692.16; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £61.80 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit: check sampled brushes in the intended bottles, including insertion, base contact, shoulder coverage and withdrawal when wet.

Retention: pull and twist the bristles and head using the agreed inspection method; repeat after the agreed washing exposure.

Wire and finish: check tip coverage, shaft joints, corrosion after wet use, handle edges and scratches left inside the bottle.

Cleaning and packing: test removal of representative residue, rinse and dry the head, then check deformation, odour and pack identification. Use the inspection guide to record acceptance checks.

What goes wrong

A head that passes through the neck may still miss the bottle shoulders or base. Stiff filaments can scratch plastic, while a soft head may collapse without cleaning. Loose tip covers expose twisted wire; poorly secured filaments shed into the bottle.

Approve samples against the actual bottle range and retain them for comparison on arrival. Repeat the wet-use checks on production samples: a dry pull test alone does not show whether a head loosens after washing.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.