Sourcing Gold Tubing from China

Gold tubing duty and VAT

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 8 October 2026, heading 7108 covers gold, including gold plated with platinum, in unwrought, semi-manufactured or powder form. For raw gold tubing, the candidate line is 7108 13 80 00, other semi-manufactured forms. The table shows tubing formats sharing this candidate code, rather than separate tariff subdivisions. See the wider gold powder, wire and sheet guide.

The supplied record shows 0% duty on goods from China throughout this heading, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions. No attached controls are recorded for the candidate tubing line. Waste import and export controls appear on the powder line. If a shipment includes waste, confirm the requirements with your customs broker. Where notification controls apply, the competent authorities of dispatch, destination and transit must consent before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code using the material composition, hollow cross-section and extent of processing. Ordinary gold tubing attracts 20% import VAT; it is not an investment gold bar, wafer or coin. Confirm UK resale VAT treatment with your adviser before invoicing customers. See UK import duty and VAT for the calculation method.

Specify the alloy, bore and wall

Specify gold fineness, the alloy composition and colour, outside diameter, bore, wall thickness, length and tolerances. State whether tubing is seamless or seamed, its temper and surface finish, and whether it will be drawn, bent, soldered or polished after delivery. Agree an approved sample and ask for an assay certificate linked to the production batch.

Raw material, including tube, is exempt from compulsory hallmarking. That exemption does not establish the treatment of finished jewellery made from it. Hallmarking is required when selling precious metal items over the applicable weight threshold, subject to exemptions. Confirm the finished article's position before sale, and keep material assay records separate from evidence of hallmarking.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2 kg of gold tubing for a jewellery workshop under 7108 13 80 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

Material: match batch identification and assay records to the order, and arrange independent fineness testing where needed.

Dimensions: measure the outside diameter, bore and wall around the circumference and along the tube; check ovality and straightness.

Workability: examine seams, cracks, burrs and internal contamination, then trial the intended bending or soldering operation on samples.

Weight and packing: reconcile net weight and lengths against the packing list; check that protective packing prevents crushing and rubbing.

What goes wrong

A tube can meet its outside diameter while having an oversized bore and an undersized wall. Uneven walls, open seams and the wrong temper can cause splitting or collapse during forming. A polished exterior can hide internal contamination. Approve a sample after trial processing, then inspect the production batch against the same drawing.

Fineness and net weight can differ from the paperwork, while an untraceable assay report cannot identify the delivered batch. Another mistake is treating tubing as VAT-exempt investment gold because it has high purity. Agree independent assay and supervised weighing before shipment, using the quality inspection guide to set the inspection brief.

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.