Sourcing canned sprats from China

Sprat duties depend on preparation

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 1604 covers prepared or preserved fish and fish eggs. The supplied whole-or-pieces sprat line, 1604 13 90 92, carries 12%; other prepared sprats in airtight cans, 1604 20 90 30, carry 14%. Neither sprat line lists anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or a suspension. The sardine rows are comparisons for checking species, rather than alternative declarations for sprats.

The sprat lines attach veterinary, illegal-fishing and organic import controls. Confirm establishment approval, health certification, advance notification and border-check requirements for the prepared fish with the relevant port health authority or customs broker. Catch certification must document when the fish was caught and that the vessel acted legally. For organic goods, confirm inspection certification arrangements with your organic control body. The other-preparations line also lists export control under CITES; ask your customs broker to confirm its relevance and the veterinary entry document requirement.

Confirm the commodity code from the actual species, recipe and whether the fish remains whole, in pieces or minced. A supplier's description of small fish as sardines does not settle classification. See the canned sardines guide for the wider heading context.

Specify the sprats, packing medium and can

Specify the fish species, size consistency, whole-fish or minced presentation, head and tail treatment, and whether the fish is smoked. Agree the oil, brine or sauce recipe, saltiness, firmness and acceptable broken fish against a retained sample. Record net weight and the agreed method for measuring drained contents.

Agree can shape, opening method, internal coating, seam acceptance criteria and carton protection. Request heat-processing records and evidence supporting shelf life. Review storage instructions before and after opening, batch identification and label artwork before printing. Use factory verification to check the proposed processor and production arrangements.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative wholesale order of canned whole sprats; not a quotation under 1604 13 90 92, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £4,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £34,000. Duty at 12% is £4,080. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £38,080, so it is £7,616. Import taxes total £11,696; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £4,080 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

Documents: match establishment approval, health certificate, catch certification and batch records to the shipment.

Can integrity: inspect seams, leaks, swelling, rust and dents near the seam; isolate suspect cans and request seam examination.

Contents: compare sampled fish size, breakage, packing medium, flavour and texture with the retained sample; measure net and drained contents using the agreed method.

Labels: check the food name, ingredients with allergens emphasised, net quantity, date mark, storage instructions and food business name and UK address.

What goes wrong

The fish species or presentation changes between the approved sample and production, leaving the declared code unsupported. Broken fish, excessive packing liquid or a changed smoking recipe also cause disputes. Keep the specification, retained sample and batch records together, and investigate differences before releasing stock.

Seam damage and leakage can undermine the canned product even when the carton looks sound. Swollen cans need investigation before release. Missing approval or mismatched certificates can delay clearance. Agree document review and sampling before dispatch, then use the inspection guide to plan arrival checks.

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.