Sourcing empty gelatin capsules from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of it, moulded or carved articles of wax, stearin, natural gums or resins or modelling pastes, and worked, unhardened gelatin and articles of it, heading 9602, carried 0% on goods from China for hand-made and other goods, with no anti-dumping measure. Empty hard capsules of gelatin are articles of unhardened gelatin in this heading.

Gelatin itself is under heading 3503, candles under 3406, and capsules made of other materials may be classified differently, so confirm the commodity code from the capsule material. Filled capsules are classified by their contents.

Food, medicine and animal origin

Capsules for food supplements are food, so they must meet UK general food law under Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 as retained, with traceability and a food business operator responsible for them. Capsules for medicines are excipients, so the medicine maker's quality system and pharmacopoeia requirements apply.

Gelatin is of animal origin, so confirm with the Animal and Plant Health Agency or port health authority what certification and pre-notification apply to your capsules, and whether the gelatin source (bovine, porcine or fish) matches halal, kosher or vegetarian claims on the final product.

Specifying capsules

Specify size (such as 00, 0 or 1), capsule weight and tolerance, colour and opacity, printing, gelatin source and grade, moisture content, disintegration time, microbiological limits, and packing in sealed liners with humidity control.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 50 million empty hard gelatin capsules, entered under 9602 00 00 90: £40,000 free on board plus £1,500 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £41,500. Empty capsules carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £41,500, £8,300, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

Inspection checklist

Quality: check the certificate of analysis for each lot for moisture, disintegration and microbiology, and have an independent laboratory test a sample.

Dimensions and defects: check capsule length and weight, and inspect for dents, splits, holes and double caps, which jam filling machines.

Documents and packing: check the gelatin source declaration, animal-origin certificates and sealed, humidity-controlled cartons before shipment.

What goes wrong

Capsule orders fail on moisture, defects and paperwork. Capsules that are too dry crack and too wet stick together, dimensional defects jam filling machines, the gelatin source does not match the label claim, and animal-origin documents are missing at the border.

Test each lot, run capsules on your filling machine, and check documents early. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources empty capsules for UK supplement brands and contract fillers, checking the maker's quality records first. See factory verification.