Sourcing hand sieves and riddles from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 27 September 2026, heading 9604 covers hand sieves and hand riddles and has one line, 9604 00 00 00, which carried 0% on goods from China with no anti-dumping measure and no suspension.

Powered screening machines are in chapter 84 (see our grain cleaning and flour milling machines guide), and woven wire cloth sold by the roll is in chapter 73 (see our wire mesh guide), so confirm the commodity code.

Food contact and safety

Sieves for flour, sugar or other food are food contact materials under the retained Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, so they must not transfer constituents to food in harmful amounts; ask for a declaration of compliance and test reports for the mesh and frame materials.

Sieves sold to consumers must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, so check for sharp mesh edges and loose wires.

For laboratory test sieves, ISO 3310-1 sets requirements and tests for woven wire cloth test sieves; ask for certification against it if you need a calibrated aperture.

Specifying sieves

Specify diameter and depth, mesh aperture and wire diameter, mesh material (stainless steel grade, nylon or brass), frame material (stainless steel, wood, plastic), how the mesh is fixed, handles or hooks, and packing and labelling.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 4,000 stainless steel hand sieves under 9604 00 00 00, add the £900 of freight and insurance to the £6,800 free-on-board price and customs sees £7,700. Duty on hand sieves is zero, leaving import VAT of £1,540, 20% of the customs value. For a VAT-registered buyer that is a cash-flow cost rather than a lasting one. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Mesh: measure aperture and wire diameter on samples, and check for broken wires, uneven weave and rust spots.

Frame and seams: check the mesh is fixed tightly with no gaps at the rim, and no sharp edges or burrs.

Materials: check stainless steel grade with a handheld analyser where it is specified for food use, and match packaging and labels to the approved sample.

What goes wrong

Sieve orders fail on mesh and materials. Aperture varies across the mesh, the rim lets material pass, lower-grade steel rusts after washing, and mesh tears away from the frame.

Measure samples and test materials before shipping. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources hand sieves for UK kitchenware brands, garden retailers and trade suppliers, including first orders. See small orders.