Sourcing machinery and industrial equipment from China
For machinery the compliance story does not end at the sale: supply obligations govern how it is placed on the market and separate workplace obligations govern how it is used, so incomplete documentation becomes your customer's problem as well as yours. Cambridge China Bridge sources this for UK and overseas buyers, with its own staff in China and no minimum order of its own.
Machinery carries obligations that follow it into use
Industrial equipment is unusual in that the compliance story does not end when the machine is sold. Supply obligations govern how it is placed on the market, and separate workplace obligations govern how it is used, so a machine that arrives with imperfect documentation creates a problem for your customer as well as for you.
That is why buyers in this category care about the technical file in a way that buyers of consumer goods often do not. The file is what lets the machine be legally supplied, installed, and then operated by an employer who has their own duties.
What has to exist before it is placed on the market
For machinery placed on the Great Britain market, the essential requirements have to be met, a technical file assembled, a declaration of conformity issued, and the correct marking applied. Certain higher-risk categories of machinery require the involvement of an approved body rather than self-assessment. For moving walkway purchases, see our moving walkway sourcing guide.
Instructions have to be supplied in English, and they are a legal deliverable rather than a courtesy. Machine documentation translated poorly, or supplied only in Chinese, is a non-conformity as well as a support problem.
If you import, verifying that all of this exists is your responsibility. Note that the machinery rules work differently from the toy and electrical rules here: they contain no provision turning an own-brand importer into the manufacturer, so where there is an identifiable manufacturer, that role stays with them. What does not change is that you cannot lawfully supply the machine without the file and the declaration existing, so get them delivered with the machine rather than chased afterwards.
| Requirement | What the regulation says | What to get from the factory |
|---|---|---|
| Essential health and safety requirements | The applicable requirements must be satisfied | The evidence, in the technical file, for each one that applies |
| Technical file | Compiled and made available in line with Annex VII | The file itself, delivered with the machine rather than chased afterwards |
| Instructions | The information needed to operate the machine safely must be provided | The instructions, supplied with the machine |
| Conformity assessment | One of the procedures in regulations 10, 11 or 12 must be followed | Which procedure was used, and the approved body's certificate where one was involved |
| Declaration of conformity | Drawn up in line with Annex II, with a copy accompanying the machine | A copy that arrives with the machine |
| Marking | The UK marking, affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly; the CE marking is also accepted in Great Britain | A marking that matches the declaration |
Guarding, controls and the things that get value-engineered out
The most common gap on imported machinery is safety functions that were designed for a different market or removed to hit a price. Fixed and interlocked guarding, emergency stop function and category, protective devices such as light curtains, control system reliability, and isolation for maintenance.
Specify these explicitly, including the standards they should meet, and require them to be present on the production machine rather than on a specification sheet. Photographs of the actual build before shipment are worth requiring.
Electrical work is the other frequent gap. Voltage and frequency, phase, enclosure ratings, cable specification, and marking of the electrical equipment of the machine all need to be right for a UK installation, and a machine wired for another market is not a small fix once it has landed.
Specify performance, not just the machine
State throughput, cycle time, accuracy, tolerances and noise, and state how they will be verified. A machine that meets a physical description but not a performance figure is the classic industrial equipment dispute. For conveyor-specific purchasing guidance, see our belt conveyors guide. For bucket elevators, see our bucket elevator sourcing guide. For tyre-changing equipment, see our tyre changing machine sourcing guide.
Require a factory acceptance test before shipment, with an agreed test protocol using your own material where possible. This is the industrial equivalent of a pre-shipment inspection and it is the last cheap moment to find a problem.
Agree spares, consumables and lead times for them as part of the order. A machine down for six weeks waiting for a proprietary part is a much bigger cost than the part.
Installation, support and the long tail
Establish who commissions the machine in the UK, what training is included, and how support works across a time difference. Get response times and the language of support in writing. For stairlift purchases, see our stairlift sourcing guide.
Ask what happens to the guarantee if a local engineer works on it, and whether critical components are standard parts you can source in the UK or proprietary items only the manufacturer supplies. That single question changes the total cost of ownership more than the purchase price does.
Plan the freight properly too. Machinery is heavy, often out of gauge, and may need specialist handling and lifting at delivery, which is frequently excluded from a quotation.
