Sourcing casting wax patterns from China

UK duty on moulded casting wax patterns

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 9602 covers moulded or carved wax articles alongside other specified materials. The supplied record gives 0% duty for Chinese-origin hand-made goods under 9602 00 00 10 and other goods under 9602 00 00 90. It records no anti-dumping or countervailing duties and no suspensions. The table repeats these codes for different pattern forms.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches Veterinary control to both lines. Obtain the full formulation and identify animal-derived ingredients. For technical beeswax, official guidance requires a commercial document attesting to refinement or processing. This does not establish the treatment of a finished blended wax pattern: confirm the applicable requirement with your customs broker and the Animal and Plant Health Agency before shipping from China.

Confirm the commodity code using the material, finished form and manufacturing method. This guide concerns moulded patterns; see investment casting wax blends for the wax feedstock. UK REACH regulates chemicals placed on the market in Great Britain. Review the formulation and your role as importer before supply.

Specify the pattern, tooling and casting trial

Provide the approved pattern drawing, revision, datum points, dimensional tolerances, shrinkage allowance, parting lines and gate locations. Distinguish individual component patterns from runner patterns. Agree who owns the tooling and how changes are authorised.

Specify the wax formulation, filler content, reclaimed-wax policy, surface finish and acceptable repairs. Agree storage conditions and packing that supports thin sections without marking them. Approve samples through your foundry's shell-making, dewaxing and casting process before releasing the production batch.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative batch of machine-moulded component wax patterns for a foundry under 9602 00 00 90, invoiced at £27,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £29,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £29,500, so it is £5,900. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Dimensions: measure agreed datums, thin sections and gate positions against the approved drawing after conditioning samples at the agreed temperature.

Surface and joints: check for short shots, sink marks, cracks, bubbles, flash and repaired areas; inspect runner joints where supplied.

Process performance: trial shell adhesion, dewaxing and residue, then inspect the resulting casting against the agreed acceptance criteria.

Arrival and traceability: check for distortion, broken features and packing pressure marks; match batch labels to formulation records and inspection results. Use the quality inspection guide to brief the inspector.

What goes wrong

A pattern can match its drawing before shipment and arrive distorted because thin features were unsupported or cartons became warm. Excess flash, weak runner joints and poorly controlled repairs can also affect the shell or reproduce unwanted features in the casting.

A substituted wax blend can change shrinkage, shell adhesion or dewaxing behaviour. Keep an approved sample and formulation record, compare arrival measurements with dispatch results, and investigate casting defects before accepting a repeat batch.

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.