Sourcing lily bulbs for planting from China

Lily bulb duties and the recorded suspension

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 0601 covers bulbs and other underground planting material, dormant, growing or flowering, together with chicory plants and roots. Dormant lily bulbs fall within 0601 10 90 00; growing or flowering lily bulbs fall within 0601 20 90 00. The table repeats these codes for different lily products. See the wider bulbs and rhizomes guide.

The supplied tariff record gives Chinese-origin dormant bulbs a base duty of 4% and growing or flowering bulbs 6%. Both lines show an autonomous tariff suspension at 0.00 %, excluding mixtures, preparations or products made up of different components containing these products. No anti-dumping or countervailing duty is recorded. Ask your broker to confirm suspension eligibility and the commodity code against the shipment's actual condition.

Both lines carry organic import controls. Follow the official organic import guidance if ordering organic stock, and confirm the certificate-of-inspection requirement with your broker. The dormant line also carries CITES import and export controls; the growing line carries a CITES export control. Check the exact species with your broker rather than assuming every lily needs a permit. CITES guidance requires permits for species listed in the specified annexes.

Specify the lily cultivar and bulb condition

Specify the botanical species, cultivar or hybrid group, intended garden or cut-flower use, flower colour, bulb circumference grade and dormant or growing condition. Agree how the grower measures bulbs, identifies batches and records storage conditions. Ask for photographs of the actual lot and a planting trial rather than relying on flower catalogue pictures.

Before ordering, confirm the plant-health classification and any species-specific requirements for Chinese stock. High-risk and medium-risk A goods require a phytosanitary certificate and advance notification through IPAFFS. Confirm registration, checks, fees and any certificate requirements for other risk categories with the plant-health authority. Agree packing material, ventilation and storage instructions with the grower.

For onward selling in Great Britain, check the plant-passport arrangements before designing retail packs. A plant passport is still needed when plants are sold online directly to customers buying for personal use.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order of 2,000 dormant lily bulbs; confirm suspension eligibility before calculating duty under 0601 10 90 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,900. Duty at 4% is £276. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,176, so it is £1,435.20. Import taxes total £1,711.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £276 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: match cultivar labels, batch references and carton contents to the order and shipping documents.

Bulb grade: measure circumference against the agreed grade; check firm scales, an intact basal plate and sound roots.

Condition: check for soft rot, mould, shrivelling, pests, crushed scales and broken or overgrown shoots.

Packing: check carton dampness, condensation, ventilation and batch separation; photograph defects before repacking.

What goes wrong

Mixed cultivars can remain unnoticed until flowering. Undersized bulbs, dried roots, damaged basal plates and rot can undermine planting results. Warm or damp packing can encourage premature shoots and mould; a photograph of an attractive flower does not establish the condition of the shipped bulbs.

Paperwork prepared for a different species or shipment condition creates avoidable clearance problems. Confirm the import route and documents before dispatch, then compare arrival condition with the agreed specification. Use the quality inspection guide to organise checks and defect records.

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.