Sourcing fresh cut lilies from China

Fresh cut lily duty and import controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0603 covers cut flowers and flower buds for bouquets or ornament. Fresh cut lilies of the genus Lilium fall under 0603 15 00 00. The table shows buying descriptions within that same tariff line. For wider heading coverage, see our fresh cut roses guide.

The supplied tariff record shows an 8% third-country duty and an autonomous tariff suspension at 0.00 %, with no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing duty. Its suspension excludes mixtures, preparations or products made up of different components containing these goods. The UK Trade Tariff also attaches an organic-products import control. If ordering lilies described as organic, confirm the applicable requirement with your customs broker before dispatch.

Confirm the commodity code and suspension eligibility for the actual shipment. Separately, check the plant-health risk category for Chinese-origin cut lilies entering Great Britain. High and medium risk goods need a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country's plant-health authority for each consignment. Agree who obtains and checks it before the flowers leave China.

Specify cultivar, buds and handling

Name the cultivar and lily group, colour, stem length, stem strength, bud count and acceptable bud maturity at dispatch and arrival. State whether fragrance, double flowers or pollen presentation matters to your customers. Approve photographs showing the agreed opening stage.

Agree bunch composition, sleeves, carton layout and protection against crushed buds. Ask the grower and packhouse to document harvesting, pre-cooling, storage and transport handling. Define a vase-life trial using your normal conditioning method, and agree how arrival defects will be recorded.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order of 2,000 fresh cut lily stems under 0603 15 00 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,900. Duty at 8% is £552. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,452, so it is £1,490.40. Import taxes total £2,042.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £552 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: compare cultivar, colour, bunch composition and stem count with the order.

Buds and stems: check opening stage, bud damage, broken stems and yellowing leaves.

Condition: inspect for wilting, mould, insects, wet sleeves and crushed carton corners.

Handling: review available temperature records and photograph representative stems immediately on arrival. Use our quality inspection guide to brief the inspection.

What goes wrong

Lilies can arrive too open for the planned selling window, or with buds that fail to open during conditioning. Mixed maturity, bruised buds, leaf yellowing and dehydration can make a consignment unsuitable even when the stem count is correct.

A photograph of flowers at the packhouse does not establish their arrival condition. Trial the actual packing and transport arrangement, record condition before conditioning, and agree evidence for complaints. Resolve plant-health paperwork and any organic claim before dispatch.

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.