UK import duty on general machinery
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, every line of headings 8428 (lifting and handling machinery) and 8479 (machines with individual functions) in the table below carried 0% ordinary duty on goods from China. Most machinery headings are 0% or 2%, but there are exceptions: track-laying excavators carry anti-dumping duty, see excavators, and boom lifts with a maximum working height of 6 metres or more carry provisional anti-dumping duty from 20 August 2026, 71.74% for exporters not named, on lines including 8428 10 20 00 and 8428 90 90 20, see boom lifts. Some 8479 lines carry a waste import control, which matters for used machines. For specific machines see air compressors, CNC routers and control panels, and confirm the commodity code from the specification. For the reverse route, see exporting used machinery to China.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty |
|---|---|---|
| Lifts and skip hoists, electrically operated | 8428 10 20 00 | 0%; boom lifts: provisional anti-dumping, 71.74% residual |
| Belt conveyors for goods or materials | 8428 33 00 00 | 0% |
| Roller conveyors | 8428 39 20 00 | 0% |
| Industrial robots for lifting and handling | 8428 70 00 00 | 0% |
| Mobile access equipment for lifting persons | 8428 90 90 20 | 0%; boom lifts: provisional anti-dumping, 71.74% residual |
| Machinery for public works and building | 8479 10 00 00 | 0% |
| Industrial robots not elsewhere specified | 8479 50 00 00 | 0% |
| Evaporative air coolers | 8479 60 00 00 | 0% |
| Mixing, kneading, crushing, grinding and screening machines | 8479 82 00 00 | 0% |
| Other machines with individual functions | 8479 89 97 90 | 0% |
Worked duty example
Suppose, purely for illustration, you import one horizontal machining centre under 8457 10 10 00. At £180,000 free on board and £12,000 to ship and insure, the customs value is £192,000. Machining centres at 2% pay £3,840 of duty; VAT is then worked out on value plus duty, £195,840, giving £39,168. Of the £43,008 paid at import, only the £3,840 of duty stays a cost for a VAT-registered business. Freight is for a crated machine on a flat rack; installation, rigging and commissioning come on top. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.
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Inspection checklist
Risk and controls: ask for the risk assessment made to BS EN ISO 12100 and the performance level of each safety function to BS EN ISO 13849-1, and check the circuit diagrams show the architecture that level needs.
Guarding: measure guard openings and distances to danger zones against BS EN ISO 13857 on the built machine, and check fixed guards need a tool to remove.
EMC and noise: ask for electromagnetic compatibility tests to BS EN IEC 61000-6-2 and 61000-6-4 for industrial environments, and for the emission sound pressure at the workstation measured by a method such as ISO 11201 for the noise declaration.
What goes wrong
Imported machinery fails on safety functions, performance and paperwork. Guards and interlocks are missing or can be defeated, emergency stops do not stop all hazardous motion, the electrical panel is wired to a different standard, and the machine misses its throughput or accuracy once it is running your material. The technical file, declaration and English instructions arrive late or not at all, and critical spares are proprietary with long lead times.
Run a factory acceptance test on your own material against written criteria, check interlocked guards to BS EN ISO 14119 and the electrical equipment to BS EN 60204-1, test every emergency stop, check the declaration, marking and technical file against the exact machine before shipment, confirm English instructions and safety signs, and hold a list of critical spares with UK-available equivalents before the machine leaves the factory.
Getting it in the right order
Define the duty and performance requirement first, then the standards and the safety functions, then the documentation and language requirements, and only then ask for a price. A quote given against a bare machine description will not include the things that make it legal and usable here.
Then verify the supplier properly, run a factory acceptance test, and take delivery of the technical file at the same time as the machine rather than chasing it afterwards. What we source and inspect in this category is on the machinery page.
For help with a specific machine purchase, see our machinery and equipment service. For farm machinery, see our egg incubators and poultry equipment guide. For concrete equipment, see our guide to sourcing concrete vibrators.
For technician visits, visas and remote commissioning, see installing and commissioning Chinese machinery in the UK.
For air compressors, see Sourcing air compressors from China.
For UK manufacturers buying machinery or components to drawing, see our service for manufacturers, or send a procurement brief. For exports, see exporting mixing machinery to China.
Frequently asked questions
What documentation should imported machinery come with?
A technical file, a declaration of conformity, the correct marking, and instructions supplied in English. Certain higher-risk categories of machinery also require an approved body to be involved rather than self-assessment.
Who is responsible if imported machinery is not compliant?
As importer you are responsible for verifying that the manufacturer's obligations were met and that the documentation exists. Unlike the toy and electrical rules, the machinery regulations contain no provision that turns an own-brand importer into the manufacturer, so that role stays with an identifiable manufacturer. You still cannot lawfully supply a machine whose file and declaration do not exist.
What is most often missing on machines from China?
Safety functions specified for another market or value-engineered out: guarding, emergency stop function and category, protective devices, control reliability and isolation for maintenance. Electrical specification for a UK installation is the other common gap.
Should I insist on a factory acceptance test?
Yes, with an agreed protocol and your own material where possible. It is the industrial equivalent of a pre-shipment inspection and the last point at which a performance shortfall is cheap to resolve.
What should I ask about spare parts?
Whether critical components are standard parts you can source in the UK or proprietary items only the manufacturer supplies, and what the lead times are. This affects total cost of ownership more than the purchase price does.