Sourcing coated paper and board from China

Zero duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, coated graphic papers with little or no mechanical fibre in rolls or sheets, lightweight coated and other coated papers with more mechanical fibre, coated kraft paper and board, and other coated multi-ply and single-ply board of heading 4810 carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

Uncoated paper is in heading 4802, paper coated with plastics or wax in 4811, and printed or made-up articles such as cartons in chapter 48's later headings; confirm the commodity code.

Timber legality and food contact

Paper and paperboard are within the UK Timber Regulations 2013, so the business placing them on the GB market must carry out due diligence on the pulp's species and country of harvest. Ask the mill for fibre sources and an FSC or PEFC chain of custody certificate covering the grade, and keep the invoices that carry the claim.

Board for food packaging must meet Article 3 of retained Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004. Board with recycled fibre can carry mineral oil residues from printing inks, so ask for the fibre content, a declaration of compliance and migration or residue tests for the grade used next to food; see food contact materials.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 60 tonnes of coated folding boxboard under 4810 92 10 00, add the £5,000 of freight and insurance to the £48,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £53,000. Duty on coated board is zero, leaving import VAT of £10,600, 20% of the customs value. For a VAT-registered buyer that is a cash-flow cost rather than a lasting one. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

What goes wrong

Coated paper and board fail on grammage, curl and the coating. Board that runs under the stated weight or caliper loses stiffness so cartons bulge, paper that arrives with the wrong moisture curls in the press and on folding, and weak coatings pick or crack at the score. Brightness and shade vary between mill runs, and reels damaged at the edges or cores in the container become waste.

Ask for the mill test certificate per lot for grammage, caliper, brightness, stiffness and moisture, run a print and folding trial before bulk, check shade against the approved sample, and inspect reel ends, cores and pallet wrapping before loading. Let paper condition to the pressroom before printing.

Cambridge China Bridge sources coated art paper, coated kraft and folding boxboard, with grade specifications, fibre legality and food contact evidence agreed before the order. Read how we source paper and packaging materials.