Sourcing gold sponge from China

Gold sponge duty and import checks

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 8 October 2026, heading 7108 covers gold, including gold plated with platinum, unwrought, semi-manufactured or powdered. Every listed line carries 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no listed suspension. The table includes processed forms for comparison; these are not alternative descriptions of sponge.

The powder line carries import and export waste controls. If a Chinese shipment is waste subject to notification controls, the exporter must apply to the competent authority in China for consent. Ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable waste procedure before dispatch. Russian-gold import prohibitions can still apply when goods ship from China, so have the broker review upstream provenance.

Give your broker photographs, the manufacturing description, assay and details of whether the material is loose powder or porous lumps. Confirm the commodity code before ordering. For the wider heading, see gold casting granules. Ask HMRC or your customs broker to confirm whether ordinary industrial sponge qualifies for investment-gold VAT exemption; budget 20% import VAT pending confirmation and check the calculation in UK import duty and VAT.

Specify the sponge, assay and dry weight

Specify whether you want loose porous particles or cohesive lumps, the acceptable particle or lump size range, fineness, named impurities and residual processing chemicals. Agree whether the assay and invoiced weight refer to dry material. Request a batch-specific assay, refiner identity and records showing the source of the gold.

Agree a sampling method that represents the whole batch, including fines. Use an independent laboratory to confirm gold content and the impurities relevant to your process. Specify sealed containers, batch labels and how loose material will be recovered from packaging. Check the producer through factory verification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 kg of gold sponge, subject to commodity-code confirmation under 7108 12 00 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 container labels, batch references and seals to the assay, invoice and packing list.

Assay: test a representative sample independently; compare gold content and named impurities with the agreed specification.

Weight: weigh on calibrated scales, record packaging tare and distinguish received weight from agreed dry weight.

Condition: check for wet material, foreign particles, unexpected fines and loose gold trapped in seals or packaging. See quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A surface sample can conceal a mixed batch. Moisture or processing residues can inflate the received weight, while loose fines can remain in packaging. Disputes arise when the certificate reports dry gold content but the invoice charges for the full received weight. Agree the sampling, drying and weight basis before payment.

Do not accept an investment-gold description solely because the assay shows high purity. Keep origin records rather than relying only on the Chinese dispatch address. Before UK resale, ask your accountant whether HMRC's special gold accounting scheme applies: it transfers VAT payment from seller to buyer for certain gold transactions.

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.