Sourcing electric bass guitars from China

Electric bass guitar duty and timber controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 9207 covers instruments whose sound is produced or must be amplified electrically. Electric bass guitars fall within the guitars line, 9207 90 10 00, at 2% duty for goods from China. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or tariff suspension is recorded. The table shows variants sharing that line.

The tariff attaches CITES import and export controls and a cultural-object export licence measure. Ask the factory for the scientific names of body, neck and fingerboard woods, then confirm CITES applicability with your customs broker. Where CITES permits are required, arrange the UK import and corresponding Chinese export documentation, use a designated port and present the documents at the border. Ask your broker to check the export measures before any return shipment.

Confirm the complete instrument and any separately supplied accessories through finding your commodity code. Acoustic instruments and amplifiers belong elsewhere. See the digital pianos and electric guitars guide for the wider heading.

Specify the neck, pickups and setup

Specify handedness, string count, scale length, neck profile, fingerboard material, fretted or fretless construction, pickup layout and passive or active electronics. Agree string gauge, tuning, neck relief, action and intonation against an approved playing sample. Record body weight, balance on a strap, bridge adjustment range and the supplied case or gig bag.

For consumer sales in Great Britain, the bass must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Check sharp fret ends, strap-button security and accessible wiring. Electric basses also bring waste electrical and electronic equipment obligations; producers must register annually. Review your arrangements through the electrical waste guide.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 300 electric bass guitars, illustrative order under 9207 90 10 00, invoiced at £54,000 free on board, with £6,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £60,000. Duty at 2% is £1,200. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £61,200, so it is £12,240. Import taxes total £13,440; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,200 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Neck and fretwork: check neck alignment, truss-rod adjustment, fret seating and smooth fret ends; play every string across the fingerboard for buzzing or dead notes.

Setup and hardware: measure relief, action and intonation against the agreed specification; check tuners, bridge saddles, nut slots and strap buttons.

Electronics: test every pickup selection and control through an amplifier; listen for crackle, intermittent output and unexpected hum. Check active controls, battery contacts and output-socket security.

Materials and packing: match woods and finish to the approved sample; inspect for cracks, lifting finish and loose joints. Check neck support and movement inside the carton during quality inspection, then repeat the playing checks on arrival.

What goes wrong

A bass can look acceptable but need extensive setup work. Uneven frets cause buzzing, a poorly cut nut makes tuning unstable, and a misaligned neck leaves strings too close to the fingerboard edge. Crackling controls and a loose output socket can interrupt the signal.

Transit can change neck relief or damage the neck joint if the instrument moves inside its carton. Agree which defects require rework before dispatch, retain the approved playing sample and check arrival condition before distributing stock. A description such as rosewood is insufficient for assessing species-specific timber controls.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.