Sourcing frozen whole carp from China

8% duty on frozen whole carp

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, frozen carp under 0303 25 00 00 carried 8% duty for goods from China. The supplied record shows no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. Heading 0303 covers frozen fish excluding fillets and other fish meat. The table shows carp species sharing the same commodity line, rather than separate duty bands.

The carp line carries veterinary control and organic import control. For Great Britain, arrange advance notification and border veterinary checks. Confirm establishment approval, health-certificate requirements, notification through IPAFFS and the appropriate border control post with the relevant authority or your customs broker. Agree the common health entry document arrangements with your customs broker. Organic consignments from China also need a certificate of inspection issued by the relevant control body in the exporting country.

Confirm the scientific name and whether the goods are whole fish using finding your commodity code. Fillets belong to heading 0304. See the frozen whole fish guide for the wider product family. Confirm the VAT treatment of fish sold as food with HMRC or your customs broker; the import duty and VAT guide explains the calculation.

Specify the carp species, gutting and glaze

Write the scientific name into the purchase specification. Common carp, grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp should not be treated as interchangeable. Agree the fish weight grade, whether heads and scales remain, whether the fish is gutted, the freezing method, glaze allowance, net fish weight and carton packing. Define acceptable skin damage and broken tails against an approved sample.

Check the plant's approval before ordering and match its identity to the cartons and health certificate. For farmed carp, agree batch residue testing before dispatch. Chinese aquaculture products require checks for chloramphenicol, nitrofuran and its metabolites, malachite green, crystal violet and their metabolites, with the results included in an attestation from the Chinese competent authorities.

Ask for a thawed sample assessment as well as frozen photographs. Record flesh firmness, colour and odour so that heavy glaze cannot hide poor condition. Keep the sampling method and acceptance criteria in the order specification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 tonnes of frozen whole common carp for a food wholesaler under 0303 25 00 00, invoiced at £4,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £5,500. Duty at 8% is £440. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £5,940, so it is £1,188. Import taxes total £1,628; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £440 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

Species and preparation: compare sampled fish with the ordered species, weight grade, head condition, scaling and gutting specification.

Glaze and net weight: deglaze samples from different cartons, weigh the fish and compare the result with the agreed net weight and glaze allowance.

Cold chain and condition: check core temperature on arrival, review the journey's temperature record and inspect for freezer burn, damaged skin and signs of thawing and refreezing.

Documents and labels: match batch identities, plant approval details, health certification and residue results to the load. Check the commercial name, production method and farming area on labels. Use the quality inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A carton described simply as carp can contain the wrong species or mixed weight grades. Heavy glaze reduces the fish received, incomplete gutting leaves unwanted material, and thawing followed by refreezing damages flesh quality. Compare deglazed and thawed samples with the specification before accepting the batch.

Paperwork can fail when the approved plant, batch identity or residue results do not match the shipment. Confirm the documents before loading and reconcile them again on arrival. A supplier's commercial test report should not be treated as the Chinese authority's residue attestation.

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.