Sourcing Cutback Bitumen from China

Cutback bitumen duty and waste controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 2715 covers bituminous mixtures based on natural asphalt, natural bitumen, petroleum bitumen, mineral tar or mineral tar pitch, including cut-backs. The extract contains a single commodity line, 2715 00 00 00. The table shows cutback product forms sharing that code, rather than separate tariff lines.

Goods from China carry 0% duty, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension recorded. The tariff attaches import and export waste controls. If material from China is waste subject to notification controls, shipment must wait for consent from the destination, dispatch and transit authorities. Ask your customs broker and the relevant waste authority to confirm the material's status and applicable procedure before booking transport.

Confirm the commodity code using the complete formulation and intended use. For another product family within this heading, see the bitumen emulsions guide. The import duty and VAT guide explains the tax calculation.

Specify the binder, solvent and application

Write down the binder source, solvent composition, intended substrate and whether the product will be brushed or sprayed. Agree viscosity at the agreed test temperature, solids content, curing conditions and storage instructions. Obtain flash-point information and a safety data sheet matching the actual formulation. Approve an application sample on the intended substrate before ordering.

For sale in Great Britain, arrange classification and labelling by someone with scientific competence. Check the formulation's UK REACH position with your chemical adviser, and agree the label and packaging before production. Use testing and certification support to plan formulation and application checks.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of cutback bitumen in sealed drums under 2715 00 00 00, invoiced at £24,000 free on board, with £1,800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £25,800. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £25,800, so it is £5,160. 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

Formulation: match the ingredient declaration, batch certificate and safety data sheet to the approved binder and solvent composition.

Consistency: compare viscosity, solids content, sediment and ease of mixing with the retained sample using the agreed method.

Application: trial the agreed brush or spray method on the intended substrate and check spreading, adhesion, curing and visible cracking.

Drums: check seams, lids, seals, leaks, corrosion and batch identification on arrival. Record discrepancies using the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A substituted solvent can change spreading and curing. Excessive filler or difficult-to-remix sediment can leave the product unlike the approved sample. A trial on a different substrate may miss adhesion problems. Compare production samples with both the agreed formulation and the retained application sample.

Leaking drums lose solvent and can leave the remaining material thicker than expected. Check suspect drums before use. Reclaimed material also needs its waste status checked before shipment; a commercial product name does not resolve the attached waste control.

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.