Sourcing cobalt evaporation pellets from China

Duty on cobalt evaporation pellets

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, heading 8105 covers cobalt mattes, metallurgical intermediate products, cobalt and cobalt articles, including waste and scrap. For new evaporation pellets, compare the unwrought cobalt line with the other cobalt articles line. The supplied tariff file contains only these relevant alternatives, so the table has fewer rows than a broader product guide.

Both candidate lines carry 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied file lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control on either line. The waste and scrap line, 8105 30 00 00, carries waste controls. If buying discarded evaporation residues from China, confirm the applicable procedure with your customs broker. Waste shipments under notification controls require consent from the destination, dispatch and transit authorities before shipment.

Ask the supplier how the pellets are made and provide the composition, photographs and manufacturing description when confirming the commodity code. Do not classify solely from the sales name. See the cobalt sputtering targets guide for related cobalt products and the wider heading.

Specify purity, pellet shape and evaporation use

Specify cobalt assay and separate limits for oxygen, carbon, sulphur, nickel, iron and copper. Ask whether the quoted purity includes gaseous impurities or only metallic impurities. Agree pellet diameter, length, shape, dimensional tolerances and permitted fines. Describe the evaporation source, crucible or liner and intended coating so the supplier can propose material for a trial.

Request a batch-specific certificate of analysis showing the test methods and reporting limits. Agree cleaning, drying, sealed packing and batch identification. Ask the factory to disclose binders, lubricants or other processing additions. Use factory verification to check which manufacturing and analysis steps the supplier performs.

Before supplying the material in Great Britain, check the applicable chemical classification, labels and packaging. Hazardous chemicals supplied for workplace use require a safety data sheet. Confirm with HSE whether UK REACH registration is required for your imports and whether coverage through an only representative is available. Check this separately from the pellet dimensions and coating trial.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative trial order: 2 kg of pellets confirmed as unwrought cobalt under 8105 20 00 00, invoiced at £2,500 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,300. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,300, so it is £660. 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.

Inspection checklist

Chemistry: match the certificate to the delivered batch and independently test agreed impurities. Check that the reported purity uses the basis specified in the order.

Dimensions and condition: measure pellet size and inspect for cracks, burrs, loose fines, visible oxidation and oily residues. Compare the delivered shape with the approved sample.

Packing and documents: check seals, batch identity and net weight against the packing list. Match the safety data sheet and chemical labels to the supplied material and its classification.

Process trial: test a representative sample in your evaporation setup. Record outgassing, spitting, deposition stability and coating results against agreed acceptance criteria. Arrange quality inspection around these checks.

What goes wrong

A purity claim may exclude oxygen or other impurities that matter to the coating process. A certificate without a matching batch identity cannot establish what arrived. Pellets outside the agreed dimensions may load poorly, while fines, moisture or processing residues can disrupt the trial. Keep approval tied to both the analysis and the actual evaporation result.

Do not accept a change in manufacturing route, cleaning or packing without reviewing a fresh sample. Keep rejected batches separate from approved stock and agree how failures will be investigated before reordering.

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.