Sourcing fresh limes from China

Fresh-lime duty and import controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 7 October 2026, fresh limes under 0805 50 90 10 carried 12% duty for goods from China. Heading 0805 covers fresh or dried citrus fruit. The fresh-lime line records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. Confirm the VAT treatment of fresh fruit sold as food with HMRC or your customs broker.

The tariff attaches unit-price and organic import controls. HMRC says simplified procedure values cannot be used where there is a transaction value; ask your customs broker to confirm the valuation treatment. Organic products imported into Great Britain from China require a Great Britain certificate of inspection. Confirm the organic eligibility and paperwork with your control body and broker before dispatch.

The supplied data contains a single fresh-lime line. Confirm the species and fresh condition using our commodity-code guide. For related fruit and the wider heading, see citrus fruit and pomelos. Ask your broker to confirm the current plant-health requirements for the exact consignment and destination.

Specify limes for juice or whole-fruit use

Name the variety and intended use: whole-fruit retail, catering garnish or juicing. Agree size range, skin colour, firmness, seed content, juice yield and acceptable surface blemishes. Approve cut-fruit samples as well as exterior photographs. A green skin alone does not establish juice yield or internal condition.

Record carton net weight, ventilation, protective packing, lot identification and declared post-harvest treatments. Agree refrigerated transport settings and arrival acceptance criteria with the packer. Request batch pesticide-residue testing, especially where customers use the peel. Fresh produce must meet quality and labelling requirements.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of fresh limes for a produce wholesaler under 0805 50 90 10, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £4,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £22,500. Duty at 12% is £2,700. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £25,200, so it is £5,040. Import taxes total £7,740; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,700 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Fruit: sample across cartons for size consistency, firmness, mould, splits, shrivelling and peel pitting; cut fruit to check flesh and juice yield.

Cold chain: compare loading and arrival temperatures with the agreed specification, and review the transport temperature log.

Packing: check carton strength, ventilation, net weight and lot markings against the order; photograph wet or crushed cartons.

Documents: match batch references across packing records, treatment declarations and residue reports; for organic stock, check the certificate of inspection. Use our inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A visually acceptable sample can hide dry flesh, thick peel or inconsistent juice yield. Mixed size grades make garnish portions uneven. Poor temperature control can leave limes pitted or shrivelled, while damaged fruit and damp cartons encourage mould.

Inspect at packing and again on arrival before distributing the fruit. Record defects against the agreed acceptance criteria and keep affected lots separate while investigating. Treat a missing organic certificate or an unexplained residue report as an issue to resolve 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.