Sourcing fresh mandarins from China

Fresh mandarin duty and import controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 24 November 2026, the fresh mandarin, satsuma, tangerine and clementine lines shown carry a 16% base duty for goods from China, with an autonomous suspension to 0%. The published suspension runs until 31 December 2028. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty is listed for these lines. The suspension excludes mixtures, preparations and products made up of different components containing these goods.

The tariff attaches HMI conformity and Certificate of Conformity controls. Confirm with HMI whether the fresh mandarins must meet the citrus specific marketing standard; goods subject to specific marketing standards need a certificate of conformity before entering Great Britain. Organic imports from China also need a Great Britain certificate of inspection for each consignment. The tariff additionally attaches a Unit price control to the fresh mandarin, satsuma and tangerine lines; ask your customs broker to confirm its declaration requirements.

Heading 0805 covers fresh or dried citrus, but this guide concerns fresh mandarins and related easy peelers. Confirm the variety and presentation through finding your commodity code. Do not assume that a citrus hybrid receives the same suspension. See the wider citrus and pomelo guide for the other fruit families.

Specify the variety, maturity and packing

Name the variety rather than ordering only by the description ‘easy peeler’. Agree fruit size, quality class, peel colour, seed expectations, sweetness and acidity, acceptable skin blemishes and carton contents. Ask the grower and packer to identify the orchard and packing lot. Agree refrigerated transport settings and ventilation with the packer, and request temperature records.

For China-to-Great Britain shipments, confirm phytosanitary certificate, pre-notification and plant health check requirements with the plant-health authority. Specify fruit without attached leaves. Ask HMI to confirm the applicable citrus marketing standard, including class, minimum size and maturity requirements. Ask for the post-harvest treatment record and arrange residue testing against applicable maximum residue levels.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 20 tonnes of fresh mandarins under 0805 21 90 11, 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 16% is £3,600. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £26,100, so it is £5,220. Import taxes total £8,820; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £3,600 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

Variety and maturity: compare the lot with the agreed variety, size, peel colour and eating sample; cut fruit to check seeds, juiciness and flavour.

Condition: check for soft fruit, mould, split peel, bruising, shrivelling and pitting; inspect cartons throughout the load rather than only those near the doors.

Cold chain and packing: compare temperature records with the agreed settings; check wet cartons, crushed fruit, ventilation openings and carton contents.

Documents and labels: match the variety, origin, class and lot details with the packing list and certificates; confirm organic paperwork where relevant.

What goes wrong

A convincing packing sample can hide uneven maturity or a different variety in the shipment. Fruit that looks acceptable outside may be dry, acidic or unexpectedly seedy inside. Damaged fruit can spread mould, while unsuitable refrigerated transport settings can cause pitting or allow decay. Inspect at packing and again on arrival before dispatching to customers.

A variety described loosely as a mandarin may belong to an unsuspended hybrid line. Missing or mismatched plant health documents can hold the load at the port while fruit deteriorates. Keep the fruit description, lot records and certificates consistent. Confirm the VAT treatment of fresh fruit with HMRC or your customs broker; see UK import duty and VAT.

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.