Commercial ice makers and ice machines from China

0% duty, and a code that depends on the refrigerant

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, ice makers of heading 8418 69 carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, and so did their parts. The tariff splits the line by refrigerant: a machine pre-charged with a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) is 8418 69 00 91, and one charged with a hydrocarbon such as R290, or shipped uncharged, is 8418 69 00 99. Both are 0%, but the declaration must use the right one.

That covers undercounter cube ice machines, modular heads that sit on a storage bin, flake and nugget ice machines, and countertop ice makers. Refrigerated display cabinets and bottle coolers are in commercial fridges, and other kitchen equipment in catering equipment. Confirm the commodity code from the specification and the refrigerant on the nameplate.

Refrigerant and F-gas checks

The tariff applies F-gas and ozone-depleting substance import controls to these lines. For an HFC-charged machine, the declaration needs document codes stating that the goods are labelled under Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 as it applies in Great Britain, that they are not caught by a placing-on-the-market prohibition in Annex III, and, for refrigeration equipment pre-charged with HFCs, a declaration of conformity with the GB HFC quota system under Regulation (EU) 2016/879. Tell your customs broker the refrigerant and charge before the goods arrive.

Ask the factory for the refrigerant type and charge on the nameplate. A hydrocarbon machine avoids the HFC quota paperwork, but R290 is flammable, so the machine must be built to the relevant safety standard: BS EN 60335-2-89 for commercial refrigerating appliances and ice makers with an incorporated or remote refrigerant unit, and BS EN 60335-2-24 for household ones.

Food contact, water supply and electrical safety

Ice is food, so the evaporator plate, water tank, storage bin, scoop and tubing must not transfer constituents to the ice in quantities that could endanger health, under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004; ask for the manufacturer's food contact declaration and migration test reports for the plastics and coatings, see food contact materials.

A machine plumbed into the mains is a water fitting, and in England and Wales regulation 4 of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 requires every water fitting to be of an appropriate quality and standard and suitable for the circumstances in which it is used, and paragraph 15 of Schedule 2 requires every water system to contain an adequate device for preventing backflow; a WRAS approval covering the parts fitted is one way to show it, see the taps and valves guide. Mains-powered machines also fall under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, needing a declaration of conformity, UKCA or CE marking and a UK plug or a supply rating your electrician can connect.

Before you pay a large deposit

A Chinese quote asking for 50% or more upfront is a commercial term you can negotiate. Check that the seller is a factory and that the company on the certificates is the one you are paying, see factory or trading company; check that the bank beneficiary matches the contracting company; and ask for a split such as 30% deposit and 70% after a passed pre-shipment inspection. The proforma invoice guide and what to check before paying the balance set out the checks, or send us the quote for a free preliminary review through quote check.

At inspection, run a sample machine on water at a known temperature: record the time to the first harvest and the ice made over a set period, and compare them with the rated output, since output falls as water and room temperatures rise. Check the refrigerant and charge on the nameplate against the declaration, the water inlet and drain connections, the bin insulation, and the plug and fuse; see our quality inspection guide.

Worked duty example

A hypothetical order, not a quote: 10 undercounter ice machines charged with R290 under 8418 69 00 99, bought for £6,000 free on board with £1,000 of freight and insurance, so the customs value is £7,000. Duty at 0% is nil, and import VAT is 20% of £7,000, which is £1,400, usually recoverable for a VAT-registered importer. See UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong, and what we do

Ice machine imports go wrong on refrigerant paperwork, on rated output measured under kinder conditions than a UK kitchen in summer, on water connections that do not suit UK fittings, and on deposits paid to a trader who then goes quiet.

Cambridge China Bridge sources ice machines for UK cafés, bars, restaurants and distributors, checking the maker, the refrigerant and certificates against the model, and running a sample before shipment. See factory verification, small orders and testing and certification.