Sourcing dried broad beans from China

Dried broad bean codes and duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 0713 covers dried shelled leguminous vegetables, whether or not skinned or split. Broad beans other than for sowing use 0713 50 00 90; sowing beans use 0713 50 00 10. Both carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension listed. The table shows product forms sharing these tariff lines.

The tariff attaches an organic import control to both lines. Organic broad beans imported from China into Great Britain need a Great Britain certificate of inspection, issued by the exporter’s control body in the country of export. Agree the organic paperwork before shipment and confirm clearance arrangements with your customs broker. Confirm the VAT treatment of dried pulses supplied as food for human consumption with HMRC or your customs broker.

Confirm the species, processing and intended use through finding your commodity code. Cooked or canned beans fall under preparations rather than this dried-bean heading. See the dried beans and pulses guide for the wider family.

Specify broad bean size, skin and cooking use

Specify broad beans rather than a general mixed-bean description. Agree whole, skinned or split form, size grading, colour, crop identity and intended cooking use. Set written acceptance limits for moisture, broken beans, shrivelled beans, discolouration and foreign matter. Retain an approved sample and compare soaking behaviour, skin removal and cooking texture against it.

State whether the beans are for cooking, sprouting or sowing. Ask the relevant authority or your customs broker to confirm any official certification, lot-traceability, seed and plant health requirements for sprouting or sowing lots. For food sales, confirm food-business registration requirements and applicable pesticide-residue and contaminant limits with the relevant food authority, and arrange checks accordingly. Agree retail labelling separately from bulk ingredient packaging.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of dried broad beans for cooking under 0713 50 00 90, invoiced at £24,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £26,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £26,500, so it is £5,300. 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. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Moisture and condition: sample bags from different parts of the lot; check moisture against the contract, musty odour, mould and damp seams.

Grade and cleanliness: compare size, skin coverage and splits with the approved sample; sort out stones, soil, other seeds and discoloured beans.

Insects and cooking: look for live insects and exit holes; soak and cook representative samples to compare texture and uneven softening.

Packaging and records: check clean food-grade bags, secure closures and agreed weights; match bag lot marks to the invoice, test reports and any organic certificate.

What goes wrong

A sample can look uniform while the shipment mixes sizes or grades. Large and small beans soften differently, and a peeled order may contain excessive skin fragments or broken pieces. Compare samples from several bags rather than accepting a sample taken only from the top.

Excess moisture can cause mould during transport, while concealed insects may emerge on the voyage. Keep affected stock separate while investigating, photograph bag and lot marks, and compare arrival results with the pre-shipment record. Use an agreed quality inspection brief covering grading, moisture, pests and packaging.

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.