Sourcing men's woven safari shirts from China

A flat 12% duty on woven safari shirts

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, heading 6205 covers men's or boys' shirts. This guide concerns men's woven safari shirts, including cotton, man-made fibre and linen versions. Choose the line from the actual textile composition and construction. See the men's woven shirts guide for the wider heading.

All supplied lines carry 12% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions recorded. The tariff attaches CITES import and export controls to 6205 90 80 10 and 6205 90 80 90. Permits are required for species in the permit-controlled annexes; ask your customs broker to confirm the species and applicable documents for any such material before shipment.

Confirm the commodity code using the fabric specification and a finished sample, especially for blends or a garment styled like a jacket. A safari description alone does not settle classification.

Specify pockets, shoulder tabs and sleeve construction

Agree fibre composition, weave, fabric weight, colour reference and the finished size chart with tolerances. Define chest-pocket dimensions, bellows depth, flap shape, fastening and reinforcement. Specify whether shoulder tabs and sleeve roll-up tabs are included, their positions and how they fasten. Check that rolled sleeves remain comfortable and that loaded pockets do not pull the front out of shape.

Approve a washed sample as well as the original fit sample. Compare collar shape, sleeve length, pocket symmetry and tab placement after washing. Fibre composition must be shown on the label; confirm the appropriate fibre names with the relevant authority, and agree care instructions and size information with the factory. Consumer shirts sold in Great Britain must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 1,000 men's cotton woven safari shirts under 6205 20 00 90, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,800. Duty at 12% is £816. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,616, so it is £1,523.20. Import taxes total £2,339.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £816 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fabric: compare bulk cloth with the approved sample for composition, weave, handle and shade; check shrinkage and colour transfer after the agreed wash.

Pockets and tabs: check flap alignment, bellows shape, pocket-corner reinforcement, shoulder-tab symmetry and sleeve-tab fastening when rolled.

Fit and make-up: measure each sampled size against the chart; check arm movement, collar shape, seam puckering, button attachment and loose threads.

Labels and packing: check fibre wording against the approved composition, care and size information against the artwork, and carton contents against the size and colour breakdown.

What goes wrong

Bellows pockets can collapse or sit unevenly, pocket corners can tear, and sleeve tabs can be too short to hold rolled sleeves. Stiff interlining can curl the collar or pocket flaps after washing. Shrinkage can shorten the body and sleeves, while mismatched fabric batches leave pockets visibly different from the shirt front.

Keep an approved finished sample showing the pocket and tab construction. Agree washed measurements and defect criteria before cutting, then compare production garments with that sample. Use a quality inspection to check construction and the size breakdown before dispatch.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.