Sourcing chilled tuna from China

Duty by tuna species and intended use

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0302 covers fresh or chilled fish, excluding fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304. For chilled tuna, specify the scientific species, whole or headed and gutted presentation, and intended use. The supplied industrial-manufacturing lines expressly refer to products of heading 1604.

The supplied China-origin tuna lines carry base duty of 0% or 20%, with no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing duty. Bigeye and southern bluefin lines show an autonomous tariff suspension at 0.00 %. Its footnote excludes mixtures, preparations and products containing these goods as components. Ask your broker to confirm suspension eligibility before costing an order.

All supplied tuna lines attach veterinary, illegal fishing and organic import controls. Bigeye also carries a restriction on entry into free circulation referring to statistical documents; confirm its application and documents with your customs broker. Confirm species and industrial use through our commodity code guide. See the fresh and chilled fish guide for the wider heading.

Specify species, presentation and chilled handling

Specify albacore, skipjack, bigeye or the exact bluefin species by scientific name. Agree headed or head-on presentation, gutting, individual weight grade, flesh condition, packing, chilling method and remaining shelf life on arrival. State whether the buyer will cook or serve the tuna raw; have the intended use assessed before accepting a supplier's description such as sushi grade.

Check that the exporting country and establishment are approved for the exact fishery product. For China shipments, ask the port health authority to confirm official health certificate requirements, advance notification through IPAFFS and entry through a suitable border control post. For wild-caught fish, confirm with your customs broker whether a catch certificate validated by the flag state is required. For bluefin, ask the port health authority to confirm species-specific catch documentation before ordering.

The tariff's organic control matters if the goods are sold as organic. For organic food from China entering Great Britain, confirm with your customs broker whether each consignment needs a certificate of inspection; the exporter's control body issues the certificate. Agree the documentation before accepting an organic claim. These border arrangements concern Great Britain; confirm Northern Ireland separately.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of chilled albacore for industrial manufacture of heading 1604 products under 0302 31 10 00, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £17,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £17,500, so it is £3,500. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. 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

Identity: match scientific species, presentation, batch markings and establishment details against the purchase specification, invoice and health and catch documents.

Cold chain: review chilling and transport records, measure arrival temperatures against the agreed specification, and check ice condition, drainage and leaking packs.

Flesh and safety: inspect firmness, odour, discolouration, bruising and belly damage; agree batch-linked laboratory checks for histamine rather than accepting appearance alone.

Weight and labels: check fish weights and saleable yield against the agreed presentation; verify English retail labels for species, production method and area, allergens, storage and a UK address.

What goes wrong

A general tuna description can conceal the wrong species, an unsuitable presentation or an industrial-use code that does not match the buyer's intended use. Establishment details and certificates can also disagree with the cartons. Resolve discrepancies before dispatch: regulatory failures may result in return or destruction at the importer's expense.

Poor chilled handling can leave soft flesh, discolouration and histamine concerns despite an acceptable-looking sample. Keep batch-linked temperature records, agree arrival acceptance criteria and review laboratory results before release. Our inspection guide explains how to organise 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.