Sourcing greeting cards and postcards from China
Printed or illustrated postcards and printed greeting, message and announcement cards from China, with or without envelopes or trimmings, pay 0% UK duty, with no anti-dumping duty. Cards with sound modules or lights bring battery and electrical rules, glitter and embellishments need checking for children, and packaging counts for EPR. Cambridge China Bridge sources greeting cards and postcards.
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Zero duty
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, printed or illustrated postcards and printed cards bearing personal greetings, messages or announcements, whether or not illustrated, with or without envelopes or trimmings, carried 0% duty on goods from China under heading 4909, with no anti-dumping measure. For the reverse trade route, see our guide to exporting UK printed products to China.
Blank cards and stationery sets are classified elsewhere. Confirm the commodity code.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed postcards and greeting cards, with or without envelopes | 4909 00 00 00 | 0% | None |
Sound and light cards
Musical and light-up cards contain button or coin cells, so they fall under the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 and bring WEEE questions. Battery compartments must stop small children reaching the cell, and the card must be safe under general product safety law.
Paper, print and packaging
Specify board weight, finish (foil, embossing, spot UV), colour profile and envelope paper, and approve a printed proof. Cellophane sleeves and envelopes are packaging for packaging EPR, and plastic sleeves count towards Plastic Packaging Tax thresholds. Artwork must be yours or licensed; the IP guide explains why. For book projects, see our book printing sourcing guide. For children's colouring book projects, see our guide to sourcing children's colouring books.
Worked duty example
Take a hypothetical order of 50,000 boxed greeting cards with envelopes, entered under 4909 00 00 00: £11,000 free on board plus £1,600 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £12,600. Greeting cards carry no duty, so import VAT of 20% on £12,600, £2,520, is the only tax. A VAT-registered importer normally reclaims it, so the border adds no lasting cost. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.
Inspection checklist
Colour and print: a press proof on the actual board compared with the approved artwork under standard viewing light, with the print process controlled to ISO 12647-2 targets where the printer offers it, foil and embossing checked for register and fine-line fill-in, and glitter and foil rubbed to check they are sealed.
Board, envelopes and packs: board weight and thickness measured against the specification, cards bent to check stiffness in the display, every card size tried in its envelope, and cello sleeves and boxes checked against the pack count and barcode on sampled cartons.
Sound modules and claims: musical and light-up cards played on a sample after storage to check battery life, coin-cell compartments checked so small children cannot reach the cell, battery marking checked under the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008, FSC or recycled claims backed by the printer's chain-of-custody certificate, and cartons sampled to ISO 2859-1.
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What goes wrong
Cards fail on colour, glitter and envelopes. Christmas reds and skin tones print differently from the proof when the press is not profiled, foil blocking fills in fine lines or flakes off, and glitter that is not sealed sheds in the pack and onto the customer. Envelopes cut a few millimetres too small will not take the card, board that is too light bows in the display, and sound modules fail when the battery is flat by the time the card reaches the shop.
Approve a press proof on the actual board, rub-test foil and glitter, check card and envelope sizes together, bend-test the board, and on sound or light cards check that the cell is enclosed, that the module plays, and the date on the battery. At inspection, count packs and check shrink-wrap and barcodes.
Inspection
At inspection, check colour against the proof, folding and cutting, envelope fit, and count packs.
Cambridge China Bridge sources greeting cards, postcards and boxed card sets, with print, battery and packaging questions settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works. For calendars in your stationery range, see our printed calendars sourcing guide.
Related guides: Sourcing envelopes from China.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on greeting cards from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, printed postcards and greeting cards of heading 4909 carried 0% duty from China.
Do musical cards need extra compliance?
Yes. Their button or coin cells bring battery regulations, WEEE questions and child safety checks on the battery compartment.
Are card envelopes and sleeves packaging?
Yes. They count for packaging EPR, and plastic sleeves for Plastic Packaging Tax thresholds.
Are blank cards in heading 4909?
No. Heading 4909 covers printed cards; blank stationery is classified elsewhere.