Sourcing Polycarbonate Rods from China

Duty on polycarbonate rod stock

Heading 3916 covers plastic rods, sticks and profile shapes, whether or not surface-worked but not otherwise worked. For ordinary solid polycarbonate rod stock, the relevant line to check is 3916 90 10 90, covering other condensation or rearrangement polymerisation products. The table shows product variants within this same tariff line, rather than separate classifications.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 18 October 2026, the supplied record shows 6% duty for goods from China under 3916 90 10 90. It lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, suspension or attached import control for that line. Suspensions elsewhere in the heading concern specified PVC profiles and cellular rods of other materials, rather than ordinary polycarbonate rods.

Give your customs broker the resin composition, manufacturing method, drawings and details of any further working before confirming the commodity code. See the wider profiles and plastic rods guide for the heading beyond polycarbonate.

Specify the resin and machining allowance

Specify polycarbonate rather than an unspecified clear plastic. Agree the resin grade, permitted recycled content, colour, transparency, diameter, length, ovality and straightness. State whether the rod will be machined, displayed indoors or exposed outdoors. For outdoor use, agree the stabilised formulation and evidence supporting the supplier's weathering claim.

For machining stock, agree the usable diameter after finishing and whether stress relief is needed for your process. Approve a sample using the intended cutting, drilling and polishing operations. Ask for batch-specific material information rather than accepting a brochure covering unrelated grades.

For UK REACH information concerning Candidate List substances in articles, HSE says suppliers must also provide equivalent information to consumers on request. Ask the factory for composition information that supports your assessment and customer enquiries.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 5000 metres of solid polycarbonate rod stock under 3916 90 10 90, invoiced at £8,000 free on board, with £1,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £9,500. Duty at 6% is £570. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £10,070, so it is £2,014. Import taxes total £2,584; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £570 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Material: match the resin grade, colour and batch documents to the purchase specification; retain a labelled sample from each production batch.

Dimensions: measure diameter along the rod and across different orientations; check length, ovality and straightness against the agreed drawing.

Finish: inspect clear rods against light for bubbles, inclusions, haze, scratches and colour variation; examine ends for chips and cracks.

Machining and packing: trial the agreed machining process on production samples; check protective sleeves, end protection and support within bundles. Set the sampling scope through your inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A clear rod can look acceptable before machining yet distort or crack during drilling because of residual stress. Diameter variation leaves insufficient finishing allowance, while bowed stock makes workholding difficult. Bubbles and inclusions become visible after polishing.

Scratches develop when rods rub together during transport. An unapproved resin substitution or change in recycled content can alter clarity and machining behaviour. Keep the approved sample, formulation agreement and batch records together so that an arrival defect can be traced to the supplied production lot.

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.