Sourcing cling film from China

Cling-film duty and conditional suspensions

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 December 2026, heading 3920 covers non-cellular plastic plates, sheets, film, foil and strip that are not reinforced, laminated, supported or similarly combined with other materials. For cling film, establish the polymer, thickness, construction and plasticiser content. The table gives candidate material lines, not interchangeable codes.

The selected lines have a 6% standard duty for goods from China and list no anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or attached import controls. They also show conditional suspensions to 0% for narrowly described products. These are not a general cling-film concession. Some supplied suspension footnotes are truncated, so have your broker check the complete conditions before claiming relief.

Confirm the commodity code against the actual formulation and construction. See the plastic film and sheet guide for the wider heading, and the aluminium foil guide for alternative food wrapping.

Specify the food use and finished roll

Specify polyethylene, plasticised vinyl chloride or another identified polymer rather than accepting only “food wrap”. Agree thickness and tolerance, usable width, net film length, core dimensions, winding direction and dispenser fit. Record cling, stretch and tear behaviour against an approved sample. Distinguish hand-wrapping rolls from film intended for a wrapping machine.

Confirm with the relevant food-safety authority what declaration of compliance and migration evidence is needed for the intended food-contact film. Request evidence for the finished formulation, including additives and plasticisers, covering the intended foods, contact time and temperature. Ask the supplier to substantiate any fatty-food, freezer or microwave claim. The food-contact materials guide explains the documentation.

Confirm with HMRC or your customs broker whether cling film made for packing goods is a finished component for Plastic Packaging Tax. A component is finished after its last major modification; ask them how cutting or sealing affects this assessment. Record the intended processing and review the Plastic Packaging Tax guide separately from customs duty.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative wholesale order of polyethylene cling-film rolls under 3920 10 25 90, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £32,000. Duty at 6% is £1,920. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £33,920, so it is £6,784. Import taxes total £8,704; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,920 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Dimensions: measure thickness across the width and along unwound film. Check usable width and net film length against the purchase specification; roll weight alone can conceal a heavy core.

Cling and dispensing: trial production rolls on the intended dispenser or wrapping machine. Check unwind force, cling to the intended containers, stretch, cutting and tearing.

Cleanliness and packing: inspect unwound film for holes, gels, particles, odour and creases. Check crushed cores, damaged roll ends, blocked layers and protective wrapping.

Documents and batches: match roll and carton batch identities to the declaration of compliance and migration reports. Compare the delivered grade and use instructions with the approved specification. Include these checks in your inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A roll can look full while containing less usable film because the core is heavy or the film is thicker than agreed. Uneven thickness causes tearing; tight winding causes blocking; a poor dispenser fit makes an otherwise usable roll difficult to cut. Inspect production rolls rather than relying on neatly cut samples.

A supplier may substitute a different resin or plasticiser package after sample approval. A generic resin report then fails to describe the delivered film. Hold batches with unexplained formulation changes or mismatched documents, and resolve the food-contact evidence before releasing them for the intended use.

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.