Sourcing kitchen cabinets from China
Wooden kitchen cabinets from China carry 2% UK duty across the fitted and other kitchen furniture lines shown here, with no recorded trade remedies or suspensions. Confirm timber due diligence requirements with the relevant authority before first placing covered products on the GB market. Cambridge China Bridge sources kitchen cabinets.
Wooden kitchen cabinets: 2% duty
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 3 October 2026, the wooden kitchen furniture lines within heading 9403 carried 2% duty for goods from China. They distinguish fitted kitchen units from other kitchen furniture, and hand-made from other goods. The supplied records show no anti-dumping or countervailing measures and no suspensions on these lines.
The tariff attaches CITES and ivory import controls. For cabinets containing CITES-controlled material, confirm the applicable documentation with your customs broker; permits for movements into Great Britain and corresponding Chinese export documentation may be required. Ivory-containing goods intended for dealing need the registration or exemption certificate reference described in the tariff. Specify ivory-free fittings and decoration.
Confirm the commodity code against the materials and whether the shipment contains complete cabinets or separate parts. Do not apply the wooden kitchen furniture rate automatically to metal cabinets or separately shipped components. See the wider furniture guide and import duty and VAT guide.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand-made wooden fitted kitchen cabinets | 9403 40 10 10 | 2% | None |
| Other wooden fitted kitchen cabinets | 9403 40 10 90 | 2% | None |
| Hand-made wooden kitchen cabinets, other than fitted units | 9403 40 90 10 | 2% | None |
| Other wooden kitchen cabinets, other than fitted units | 9403 40 90 90 | 2% | None |
Specify the carcass, doors and installation
Agree a cabinet schedule with drawings for base, wall, tall and corner units. Specify carcass and back-panel material, thickness, edge sealing, door finish, hinge positions, drawer runners, shelf supports and handles. Record appliance openings, service voids, plinths, filler panels and door handing. Approve an assembled sample with the proposed hardware.
For wooden cabinets first placed on the Great Britain market, confirm the applicable timber due diligence and legal-harvesting requirements with the relevant authority, including those concerning timber in composite panels. Obtain species and harvest-country information before ordering. Consumer products must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Agree checks for wall-cabinet suspension, shelf retention, drawer stops and installation instructions.
Worked duty example
Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative batch of flat-packed wooden kitchen cabinets for a kitchen retailer under 9403 40 10 90, invoiced at £21,000 free on board, with £4,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £25,000. Duty at 2% is £500. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £25,500, so it is £5,100. Import taxes total £5,600; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £500 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.
Inspection checklist
Fit: assemble production cabinets and compare dimensions, appliance openings, door handing and drilling positions with approved drawings.
Panels: check squareness, warping, exposed edges, finish consistency and sealing around sink-unit cut-outs.
Hardware: operate doors and drawers, check runner retention, hinge fixing and shelf supports, and inspect wall-cabinet suspension components.
Packing: match carton labels to the cabinet schedule, count fittings and filler panels, and check corner protection and moisture damage on arrival.
Checking a Foshan proforma before paying a deposit
Foshan in Guangdong is a large furniture-making centre, and a project buyer often receives one proforma that covers every apartment type in a fit-out. Read it as a specification, not just a price: see buying furniture in Foshan for how the factories there work.
Check each line against your drawings: the carcass board (material, thickness and edge banding), the door finish, the hardware brand and model for hinges and drawer runners, the worktop listed as its own line with its material, a reference to the measured drawings you have signed off, and the packing, flat-pack or assembled, with the carton count and volume. A line that only says "cabinet" with a unit price cannot be compared or inspected. The proforma guide goes through each field.
A request for 60% before production gives the factory most of the money before you can see the goods. A deposit to start production, with the balance paid against a passed pre-shipment inspection, is the usual way to keep leverage; agree that split before you pay. See what to check before paying the balance and how to pay Chinese suppliers.
If the kitchens are for a project outside the UK, the UK duty and VAT figures above do not apply: your own country's import rules do, so confirm them locally. The supplier checks, the specification and the payment terms work the same way; see buying from China when you are not in the UK. Cambridge China Bridge can check the quote against your drawings before you pay.
What goes wrong
A sample door can match the approved colour while production doors differ between cartons. Thin backs allow carcasses to rack, poorly sealed edges swell near sinks, and substituted hinges alter drilling or door gaps. A missing filler panel or reversed corner unit can prevent installation even when the main cabinets are intact.
Inspect an assembled production sample and keep approved finish samples for comparison. Record substitutions before dispatch and photograph damaged cartons before unpacking. Use a cabinet-by-cabinet packing list so replacement parts can be identified. Our inspection guide explains how to set an inspection brief.
Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on kitchen cabinets from China?
The wooden fitted and other kitchen furniture lines shown here carry 2% duty, with no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing measures or suspensions.
Do flat-packed kitchen cabinets use the same code?
Confirm classification from the complete shipment and its materials. Provide drawings and a packing list to your customs broker rather than treating every carton as a separate furniture part.
Do wooden kitchen cabinets need timber due diligence?
Confirm with the relevant authority whether timber due diligence requirements apply to your products when first placed on the Great Britain market. Check legal harvesting, including timber used in composite panels, and obtain species and harvest-country information.
What should I check before cabinets leave the factory?
Assemble production samples, check appliance openings and door handing, operate hinges and runners, compare finishes, and reconcile fittings and filler panels with the cabinet schedule.