Sourcing canned diced tomatoes from China

14% duty on canned diced tomatoes

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, heading 2002 covers tomatoes prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid. The relevant canned diced tomato lines carry 14% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty recorded. These lines have no suspension; the suspension elsewhere in the heading concerns specified bulk tomato paste.

The tariff attaches import control of organic products. Organic tomatoes imported from China into Great Britain require a Great Britain certificate of inspection. The importing company must be based and certified in the UK. Ask your customs broker and organic control body to confirm the consignment paperwork before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code using the recipe, whether the tomatoes are peeled and the net content of each can. Unpeeled retail and catering cans share the same code in the table. For paste and other tomato preparations, see the wider tomato products guide.

Specify the dice, packing liquid and can

Agree peeled or unpeeled tomatoes, dice size and acceptable broken pieces, colour, firmness and the balance of tomato pieces to packing liquid. State whether the liquid is tomato juice or purée, and list added salt, sugar, acidity regulators and firming agents. Approve a sample in the intended can and try it in the dish you sell.

Specify net fill, agreed solids yield, can lining, opening method, carton packing and remaining shelf life on arrival. Ask for heat-processing records, seam inspection records and batch laboratory reports covering the agreed microbiological checks, pesticide residues and tin. Importers must ensure food is safe and legal before importing it into Great Britain.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 20 tonnes of peeled diced tomatoes in catering cans, illustrative only under 2002 10 11 00, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £18,500. Duty at 14% is £2,590. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,090, so it is £4,218. Import taxes total £6,808; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,590 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Can condition: inspect arrival stock for swelling, leaks, rust and dents around seams. Hold suspect cartons separately and seek a food safety assessment before release.

Dice and fill: open sampled sound cans, weigh the contents and compare solids yield, broken pieces, skin fragments, colour and firmness with the approved sample.

Batch records: match can and carton batch markings to the factory's processing records and laboratory reports. Check the reports describe the actual recipe and can lining supplied.

Label artwork: compare the English artwork with the agreed recipe, net quantity, business details and storage instructions. Pre-packed food must usually carry a best-before or use-by date. Check date printing remains readable. Agree the checks through the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A sample can have firm, even dice while production contains crushed pieces, skin fragments or excessive packing liquid. A changed recipe can alter taste and cooking performance. Compare production samples with the approved recipe and test them in your kitchen before accepting a repeat order.

Transit damage around seams, leaking cans and swelling need investigation before stock is sold. Separate affected batches, photograph the damage and keep the batch records together. Do not treat an intact carton or a generic laboratory report as proof that the cans inside meet the agreed specification.

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.