Carbonless and self-copy paper from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, heading 4816 covers carbon paper, self-copy paper and other copying or transfer papers, other than those of heading 4809, duplicator stencils and offset plates of paper, whether or not boxed. The lines for self-copy paper, for lightweight thermal paper of 65 g/m² or less in large jumbo rolls, and for other papers all carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The same papers in larger rolls or sheets fall under heading 4809, where all four lines, self-copy paper (4809 20 00 00), lightweight thermal paper of 65 g/m² or less in rolls (4809 90 00 10), heavyweight thermal paper over 65 g/m² in rolls (4809 90 00 20) and other (4809 90 00 90), also carried 0% from China on 27 September 2026.

Finished till rolls are covered in our thermal paper guide, printed business forms and receipt books are other paper headings, and wide rolls of copying paper may be heading 4809, so confirm the commodity code from the format.

Bisphenol A and paper sourcing

Entry 66 of Annex XVII to UK REACH bans placing thermal paper on the market with bisphenol A at 0.02% by weight or more, so ask the coater which developer is used and for a test report. Carbonless coatings use microencapsulated dyes and developers, so ask for the safety data sheet for handling.

Paper products are generally within the Timber and Timber Products (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2013, except bamboo-based and qualifying recovered products, so the first placer of paper within scope on the GB market must carry out due diligence on the legality of the pulp.

Specifying self-copy paper

Specify ply role (CB top, CFB middle, CF bottom), grammage, colour of each part, image colour (blue or black), sheet size or roll width and core, brightness, and packing in reams or rolls with moisture protection.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 12 tonnes of carbonless paper in cut sheets, commodity code 4816 20 00 00, bought for £14,000 free on board, with £1,800 of freight and insurance, so £15,800 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on carbonless paper; import VAT at 20% of £15,800 is £3,160. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Imaging: write and print test sets through all parts and check image density, speed and clarity on the last part, and check for smudging when sheets are handled.

Coating: check for coating streaks, spots and premature coloration from pressure in packing, and check grammage and caliper.

Documents: for thermal paper, check the bisphenol A test report, and for all paper the fibre source and due diligence information.

What goes wrong

Self-copy paper orders fail on image, coating and storage. The bottom part of a set images faintly, sheets mark in transit because of pressure or heat, coating is uneven, and thermal paper arrives without evidence on bisphenol A.

Test imaging on samples, pack flat and cool, and collect test reports. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources carbonless and thermal paper for UK printers and stationery converters, checking the coater's testing first. See second supplier.