Sourcing gamma-butyrolactone from China

Gamma-butyrolactone duty and controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, gamma-butyrolactone falls under 2932 20 20 00, within the lactones of heading 2932. Goods from China have a 6% third-country rate and an autonomous suspension to 0%. The suspension excludes mixtures, preparations and products containing different components. No anti-dumping or countervailing measure is recorded for this line.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches an export control for waste. Ask your customs broker to confirm its relevance to the proposed movement, particularly for spent or contaminated material. If a waste shipment is subject to notification controls, it cannot move until the competent authorities of dispatch, destination and transit have consented.

Confirm the commodity code using the substance identity and full composition rather than a supplier's description of it as a cleaning solvent. The supplied data contains only the gamma-butyrolactone line shown here. For other products within this heading, see the tetrahydrofuran guide.

Specify purity, water and industrial end use

Specify gamma-butyrolactone as the substance, rather than accepting a generic solvent description. Agree assay, water content, acidity, colour and related impurities, with the analytical methods and acceptance limits written into the purchase specification. State whether recycled material is acceptable. Request a batch certificate of analysis and a safety data sheet before approving the shipment.

The Home Office describes a current conditional exemption from controlled-drug licensing for industrial use. The intended use must not be human ingestion other than as food flavouring. This guide concerns industrial procurement. Record the actual process and intended customer use, and confirm that the exemption applies with the Home Office before ordering.

Before placing the chemical on the Great Britain market, ensure it is labelled and packaged correctly under the chemical classification rules. Check the classification and arrange a review of UK REACH registration coverage. Agree drum material, closures and sampling arrangements with the supplier and receiving laboratory.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 5 tonnes of industrial gamma-butyrolactone, illustrative only under 2932 20 20 00, invoiced at £9,150 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £11,650. Duty at 6% is £699. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £12,349, so it is £2,469.80. Import taxes total £3,168.80; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £699 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: compare the purchase specification, drum description and batch certificate; arrange laboratory identification where the documents leave doubt.

Analysis: test a representative sample for assay, water, acidity, colour and agreed impurities; compare results with the batch certificate and your acceptance limits.

Packaging: check seals, closures, leakage, corrosion and external contamination before accepting the drums into stock.

Traceability: match drum batch references to the certificate and delivery documents; use the inspection guide to prepare the receiving checklist.

What goes wrong

A certificate headed only 'solvent' leaves the substance and composition uncertain. Undeclared dilution, substituted material or recycled content can defeat the agreed specification. Water or acidity outside your process limits can also make a batch unsuitable. Hold discrepant material pending investigation rather than blending it into accepted stock.

A cleaning-product description does not establish the actual intended use. Resolve unclear end-use information before ordering. Treat the licensing exemption, tariff suspension and chemical supply duties as separate checks; a zero duty rate does not settle the other questions.

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.