Sourcing Naringin from China

Naringin duty and classification

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 8 November 2026, heading 2938 covers natural or synthesised glycosides and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives. The supplied tariff has no named naringin line. For unmixed naringin, check the residual code 2938 90 90 90. The table describes purchasing uses sharing that provisional code, rather than separate tariff lines.

That residual line carries 6% third-country duty, with no anti-dumping or countervailing measure recorded. Its listed suspension applies to a specified purified steviol glycoside for beverage manufacture, not naringin. The tariff also attaches an export waste control. Environment Agency guidance says waste shipment controls apply only to waste; confirm any requirement with your customs broker if the material or a proposed return shipment is waste.

Give your broker the substance identity, purity, production method, intended use and details of any carrier or other ingredient when confirming the commodity code. Do not assume a citrus extract or formulated blend has the same classification as isolated naringin. For related glycosides and the wider heading, see the hesperidin guide.

Specify naringin identity, assay and intended use

Write the purchase specification around naringin itself. Ask for the source material, extraction and purification route, and a declaration of added carriers. Agree an identity test, assay method, whether results use a dried or as-received basis, moisture, particle size and residual-solvent testing. For flavouring trials, compare the sample in your actual formulation and record its taste and dispersion.

For food-flavouring use in Great Britain, check the flavourings register and the relevant terms of authorisation. Assess supplement use separately rather than treating a flavouring check as sufficient. Before ordering for food or supplements, investigate novel-food status; if the product is novel, authorisation is needed before it can be placed on the GB market.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 100 kg of unmixed naringin powder under 2938 90 90 90, invoiced at £3,500 free on board, with £980 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £4,480. Duty at 6% is £268.80. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £4,748.80, so it is £949.76. Import taxes total £1,218.56; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £268.80 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Identity: test a retained sample against the agreed naringin identity method and check that the supplied powder matches the approved sample.

Assay: compare the batch result with the contract using the agreed method and moisture basis; request the underlying laboratory report where results differ.

Contaminants: check residual solvents, metals and microbiology against your agreed specification for the intended use, using an independent laboratory for the first shipment.

Packing and traceability: inspect sealed liners, dampness and caking; match drum labels, batch numbers and analysis certificates. Use the inspection guide to organise sampling.

What goes wrong

A supplier's total citrus-flavonoid assay may be mistaken for a naringin assay. Different reporting bases can also make certificates appear comparable when they are not. Check for undeclared carriers, moisture, residual solvents and a bulk batch that behaves differently from the approved sample.

Agree the test method and acceptance criteria before production, retain the approved sample and hold a disputed batch pending testing. A certificate headed food grade is insufficient evidence for the intended legal use. Ask for the product details needed for the flavouring or novel-food assessment, and use factory verification to check the extraction plant and its laboratory.

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.