Sourcing gaskets and mechanical seals

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, gaskets and similar joints of metal sheeting combined with other material or of two or more layers of metal, mechanical seals, and sets or assortments of gaskets of different composition in pouches or similar packings carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Gaskets of vulcanised rubber alone are rubber articles at 2%, so a kit's make-up decides the commodity code.

Asbestos, standards and materials

Entry 6 of REACH Annex XVII bans placing on the market articles containing asbestos fibres, and asbestos has been found in imported gaskets and fibre sheets, so ask for an asbestos-free declaration backed by a laboratory test for compressed fibre, jointing and head gaskets. See UK REACH for importers.

Spiral wound gaskets for pipe flanges follow ASME B16.20 or the EN 1514 series, with the winding and filler materials, inner and outer rings and colour coding specified; mechanical seals for pumps are dimensioned to EN 12756, and process pump seals are often bought to API 682. Name the fluid, temperature and pressure so the factory chooses the right graphite, PTFE, elastomer or face materials. See the water pumps guide and the engine parts guide.

Worked duty example

Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 20,000 spiral wound flange gaskets under 8484 10 00 90. At £30,000 free on board and £1,500 to ship and insure, the customs value is £31,500. With 0% duty on metal gaskets, the only charge is import VAT: 20% of £31,500, or £6,300. VAT-registered businesses usually recover that in their next return. Moulded rubber O-rings and gaskets bought separately are classified with rubber articles and pay 2%. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.

What goes wrong

Gaskets and seals fail on materials, dimensions and hidden hazards. Fibre gaskets contain asbestos despite a declaration, graphite filler is low purity so it corrodes flanges, windings unwind because spot welds are weak, and inner rings are missing when the standard requires them. Mechanical seal faces are not flat so they leak on start-up, elastomers swell in the process fluid, and head gasket sets arrive with the wrong bore or bolt pattern for the engine.

Test fibre and jointing materials for asbestos at an accredited laboratory, check graphite and PTFE grades against the specification, measure gasket dimensions and ring thickness against ASME B16.20 or EN 1514 tables, check seal face flatness with an optical flat and dimensions against EN 12756, confirm elastomer compatibility with the fluid, and fit-check gasket sets on the target engine or flange.

Cambridge China Bridge sources spiral wound and composite gaskets, gasket sets and mechanical seals, with asbestos tests and dimensional checks agreed before production. See how we source gaskets and seals.