Sourcing first aid kits and medical sundries

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, sterile sutures and adhesion barriers, opacifying preparations and diagnostic reagents, dental cements and bone cements, first aid boxes and kits, medical lubricating gels and appliances identifiable for ostomy use carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Plasters and dressings are in heading 3005 and medicines in 3004, so confirm the commodity code for each item and for kits sold as sets.

Medical device rules and BS 8599

Sutures, ostomy bags, lubricating gels, dental cements and the dressings inside first aid kits are medical devices under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, so each needs UKCA or CE marking for its class, a UK Responsible Person where the manufacturer is outside the UK, and registration with the MHRA before it is sold in Great Britain. Sterile products need validated sterilisation and packaging, and higher-class devices such as sutures need a notified or approved body certificate.

Workplace first aid kits are commonly specified to BS 8599-1, which sets the contents for small, medium and large kits, and vehicle kits to BS 8599-2; buyers check the contents list and expiry dates. See the medical and PPE guide and the plasters and dressings guide.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 10,000 workplace first aid kits, entered under 3006 50 00 00: £60,000 free on board plus £4,000 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £64,000. First aid kits carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £64,000, £12,800, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Kits are bulky and light, so carton size drives the freight. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong

Medical sundries fail on paperwork, sterility and contents. Products arrive without a UK Responsible Person, MHRA registration or the right certificate for their class, sterile barrier pouches have weak seals or damaged packaging so sterility is lost, and expiry dates are short on arrival. First aid kits miss items or quantities that BS 8599-1 requires, contain unregistered or unmarked components, and cases crack or labels are not in English.

Check each device's class, marking, certificate and MHRA registration before ordering, ask for sterilisation validation and batch sterility records, peel-test and visually inspect sterile pouches, require a minimum remaining shelf life at delivery, count kit contents against the BS 8599-1 list for the kit size, and check case quality and English labelling at inspection.

Cambridge China Bridge sources first aid kits, sutures, ostomy supplies and other medical sundries for distributors, with the medical device paperwork checked before production. See how we source medical sundries.