Sourcing essential oils from China

Zero duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, the essential oils, resinoids, extracted oleoresins and terpenic by-products of heading 3301 that we checked all carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The tariff also flags the heading for drug precursor surveillance. For citronella, see our citronella essential oil sourcing guide.

Blends of essential oils made up as fragrances or flavourings are in heading 3302, and finished aromatherapy and cosmetic products in the chapter 33 headings for beauty products. Confirm the commodity code. For the reverse route, see UK essential oil exports to China.

Hazard labels and precursors

Many essential oils are classified under the GB CLP Regulation, commonly as skin sensitisers, as flammable liquids and, for oils rich in hydrocarbons, as aspiration hazards. A supplier placing them on the GB market needs hazard labels, and business customers need a safety data sheet. Liquids classified as aspiration hazards and sold to the general public also need child-resistant fastenings and a tactile warning. Many oils are also dangerous goods for sea and air freight, so the safety data sheet must give the transport classification the forwarder needs.

Safrole is a category 1 drug precursor, and oils rich in it, such as sassafras oil, can fall under Home Office precursor controls. Ask for the safrole content of any oil that may contain it before you order.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 200 kg of eucalyptus oil under 3301 29 49 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,600, so it is £1,320. 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.

Inspection checklist

Identity: gas chromatography of each batch compared with the ISO standard for that oil where one exists, such as ISO 3515 for lavender, ISO 856 for peppermint, ISO 855 for lemon and ISO 3140 for sweet orange, with chiral analysis of linalool and linalyl acetate where synthetic addition is suspected.

Physical constants and freshness: relative density by ISO 279, refractive index by ISO 280 and optical rotation by ISO 592 checked against the ranges in the standard or specification, and peroxide value tested on oxidation-prone oils such as citrus and lavender before they are filled.

Labels and packing: GB CLP hazard labels and a safety data sheet in English for the batch, the allergen composition supplied for cosmetic and fragrance users, the dangerous goods classification for flammable oils, and lined drums or aluminium bottles filled with a nitrogen headspace and tamper seals.

What goes wrong

Essential oils fail on purity. Expensive oils are cut with cheaper oils, with synthetic components such as linalool or linalyl acetate in lavender, or with carrier oils, and the smell alone will not show it. Oils oxidise when drums are part-filled or stored warm, which raises their sensitising potential, and drums arrive with the wrong labels or without the safety data sheet. For clove oil specifically, see our clove essential oil sourcing guide.

Ask for a gas chromatography report on each batch and test a retained sample in a UK laboratory against the pure-oil profile, specify full, nitrogen-flushed drums or bottles with tamper seals, and at inspection check batch numbers against the reports, the labels and safety data sheets, and the drum closures.

Cambridge China Bridge sources essential oils, resinoids and oleoresins, with batch reports, labels and dangerous goods paperwork agreed before shipment. See how our sourcing service works.