Sourcing porcelain hotel dinnerware from China

Duty on porcelain hotel dinnerware

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 14 October 2026, heading 6911 covers porcelain or china tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles. Hotel plates, bowls, cups and serving dishes fall within the tableware family listed under 6911 10 00 90. The table separates buying categories that share this commodity line.

This line carries 12% duty for goods from China and residual anti-dumping duty of 36.10%, with no suspension listed. Check the exporter's company-specific rate before costing the order. The tariff also attaches an import waste control: confirm its China-specific requirements with your customs broker if the shipment is waste. Waste shipment controls apply only to waste. The listed waste export control and cultural-object export licence should also be flagged to the broker if planning an onward export.

Confirm the material and intended use through finding your commodity code. For comparison with other dinnerware materials, see the stoneware dinnerware guide. Do not use the porcelain toilet-article line for hotel plates.

Specify the body, glaze and hotel service

Specify porcelain body, shape, dimensions, weight, rim profile, glaze colour and decoration position for each item. Approve plates, bowls and cup-and-saucer pairs together. Record stack height, fit in the hotel's racks, and compatibility with existing stock. Agree dishwasher checks using the detergent and wash programme intended for service. For mugs, see our porcelain mugs sourcing guide.

Confirm with the relevant authority the applicable lead and cadmium migration requirements for ceramic food contact articles and whether a written declaration of compliance and supporting test documentation are required, rather than relying solely on the published reference guide. Ask for documents matching the actual body, glaze and decoration supplied. Include decorated rims in the laboratory brief. Agree testing and certification before production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 porcelain hotel dinner plates; assess anti-dumping separately under 6911 10 00 90, invoiced at £7,000 free on board, with £600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,600. Duty at 12% is £912. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £8,512, so it is £1,702.40. Import taxes total £2,614.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £912 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Body and rims: inspect unpacked arrival samples for chips, cracks, warped plates and rough foot rings that scratch stacked pieces.

Glaze and decoration: compare whiteness, gloss and logo position against the approved set; look for pinholes, crazing and exposed body on food contact surfaces.

Service fit: stack plates and bowls, seat cups in saucers, and check rack clearance and dishwasher performance against the agreed sample.

Documents and packing: match declarations and test reports to the supplied designs; check carton contents, dividers and breakage. Use the quality inspection guide to agree shipment checks.

What goes wrong

A sample may stack neatly while production plates rock or wedge together. Replacement batches can differ in whiteness or rim profile. Rough foot rings scratch glaze, thin rims chip during handling, and insufficient dividers allow pieces to knock together in transit.

A plain white sample report does not establish the performance of a later decorated design. Match the tested finish to the order, retain approved samples, and agree how breakage and mismatched replacements will be handled. Include anti-dumping in the buying calculation rather than budgeting for ordinary duty alone.

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.