Medical instruments and devices from China

0% duty on heading 9018

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, every line of heading 9018 in the table below carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping duty. Heading 9018 covers instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental and veterinary sciences: electro-diagnostic apparatus, syringes, needles and catheters, dental and ophthalmic instruments, blood pressure monitors, endoscopes, infusion sets and nerve stimulators.

Not every medical product is here. Dressings and plasters are heading 3005 (plasters and wound dressings), orthopaedic supports 9021 (orthopaedic supports and braces), massage apparatus 9019 (massagers) and gloves heading 4015. Confirm the commodity code from the product description and intended use.

Is it a medical device?

Regulation 2 of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 defines a medical device by what the manufacturer intends it for, including diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease, and diagnosis, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of or compensation for an injury. The same blood pressure cuff or thermometer is a medical device when sold for that purpose, and the wording on the box and listing decides it as much as the product does.

Medical devices go through the conformity assessment for their class. Class I devices can usually be self-declared by the manufacturer; higher classes need an approved body. Check MHRA guidance on which conformity markings are accepted in Great Britain at the time you import, because that has changed more than once since 2021.

UK Responsible Person and MHRA registration

A manufacturer outside the UK must appoint a single UK Responsible Person, who takes on the manufacturer's responsibilities for registering its devices with the MHRA. Registration is needed before a device is placed on the Great Britain market, whatever its class. If your Chinese supplier has no UK Responsible Person, either it appoints one or you become the manufacturer by putting the device on the market under your own name, which brings the full manufacturer obligations.

The step that catches first-time importers runs the opposite way to expectation. A Great Britain importer must inform the manufacturer or the UK Responsible Person of its intention to import, and it is the manufacturer or UK Responsible Person who submits the importer's details to the MHRA. Confirm in writing that it has been done before the goods ship. Our medical devices and PPE guide covers this in more detail.

Electrical, sterile and quality requirements

Electrical equipment for medical purposes is excluded from the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 and regulated as a medical device instead; for medical electrical equipment, buyers expect testing to the IEC 60601 series. Ask for the test reports for the exact model.

For sterile single-use products such as syringes, needles, catheters and infusion sets, ask for the sterilisation method and its validation, the sterile barrier packaging tests and the shelf life, and check the lot number and expiry on every carton. Ask for the manufacturer's ISO 13485 quality management certificate and verify it with the body that issued it, using the certificate number and site address.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 200,000 single-use plastic syringes under 9018 31 10 00, invoiced at £10,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £10,900. Duty at 0% is nil. Import VAT at 20% is £2,180, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

What to check and how we help

Before shipment, check labelling and instructions in English against the approved artwork, lot and expiry marking, the packaging and sterile barrier for damage, and functional samples for electrical devices. Quality inspection covers the stages.

Cambridge China Bridge checks medical device makers in China, matches certificates and registrations to the factory and the product, and inspects before shipment; see factory verification, testing and certification and our service for manufacturers.