Gas welding torches and blowlamps from China

2% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, machinery and apparatus for soldering, brazing or welding other than electric, whether or not capable of cutting, and gas-operated surface tempering machines, heading 8468, carried 2% on goods from China on all four lines, with no anti-dumping measure.

Electric welding machines are in heading 8515 (see our welding machines guide), and gas pressure regulators and valves on their own are usually classified as valves under heading 8481. Confirm the commodity code for each item in a kit.

Standards and safety

Gas welding equipment has its own ISO standards: blowpipes to BS EN ISO 5172, pressure regulators to BS EN ISO 2503, hoses to BS EN ISO 3821 and flashback arrestors to BS EN ISO 5175-1. Ask for test reports to each for the exact models in a kit.

Blowlamps and kits sold to consumers must also be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, with clear instructions and warnings in English, a stable base and a secure cartridge connection.

Specifying torches

Specify gas type (oxy-acetylene, oxy-propane, butane or MAPP-type gas), nozzle sizes and range, cutting capacity, connection threads for the UK market, regulator outlet pressure range, hose length and bore, flashback arrestor position, ignition type on blowlamps, and packaging with English instructions and warnings.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 12,000 butane blowtorches under 8468 10 00 00. At £30,000 free on board and £2,500 to ship and insure, the customs value is £32,500. Butane blowtorches at 2% pay £650 of duty; VAT is then worked out on value plus duty, £33,150, giving £6,630. Of the £7,280 paid at import, only the £650 of duty stays a cost for a VAT-registered business. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

Inspection checklist

Leak test: pressure-test sampled torches, regulators and connections with the gas or an inert gas at the rated pressure and check with leak-detection fluid, and check valves shut off fully.

Standards and markings: check torches, regulators, hoses and arrestors carry the marking of BS EN ISO 5172, 2503, 3821 and 5175-1 as applicable, and that threads and hose colours match the gas.

Function: light sampled torches and blowlamps, check flame stability and adjustment, check ignition works repeatedly, and check instructions and warnings are in English.

What goes wrong

Gas torches fail on leaks, threads and protection. Connections leak at the seats, threads do not fit UK cylinders or regulators, kits ship without flashback arrestors or with arrestors that do not meet the standard, blowlamp igniters fail after a few uses, and instructions and warnings are missing or poorly translated.

Leak-test samples, check threads against UK fittings and require standard-marked arrestors before shipment. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources gas welding torches, cutting sets and blowlamps for tool and welding distributors, checking the factory's test equipment before an order. See factory verification.