Sourcing HDPE blow-moulding pellets from China

6% duty on ordinary HDPE blow-moulding pellets

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 3901 covers polymers of ethylene in primary forms. Ordinary HDPE blow-moulding pellets of specific gravity 0.94 or more fall under 3901 20 90 00, carrying 6% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff data lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for this line. The table separates uses under the same commodity code.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches waste import and export controls. For recycled pellets, ask your customs broker to confirm waste status and the applicable procedure before shipment. If notification controls apply to a waste import from China into England, the exporter must apply to the competent authority in China for consent. Confirm the remaining shipment requirements with your broker.

Give your broker the producer's composition, specific gravity, physical form and intended use to confirm the commodity code. The separate 0% line for specified polyethylene used to manufacture chlorosulphonated polyethylene is not a general relief for blow-moulding grades. See the wider polyethylene guide for other products within this heading.

Specify the grade for your bottle or drum

Specify the producer and grade, container application, melt flow rate with its test conditions, density, colour, additive package and any recycled content. Agree acceptance criteria for wall thickness, weight, leakage, impact and environmental stress cracking on containers made with your mould and process. Approve a production trial rather than relying on a pellet sample.

Confirm with HSE whether the polymer is exempt from UK REACH registration and whether its monomers or additives need registration. Check the supply-chain registration position before buying. For food-contact grades, obtain a declaration of compliance naming the grade and the migration testing behind it. Check recycled food-contact grades separately; a generic food-grade description is insufficient for your purchasing file.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 25 tonnes of HDPE blow-moulding pellets, illustrative only under 3901 20 90 00, invoiced at £26,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £29,000. Duty at 6% is £1,740. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £30,740, so it is £6,148. Import taxes total £7,888; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,740 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: check the producer, grade and batch on bag labels against the order, certificate of analysis and approved sample.

Properties: check melt flow rate and density against the agreed grade window, using the same test conditions as the specification.

Pellets and packing: check black specks, fines, mixed colours, split bags, wet liners and contamination before releasing the lot.

Moulding: check wall distribution, neck finish, pinch-off seam and leakage on trial containers. Record results by batch using an agreed inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A substituted grade can meet a general HDPE description yet behave differently in your machine. Melt flow drift changes parison behaviour and wall distribution; contamination causes visible defects. Undisclosed recycled material or a changed additive package can undermine the approved container performance.

Keep a retained sample and trial each incoming batch before full production. Quarantine damaged bags and disputed lots. If buying recycled pellets, settle the waste-control position before dispatch, alongside the grade and food-contact checks.

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.