Sourcing hoisin sauce from China

Hoisin sauce duty and recipe-dependent controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 17 October 2026, heading 2103 covers sauces, preparations for sauces, mixed condiments, mixed seasonings and mustard. Hoisin sauce without tomato normally falls under 2103 90 90 89 at 6%. The table repeats the relevant recipe lines for retail and catering packs; packaging alone does not establish the classification.

The relevant other-sauce lines carry 6%, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty recorded. The suspension under 2103 90 90 89 is restricted to the specified fermented red cayenne pepper preparation, not ordinary hoisin sauce. The tariff attaches veterinary, organic and genetically modified organism controls. Ask your customs broker whether products containing or made from Chinese rice require a common health entry document. For animal ingredients, confirm the veterinary requirement and permitted import route with your customs broker before ordering.

For organic sauce, confirm the attached organic control with your customs broker; the certificate of inspection is issued by the exporter’s control body. Give the broker the complete recipe, including tomato, rice and animal ingredients, to confirm the commodity code. Use the soy sauce and condiments guide for the wider heading.

Specify the hoisin recipe and intended use

Agree the fermented bean base, sweetness, saltiness, garlic and spice profile, colour and texture against a retained sample. Test it as a dipping sauce and in the buyer’s cooking process: a sauce that tastes acceptable cold may be too sweet or too thin after heating. Specify whether the texture should be smooth or contain visible bean particles.

Ask for the full recipe with ingredient percentages, compound ingredients and additives. Identify wheat, soya, sesame, rice-derived ingredients and any animal ingredients rather than relying on the product name. Agree net fill, jar or catering-pack format, closure, storage instructions and evidence supporting the stated shelf life.

Table sauces without animal-origin products must meet the same or equivalent food hygiene and compositional standards as food produced in Great Britain. They do not normally need a health certificate. Check the actual recipe before using that route; importing a sauce containing animal ingredients needs a separate assessment.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of hoisin sauce in catering packs under 2103 90 90 89, invoiced at £24,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £27,000. Duty at 6% is £1,620. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £28,620, so it is £5,724. Import taxes total £7,344; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,620 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Recipe: compare the production ingredient declaration and batch sample with the approved recipe. Check that substitutions have not changed flavour, allergens or the import assessment.

Labels: check the English artwork against the complete recipe, with applicable allergens emphasised. Match batch codes and storage instructions to the approved documents.

Packs: check net fill, lid seating, seal integrity, cracked jars, leaking pouches and sticky cartons. Compare pallet batch codes with the packing list.

Sauce: compare colour, aroma, sweetness and consistency with retained samples. Investigate unexpected separation, swelling or fermentation before releasing stock. Use agreed laboratory checks alongside quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A supplier can supply a different bean base or substitute a compound sauce while keeping the same product name. That can change wheat content, introduce rice or animal ingredients, and invalidate the buyer’s label or border assessment. Require approval of recipe changes and keep a retained sample from each supplied batch.

Loose closures, damaged jars and weak catering-pack seams can turn an acceptable sample into leaking stock on arrival. Keep affected packs separate while investigating the batch. Do not assess shelf stability from taste alone, or assume the suspension for plain soy sauce applies to a mixed hoisin sauce.

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.