Sourcing dried liquorice root from China

Dried root: duty and tariff controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 22 November 2026, heading 1211 covers plants and plant parts used primarily in perfumery, pharmacy or similar purposes, including dried, cut, crushed and powdered material. Dried liquorice root is a candidate for 1211 90 86 90, subject to confirmation of its use and processing. The table shows different forms under that same tariff line. For extracts, see our liquorice extract guide.

The supplied tariff record gives this line 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension listed. It attaches CITES, Home Office controlled-drug and organic import controls, plus CITES and controlled-drug export controls. These are broad-line flags: ask your customs broker to confirm the requirements for the named liquorice species and the proposed shipment.

For organic consignments, the certificate of inspection is issued by the exporter’s control body in the country of export. Have your broker confirm the organic import documents before shipment. Supply the botanical identity, plant part, processing and intended use when confirming your commodity code.

Specify the root and its intended use

Specify the botanical species, root material, whole or cut form, peeled or unpeeled condition, cut size or powder fineness, moisture acceptance criteria and permitted foreign matter. Agree a reference sample and declare any fumigation or other treatment. If sweetness or extraction performance matters, agree a glycyrrhizin assay and a trial using your own process.

Settle whether the buyer will use it as food, a supplement or a medicine. Confirm any novel food authorisation requirements with the Food Standards Agency and any herbal registration or marketing authorisation requirements for proposed medicinal claims with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. These checks depend on the actual product and presentation, rather than the supplier’s description as herbal material.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 500 kg of cut dried liquorice root under 1211 90 86 90, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £30,900. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £30,900, so it is £6,180. 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

Identity: compare roots or powder with the agreed reference sample; obtain botanical identification rather than relying on colour or sweetness.

Condition: check moisture, mould, insect damage, soil, stones, excess dust and the proportion of unwanted plant material.

Testing: agree batch testing for pesticides, heavy metals, sulphite and aflatoxins with the laboratory; match every report to the shipment lot.

Packing: check dry, intact liners, legible batch identification and agreement between bag labels, packing lists and laboratory samples. Arrange testing and certification support before dispatch.

What goes wrong

A common name can conceal a different species or mixed plant material. Powder makes substitution harder to spot, while variable cut size changes extraction performance. Damp roots can develop mould in transit, and sulphur treatment can leave residues. Retain an approved sample and compare the arrival lot before releasing it to production.

Paperwork can describe a different lot from the tested sample, or organic wording can appear without supporting documents. Resolve mismatches before shipment. A food ingredient specification also needs revisiting if the finished product will carry medicinal claims.

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.