Sourcing natural anthocyanin colours from China

Duty and checks for natural anthocyanin colourants

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, vegetable-origin colouring matter and preparations under 3203 00 10 00 carry 0% duty from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension recorded. Heading 3203 covers vegetable- and animal-origin colouring matter, including dyeing extracts, but excludes animal black. The table shows product forms sharing the vegetable-origin tariff line, rather than separate commodity codes.

The tariff attaches veterinary, CITES and waste import controls to this line. For your plant extract and its carriers, confirm the veterinary requirement with your customs broker before shipping. Check the botanical source against CITES: listed species can require permits. If the consignment is waste subject to notification controls, shipment requires consent from the dispatch, destination and transit authorities. Ask your broker to confirm which controls apply to the actual goods from China.

Confirm the composition and intended use through finding your commodity code. For wider heading context, see beetroot red colourant. Duty and import VAT are separate; see UK import duty and VAT.

Specify the extract and test it in your recipe

State the botanical source, extraction process, solvents, powder or liquid form, and every carrier or preservative. Agree colour strength at a stated wavelength, test method, sample preparation and acidity. Keep an approved sample and compare shade at the intended addition level in your actual drink, confectionery or other product.

For food use, check the anthocyanin entry E 163 in the food additive register. The colour must be authorised for the intended food; confirm the applicable purity specification with the relevant food authority. Check the register for Great Britain and its conditions of use. Ask for the supplier's specification and batch analysis rather than accepting a general food-grade declaration.

Agree trials covering your processing heat, acidity, light exposure and storage conditions. Record acceptable shade change, sediment and dispersion against the approved sample. Use factory verification to check the extraction plant, laboratory and control of changes to carriers.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 2 tonnes of liquid natural anthocyanin colourant preparation, illustrative order under 3203 00 10 00, invoiced at £24,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £25,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £25,500, so it is £5,100. 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

Identity and composition: match the botanical source, extraction details and declared carriers to the purchase specification and batch certificate.

Colour and stability: measure strength using the agreed method, compare shade in the customer's recipe and repeat the agreed processing and storage trial.

Purity: check batch results for heavy metals and residual extraction solvents against the food additive specification; agree microbiological testing for the supplied form.

Packing and records: inspect seals, light protection, leakage and powder caking; match container batch markings to the analysis certificate and retain samples. See quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A sample can look suitable in water yet fade or brown in the buyer's recipe. Different acidity, processing heat or light exposure can reveal a mismatch that a supplier's colour certificate misses. Compare samples under identical conditions and approve the colour in the finished application.

Lower strength, changed carriers and inconsistent extraction can alter the shade or amount needed. Undeclared synthetic dyes, sediment, caked powder and leaking liquid packs are further rejection risks. Agree acceptance criteria before ordering and hold a batch for investigation when its composition or performance differs from the approved sample.

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.