Sourcing crust fish leather from China

UK duty on crust fish leather

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 4106 covers tanned or crust animal hides and skins, without wool or hair, not further prepared. Dry crust fish leather falls within the supplied other-animal line, 4106 92 00 00. The table shows fish variants sharing that code. For the wider heading, see crust deerskin leather.

For goods from China, the supplied line records 2% third-country duty and an autonomous tariff suspension of 0.00 %. The suspension excludes mixtures, preparations or products made up of different components containing these products. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty is recorded. Ask your customs broker to confirm suspension eligibility for the actual consignment.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches CITES import and export controls, cat and dog fur controls, and seal-product import controls to this shared line. Ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable requirements against the declared fish species and shipment contents. Send the species identification, tanning description and sample photographs when confirming your commodity code.

Specify species, tanning and usable cutting area

Specify the fish species by common and scientific name, source country, tanning method, dry crust condition and any subsequent treatment. Agree thickness, softness, minimum usable cutting shape, acceptable holes and the treatment of damaged edges when measuring area. Approve a sample through your intended dyeing, finishing and stitching process.

For CITES-listed material, obtain the relevant permission from APHA and contact the Chinese management authority for the corresponding export documentation. The official guidance requires permits for moving CITES specimens into Great Britain and corresponding documentation from the other country.

UK REACH restrictions can limit, ban or set conditions on substances in articles. Ask a laboratory to assess the tanning chemistry and intended downstream use, then agree suitable batch testing through testing and certification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative small workshop consignment of crust fish skins under 4106 92 00 00, invoiced at £4,106 free on board, with £90 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £4,196. Duty at 2% is £83.92. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £4,279.92, so it is £855.98. Import taxes total £939.90; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £83.92 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match species declarations, tannery records and batch references to the ordered skins.

Cutting yield: lay skins flat and compare usable shapes, thickness and excluded damage with the approved sample.

Condition: check for mould, damp packing, greasy patches, brittle edges and strong residual odour on arrival.

Processing trial: check dye uptake, flexing and stitch tear behaviour using material drawn from the shipment.

What goes wrong

A large measured skin can provide little usable cutting area once belly edges, holes and tears are excluded. Agree how the factory measures saleable area and photograph representative skins beside your cutting templates before dispatch.

A supplier may describe both unfinished and surface-finished material as fish leather. Obtain the actual process record before classification. If the treatment history is unclear, ask APHA and your broker to confirm the import position before shipment; do not assume guidance for hoofed-animal hides settles the position for fish.

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.