Sourcing marzipan from China

Marzipan duty and import controls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 1704 covers sugar confectionery without cocoa, including white chocolate. Marzipan paste in immediate packs with a net content of 1 kg or more is explicitly listed under 1704 90 51 00. The selected lines carry 8% duty for goods from China. No anti-dumping duty, countervailing duty or suspension is recorded for them.

The tariff attaches a restriction on entry into free circulation and an organic import control to the selected lines. Goods covered by the high-risk food rules need pre-notification; confirm any border checks and health entry documentation needed before release with your customs broker or the relevant authority. Have your broker check whether the recipe and Chinese origin bring your marzipan within those rules. For organic marzipan, confirm the requirements with your customs broker and approved UK organic control body before shipment.

Treat the table as candidate lines for different product forms. Give your broker the recipe, sucrose content, coating and immediate pack net weight to confirm the commodity code. Cocoa-containing confectionery, other than white chocolate, belongs under heading 1806. For another product within the wider sugar confectionery heading, see sourcing nougat.

Specify the almond recipe and paste texture

Specify almond content, almond origin, sugar and syrup ingredients, grind, colour, flavourings and preservatives. State whether the marzipan is for rolling over cakes, moulding decorations or making filled confectionery. Approve a sample using your own bakery process, checking smoothness, pliability, cracking and oil separation.

Get the complete recipe, including coatings and compound ingredients. Milk-containing confectionery from China is prohibited from import into Great Britain, so check milk powder, butter and dairy coatings before ordering. Agree storage conditions, remaining shelf life on arrival and sealed food-contact packaging. Use testing and certification support to define the sample checks.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative bakery order: 1 tonne of marzipan in 1 kg packs under 1704 90 51 00, invoiced at £9,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £10,500. Duty at 8% is £840. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £11,340, so it is £2,268. Import taxes total £3,108; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £840 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14 lists confectionery among the exceptions that are standard-rated even though most food is zero-rated, so the 20% VAT shown applies.

Inspection checklist

Recipe: compare the batch specification with the approved almond-and-sugar recipe, including coatings, additives and any recipe changes.

Texture: check arrival samples for dryness, excessive stickiness, coarse particles, oil separation and cracking when rolled or moulded.

Labels: compare the English ingredients list with the recipe and check that allergens are emphasised each time they appear. Check the product name, net quantity, best-before date and UK business address.

Packs and batches: check seals, damaged liners, nominal pack weight, batch identification and matching analysis records. Review metal detection records and arrange independent sample testing through your inspection plan.

What goes wrong

A sample can roll smoothly while the delivered batch crumbles, sticks to equipment or releases oil. Changing the almond grind or syrup can change handling. Agree acceptance criteria using retained samples and your actual rolling or moulding process, then compare arrival samples before releasing stock to production.

An incomplete recipe can hide dairy in a coating or leave allergens off the label. Milk-containing confectionery from China cannot be imported into Great Britain. Settle recipe and label approval before production, and investigate any batch that differs from the approved 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.