Sourcing diesel engines from China
Compression-ignition engines from China, including industrial, marine and vehicle engines, pay 4% UK duty in most cases and 2% for marine propulsion engines, with no anti-dumping duty. Engines fitted to non-road mobile machinery sold in Great Britain must be emission type-approved and carry the approval marking. Cambridge China Bridge sources diesel engines.
Industrial, marine and vehicle diesel engines pay 2% to 4% UK duty from China. Stage V emission type approval for machinery engines and a worked example.
Mostly 4%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, new diesel engines for marine propulsion other than for seagoing vessels carried 2% duty on goods from China, engines for tractors and other vehicles of chapter 87 4%, and other new diesel engines, such as industrial engines, 4% across the power bands, with no anti-dumping measure. Engines for civil aircraft and seagoing vessels have their own lines.
Petrol engines are in heading 8407, covered in the petrol engines guide, engine parts in 8409, covered in the engine parts guide, and complete generator sets in 8502; confirm the commodity code.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| New marine engines up to 50 kW, other | 8408 10 27 00 | 2% | None |
| New marine engines 50 to 100 kW, other | 8408 10 39 00 | 2% | None |
| Tractor engines up to 50 kW | 8408 20 31 00 | 4% | None |
| Other vehicle engines up to 50 kW | 8408 20 51 00 | 4% | None |
| Other new engines up to 15 kW | 8408 90 41 90 | 4% | None |
| Other new engines 30 to 50 kW | 8408 90 45 90 | 4% | None |
| Other new engines 100 to 200 kW | 8408 90 61 90 | 4% | None |
Emission type approval
GOV.UK guidance says new non-road mobile machinery sold in the UK must have a type-approved engine with markings on the engine that prove it. The emission limits and approval rules are in retained Regulation (EU) 2016/1628, known as Stage V, which covers engines in machinery such as generators, pumps, construction and agricultural equipment. Many engines built for the Chinese domestic market meet only earlier limits, so ask for the Stage V approval certificate and check the engine label before ordering.
Machinery that the engine is built into must also meet the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, with guards on belts and hot surfaces and a declaration of conformity. Marine engines have their own emission and recreational craft rules.
Worked duty example
An invented example rather than a quote: 150 industrial diesel engines of 30 to 50 kW, commodity code 8408 90 45 90, bought for £150,000 free on board, with £8,000 of freight and insurance, so £158,000 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 4% rate for industrial diesel engines is £6,320. VAT at 20% applies to £164,320, so £32,864. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £6,320 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.
What goes wrong
Diesel engines fail on approval, power and build quality. An engine without the right emission approval cannot legally go into new machinery, and a rated power quoted at a higher speed or without the cooling fan's load can leave a generator short of output. Oil leaks at gaskets, poor castings, injectors that do not match the fuel quality, and wiring and sensors that do not match the controller cause early failures.
Ask for the type approval certificate and engine label, witness a bench test that records power, fuel consumption and smoke at the rated speed, check for leaks after running, confirm injector and ECU settings, and agree spare parts, service manuals in English and warranty support before the order.
Cambridge China Bridge sources industrial, marine and vehicle diesel engines, with emission approval, bench tests and spares agreed before the order. Read how we source engines and power equipment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on diesel engines from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, most new diesel engines of heading 8408 carried 4% duty from China, and marine propulsion engines 2%.
Do diesel engines for machinery need type approval?
Yes. New non-road mobile machinery sold in the UK must have a type-approved engine with the approval marking.
Which regulation sets Stage V limits?
Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 on emissions from non-road mobile machinery engines.
Where do generator sets go?
Complete generating sets are in heading 8502, not 8408.