Sourcing plastic watering cans from China

Duty on plastic watering cans

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 3924 covers plastic tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles. For ordinary household plastic watering cans, the relevant candidate is 3924 90 00 90, other household articles. The table shows watering-can variants sharing that code.

That line carries 6% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control listed in the supplied tariff record. The heading's ironing-board trade remedy and kitchenware entry restrictions concern separate lines.

Give your broker the material composition, photographs and intended use to confirm the commodity code. For the wider household plastics heading, see plastic cleaning buckets.

Specify capacity, resin and pouring performance

Specify the resin, colour, recycled content if claimed, wall thickness at agreed locations, usable capacity and overall dimensions. Distinguish brimful volume from the water level that can be carried without spilling. Agree whether the spout and handle are moulded with the body or assembled separately.

Define the filling opening, grip clearance, pouring balance and rose attachment. Ask for outdoor weathering evidence for the exact resin and colour if the cans will be stored outside. Approve a filled sample, including its pouring pattern and residual water. For related watering products, see our PVC garden hose sourcing guide.

Consumer products sold in Great Britain must be safe under the general product safety rules described in the site's existing guides. Importers are responsible for consumer product safety. Treat handle failure, sharp moulding flash and unstable bases as safety concerns when reviewing samples.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 plastic watering cans under 3924 90 00 90, invoiced at £7,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £8,500. Duty at 6% is £510. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £9,010, so it is £1,802. Import taxes total £2,312; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £510 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Body: measure agreed wall locations and usable capacity; check the base for rocking, distortion and thin patches.

Leaks: fill samples and inspect seams, spout roots and assembled joints; tilt through the intended pouring positions.

Handle and rose: carry filled samples, check handle attachment and grip edges, and confirm the rose stays attached with an even spray.

Packing: unpack an arrival carton and check for crushed spouts, scuffing, missing roses and handles distorted by stacking. Use the same checks in the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A sample can look sound while production has thinner walls or a changed resin mix. Watch for handles that flex when filled, leaks at spout joints, roses that drip backwards, uneven spray holes and bases that rock. A narrow filling opening can also make normal use awkward.

Long spouts and projecting handles are vulnerable in tightly packed cartons. Agree packing using complete production samples, retain an approved reference and inspect filled cans before shipment. Specify weathering evidence rather than accepting an unsupported outdoor-use claim.

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.