Sourcing hair perfumes from China

UK duty on hair perfumes

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 6 October 2026, heading 3303 covers perfumes and toilet waters. Both lines carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no listed suspension. Import VAT is 20%. The table shows bottle and refill formats under the same tariff lines.

The tariff attaches an export control of mercury to both lines. Environment Agency guidance on mercury-added products concerns products where mercury or a mercury compound has been intentionally added. Ask your customs broker to confirm whether any requirement affects your formula and shipment.

Give your broker the full formula, intended function and label claims to confirm the commodity code, especially if the product also conditions or styles hair. Use this guide for hair perfumes classified under this heading; see the perfume and fragrances guide for the wider family.

Specify the scent, hair feel and spray

Specify the fragrance against a sealed approved sample, the alcohol or water base, colour, fill volume and pump format. Evaluate the sample on hair for scent, drying behaviour, visible residue and greasy feel. Agree the spray pattern and cap fit, and require approval before the factory changes the fragrance oil, formula, bottle or pump.

Hair perfumes are cosmetics. Arrange the UK Responsible Person and confirm product information file, qualified safety assessment and notification requirements with the relevant authority before sale in Great Britain. Obtain the full quantitative formula for the assessor under confidentiality. Have the assessor review the actual formula and concentration, and confirm ingredient labelling requirements, including any applicable fragrance-allergen thresholds, with the relevant authority.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 600 bottles of 50 ml hair perfume; FOB and freight values are illustrative under 3303 00 10 00, invoiced at £3,000 free on board, with £600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £3,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £3,600, so it is £720. 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

Formula and scent: compare arrival samples with the sealed reference; check colour, separation, scent and residue on hair against the agreed specification.

Spray and closure: actuate pumps repeatedly, check mist distribution and cap fit, and test filled bottles inverted and warm for leakage.

Fill and packaging: check net content against the agreed specification, bottle damage, carton staining and compatibility of the actual formula with its container.

Labels and shipment: compare English artwork with the safety documentation; check ingredients, warnings, durability marking, Responsible Person details and batch codes. Give the safety data sheet to your forwarder and confirm whether the actual alcohol-based perfume requires dangerous goods shipping arrangements with the forwarder or relevant transport authority. Include these checks in your inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A sample can smell acceptable while leaving hair sticky or greasy. A changed fragrance oil can alter the scent, and a substituted pump can deliver a wet jet instead of the approved mist. Check the finished formula in the production bottle, retain approved samples and compare each batch before release.

Leaking closures stain cartons and reduce fill levels. Formula changes can also leave the safety report and printed ingredient list out of step with the goods. Resolve these mismatches before sale rather than relying on the factory's original sample or a report for a different product.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.