Sourcing concealed cabinet hinges from China

Duty on concealed cabinet hinges

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 8302 covers base-metal hinges and other mountings and fittings. Ordinary concealed cabinet hinges fall within the other-hinges line, 8302 10 00 90. The table shows product variants sharing that commodity line.

The supplied tariff snapshot records 0% duty for goods from China on this line, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control. Import VAT is separate from customs duty.

Confirm the commodity code using the hinge construction and intended use, particularly where an order includes separately supplied fittings. For the wider heading and building-door applications, see architectural door hinges.

Specify the hinge and cabinet together

Specify full overlay, half overlay or inset installation, cabinet construction, door material, thickness and weight, opening angle, cup diameter and depth, drilling pattern and mounting-plate height. State whether the arm clips onto the plate or uses screws, the adjustment directions, finish, and whether screws and plates are included. Approve a fitted sample using your actual door and cabinet panel.

For soft-close hinges, agree closing behaviour with the intended door weight and hinge arrangement. Check whether damping can be disengaged and whether replacement plates are interchangeable. Confirm the applicable safety requirements under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 with Trading Standards before supplying consumer-use hinges in Great Britain; the rules cover products intended or reasonably likely to be used by consumers. Assess sharp edges, trapping points and door detachment during fitted-sample checks.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 concealed cabinet hinges with matching mounting plates under 8302 10 00 90, invoiced at £7,000 free on board, with £600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,600, so it is £1,520. 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

Fit: check cup dimensions, screw positions, overlay and plate height against the approved drawing; fit samples into production panels.

Movement: open and close fitted doors repeatedly; check damping, rubbing, spring action and whether adjustment screws retain their settings.

Retention: check cup fixing, arm-to-plate engagement and screw holding in the specified panel material under the agreed door load.

Finish and packing: check burrs, plating defects and corrosion; confirm matching plates and screws, separated variants and batch identification.

What goes wrong

A mounting plate that looks similar can change the overlay or prevent the arm locking securely. Cup drilling that does not match the panel leaves doors misaligned or weakens the fixing. Approve the hinge, plate and drilling drawing as a set, and compare arriving stock with the retained sample.

Soft-close action can feel acceptable with an unloaded hinge but fail on a fitted door. Watch for inconsistent damping, loose rivets, stripped adjustment screws and plating damage hidden by packing. Arrange quality inspection around fitted assemblies rather than appearance alone.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.