Sourcing Ethyl Formate from China

Ethyl formate: 4% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 2915 covers saturated acyclic monocarboxylic acids and their derivatives. Ethyl formate falls within other esters of formic acid, provisionally under 2915 13 00 90. The table presents purchasing specifications within that same tariff line, rather than separate tariff categories.

The supplied tariff record gives 4% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing measure and no suspension for this line. It attaches an export control for waste. Confirm its relevance with your customs broker, particularly for recovered or spent material. Official guidance says waste shipment controls apply only where the material is waste.

Ask your broker to confirm the commodity code against the substance identity, composition and intended supply form. Do not use the ethyl acetate code for ethyl formate. See the ethyl acetate guide for another product within the wider heading.

Specify ethyl formate by assay, water and acidity

Write ethyl formate and its synonym ethyl methanoate into the purchase specification. State the intended industrial or laboratory use, assay acceptance criteria, water content, acidity, residual ethanol, appearance and test methods. Agree whether results are reported on the material as supplied. Request a batch-specific certificate of analysis and a retained sample.

For Great Britain, confirm with HSE which UK REACH registration responsibilities apply to your annual substance imports. Check valid registration coverage before ordering. Chemicals must be labelled and packaged correctly before market supply; hazardous chemicals supplied for workplace use require a safety data sheet. Request an English sheet and review its handling, storage and transport information with your receiving site and carrier.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: one tonne of industrial-specification ethyl formate under 2915 13 00 90, invoiced at £2,500 free on board, with £980 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,480. Duty at 4% is £139.20. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,619.20, so it is £723.84. Import taxes total £863.04; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £139.20 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match the purchase specification, batch certificate, container labels and safety data sheet to ethyl formate.

Batch quality: check assay, water, acidity and residual ethanol against the agreed methods and acceptance criteria; arrange independent testing where needed.

Containers: inspect closures, seals, corrosion, staining and signs of leakage before accepting the delivery.

Traceability: reconcile batch identifiers and delivered quantities with the packing list, and keep samples linked to their original containers.

What goes wrong

A generic solvent description allows ethyl acetate or another ester to be offered against an ethyl formate enquiry. An assay result alone leaves water, residual ethanol and acidity unchecked. Different test methods can also make the supplier's certificate difficult to compare with your receiving laboratory's results.

Loose closures, damaged containers and certificates that do not identify the delivered batch complicate acceptance. Hold disputed material apart while the supplier and laboratory investigate. A certificate of analysis describes batch quality; check registration coverage, labels and safety information separately before supply.

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.