Sourcing oil pastels from China

Oil pastels: 2% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 November 2026, heading 9609 covers pencils, crayons, pencil leads, pastels, drawing charcoals and writing, drawing and tailors' chalks. The pastels and drawing charcoals line, 9609 90 10 00, carries 2% duty for goods from China. The table shows oil pastel formats sharing this tariff line, rather than separate commodity lines.

The supplied tariff facts show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control for this line. The wider heading ranges from 0% to 2%; its duty-free line should not be assumed to cover oil pastels. See the wider art materials guide.

Confirm the commodity code using the composition, stick construction and contents of the finished pack, particularly for mixed art sets. Keep the approved product description consistent with the invoice and packing list.

Specify the oil pastel and its intended user

Specify the colour assortment, stick dimensions, oil and wax binder, pigment information, hardness, opacity and blending behaviour. Agree the drawing paper used for approval, retain colour swatches and define acceptable breakage, surface oil and wrapper staining. State the wrapper design, tray layout and pack contents.

For the Great Britain market, oil pastels designed or intended for play by children under 14 fall within toy safety rules. Confirm the applicable essential safety requirements, declaration of conformity and UKCA or CE marking arrangements with the relevant product safety authority. Agree the testing scope before production through testing and certification. Other consumer oil pastels must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order of 2,000 assorted oil pastel sets under 9609 90 10 00, invoiced at £25,000 free on board, with £2,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £27,000. Duty at 2% is £540. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £27,540, so it is £5,508. Import taxes total £6,048; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £540 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Colour and application: draw matched swatches on the approved paper; compare shade, coverage, blending and unwanted grit against the retained sample.

Stick condition: inspect arrival samples for cracks, broken ends, deformation, oily surfaces and sticks stuck to the tray.

Wrappers and packing: check wrapper fit, colour identification, assortment completeness and protection against rubbing and movement.

Safety evidence: for toy products, check the declaration of conformity, relevant marking and test evidence against the supplied product and colours. Use the inspection guide to agree the checks.

What goes wrong

Oil pastels can arrive broken, softened or stuck together. A binder change can alter hardness and blending; pigment changes can weaken coverage or shift shades. Compare production samples with retained swatches and inspect the delivered stock before distributing it.

A report for another assortment leaves the supplied colours unchecked. Agree which formulations and colours the evidence covers, and ask for reassessment when these change. Keep drawing-performance approval separate from the safety evidence.

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.