Sourcing hotel RFID door locks from China

Hotel door locks: 0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 8301 covers base-metal locks, including electrically operated locks, their parts and base-metal keys. Hotel RFID door locks fall within the building-door lock family; the construction determines the precise line.

All listed lines carry 0% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff facts show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspensions or attached import controls on these selected lines. The illustrative order is not a supplier quotation. See UK import duty and VAT for the calculation method.

Confirm the commodity code using the complete lock's construction and intended use. Separately supplied cards, encoders and software should be assessed separately rather than assumed to share the lock code. See smart door locks for the wider product family.

Specify the hotel card system and door fit

Specify the card technology, encoder, hotel management software interface, guest-card expiry, staff access permissions and lost-card cancellation. Agree who controls administrator credentials and whether operation depends on a supplier-hosted service. Demonstrate the complete system using the hotel's intended cards and encoder before approving the sample.

Record door thickness, handing, mortice dimensions, backset, spindle position, fixing holes and finish. Specify battery type, low-battery warning, mechanical override and spare-part availability. For fire doors, the evidence concerns the door assembly rather than the lock alone; check the proposed lock against the assembly evidence.

For Great Britain sales, importers must not place radio equipment on the market unless it meets the essential requirements. Electrical equipment is within the hazardous-substance restriction rules unless specifically excluded. Request model-specific conformity documents and test evidence through testing and certification. If your business is an electrical-equipment producer, annual registration is required.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 20 hotel RFID door locks, illustrative order under 8301 40 19 00, invoiced at £2,000 free on board, with £810 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,810. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,810, so it is £562. 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

Access: check guest-card expiry, replacement-card cancellation, staff permissions and rejection of cards assigned to another room.

Fit: install sampled locks on the intended door preparation; check latch alignment, handle return, fixings and opening from inside.

Power: check low-battery warnings, battery replacement, retained settings after power loss and mechanical override access.

Records: match model identification, supplied documents, cards, encoders and spare parts to the approved specification. Use quality inspection to record results.

What goes wrong

A card reader can recognise a card without supporting the hotel's encoding or access permissions. Prove check-in, expiry, cancellation and staff access together. An attractive sample also says little about whether the production mortice fits existing doors.

Weak handle springs, loose battery contacts and a clock that loses its settings can cause operational failures. Agree acceptance checks for these faults and keep the approved hardware and software versions in the purchase specification.

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.