Sourcing Frankincense Resin from China

Zero duty on raw frankincense resin

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 1301 covers lac, natural gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins. Raw frankincense resin uses the other line, 1301 90 00 00, with 0% duty for goods of Chinese origin. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table shows purchasing forms under the same commodity line.

The line attaches CITES and Home Office controlled-drug import and export controls, plus organic import control. CITES-listed species need permits; importing or exporting controlled drugs or precursor chemicals requires a licence. Confirm the botanical species and composition with your customs broker rather than assuming every frankincense shipment needs these licences. For organic incense resin, confirm the scope of the attached organic control and the required documents with your broker.

Give your broker the botanical name, composition, processing and intended use to confirm the commodity code. This guide concerns raw resin, so check oils, extracts and prepared incense separately. For wider coverage of this heading, see the benzoin resin guide.

Specify the resin behind the frankincense name

Specify the Boswellia species, harvest country and whether the Chinese supplier collects, imports, sorts or grinds the resin. Ask for records supporting the declared origin. Agree whole tears, sorted tears, crushed resin or powder, with an approved sample for colour, aroma and texture. State whether added fragrance, colour, other resins or fillers are acceptable.

For incense, agree a controlled heating comparison against the approved sample, checking aroma, residue and consistency. Consumer products sold in Great Britain must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Assess the intended burning method and agree suitable safety information before printing retail packaging. Keep this specification separate from any proposal to sell the resin for ingestion or therapeutic use.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 2 tonnes of raw frankincense resin for an incense wholesaler, illustrative under 1301 90 00 00, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £16,900. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £16,900, so it is £3,380. 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: compare representative samples with the approved resin; match botanical name, harvest origin and batch identification to supplier records.

Cleanliness: check for bark, sand, stones, excessive dust, insects, dampness and mould; compare the tear size and colour mix with the agreed sample.

Performance: compare aroma and residue using the agreed heating method; investigate unexpected perfume notes, uneven behaviour or suspected blending.

Packing: check liners, seals and batch labels; look for powder leakage and crushed tears, and retain an arrival sample for comparison.

What goes wrong

An attractive sample can conceal a bulk lot with more dust, bark or mixed resin. Powder makes visual identification harder, while damp packing can cause clumping. Agree rejection criteria and compare samples taken across the shipment before accepting the batch.

A supplier's dispatch address does not establish where the resin was harvested. A trade name alone also leaves species checks unresolved. Obtain supporting records before shipment and have your broker confirm which tariff controls apply to the actual material.

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.