Sourcing gold electroplating anodes from China

Gold anode duty and VAT

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 8 October 2026, heading 7108 covers gold, including gold plated with platinum, unwrought, semi-manufactured or powdered. This guide concerns solid-gold electroplating anodes and their blanks. For other forms, see gold powder, wire and sheet. The table separates bars and rods from plates although they share a tariff code.

The relevant lines carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspensions recorded. No attached controls are recorded against those lines. The powder line separately carries import and export waste controls. If a shipment from China is waste subject to notification controls, the dispatch, destination and transit authorities must consent before shipment. Confirm waste status and the applicable procedure with your customs broker.

Confirm the supplied form, composition and manufacturing stage using finding your commodity code. Ask HMRC to confirm investment-gold exemption eligibility for the supplied form, purity and bullion-market weight rather than assuming purity alone establishes it. Non-investment gold attracts 20% import VAT. Check the treatment before ordering and use UK import duty and VAT for the calculation.

Specify the gold and the plating connection

Confirm that your plating process calls for a soluble gold anode. State whether the purchase is solid gold, an alloy or a coated substrate; do not accept those descriptions interchangeably. Agree fineness, permitted impurities, net gold weight, dimensions, surface condition, contact area, mounting holes and packing.

Give the supplier your bath chemistry and anode mounting drawing. Agree a sample trial with your process operator, including dissolution behaviour and bath contamination checks. Require a batch assay report, refiner identity and traceable batch references. Use factory verification to check who refines and fabricates the goods.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 kg of solid gold anode rods under 7108 13 10 00, invoiced at £120,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £121,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £121,500, so it is £24,300. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match the invoice, batch markings, assay report and refiner records to the ordered material.

Gold content: independently check fineness and agreed impurities; compare measured net weight with the order.

Fit: check dimensions, straightness, mounting holes and electrical contact surfaces against the drawing.

Condition: inspect for cracks, inclusions, surface contamination and damaged seals; keep batches separated for the agreed plating trial.

What goes wrong

A coated electrode is supplied against a solid-gold specification, the assay describes a different batch, or gross packed weight is mistaken for gold weight. Mounting details can also prevent reliable electrical contact. Make these acceptance checks explicit and arrange quality inspection before releasing the shipment.

Tax errors arise when high purity is treated as sufficient proof of investment-gold status. For UK resale, check whether the transaction falls within HMRC's Special Accounting Scheme for gold between VAT-registered traders; arrange the invoicing treatment before quoting your customer.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.