Sourcing fireworks and pyrotechnics from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, fireworks under 3604 10 00 00 and signalling flares, rain rockets, fog signals and other pyrotechnic articles under 3604 90 00 00 carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Christmas crackers are classified as festive articles in heading 9505, so confirm the commodity code for novelty items.

Classification, marking and the Fireworks Regulations

HSE says explosives must be classified before they are carried in Great Britain, by HSE or a Contracting Party to ADR. Most imported fireworks are classified under the UN default scheme, applied for on form LP83 with technical drawings and pyrotechnic composition data, and HSE aims to agree classifications within 20 working days. Imports from outside the EU also need a GB transfer approval, and storage above the small-quantity limits needs an explosives licence.

The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 sort fireworks into categories F1 to F4 and require conformity assessment and UKCA or CE marking, and importers must keep a register of complaints and non-conforming articles for 10 years. The minimum age is 16 for F1 and 18 for F2 and F3. Under the Fireworks Regulations 2004, regulation 11 requires the importer to give customs their name and the name and address of the storage premises, and regulation 9 limits unlicensed retail sale to set periods around Chinese New Year, Diwali, 5 November and New Year.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 2,000 cartons of category F2 garden fireworks, entered under 3604 10 00 00: £18,000 free on board plus £6,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £24,000. Fireworks carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £24,000, £4,800, 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.

What goes wrong

Fireworks fail on classification, construction and paperwork. A product whose composition or construction differs from the drawings submitted for classification is not covered, so a factory change of shell size or flash composition invalidates the paperwork. Fuses that burn too fast, tubes that tip over and cakes whose shots fire sideways are the safety failures, and labels without the category, registration number, safety distance and English instructions cannot be sold.

Match every product to its classification reference and conformity certificate before booking, compare production samples with the approved drawings and net explosive content, test fuse delay and stability on samples, check English labels and safety distances, and book dangerous goods sea freight early because few carriers and ports accept explosives. Confirm carrier and port acceptance of explosives early when arranging sea freight from China to the UK for fireworks.

Cambridge China Bridge sources consumer and display fireworks, with classification, marking and dangerous goods shipping agreed before production. See how we manage regulated products.