Sourcing porcelain sauce boats from China

Duty on porcelain sauce boats

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 6911 covers porcelain or china tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles. Functional porcelain sauce boats fall within the tableware line 6911 10 00 90. The table shows product variants sharing that line. See our porcelain hotel dinnerware guide for the wider heading. For porcelain drinkware, see our porcelain mugs sourcing guide.

The recorded customs duty for goods from China is 12%, with residual anti-dumping duty of 36.10% and no suspension or countervailing duty listed. The official notice provides exporter-specific anti-dumping rates; without the invoice or required declaration, the residual rate applies. Ask your broker to check the exporter and documents before using a lower rate.

The tariff also attaches an import waste control, an export waste control and a cultural-goods export licence measure. For goods from China that are waste subject to notification controls, the exporter must seek consent from the dispatch country's competent authority. Ask your broker to confirm the attached measures for your shipment and the commodity code.

Specify the spout, handle and food-contact finish

Specify porcelain body, usable capacity, overall dimensions, spout profile, handle clearance, base flatness and whether a matching stand is included. Approve the glaze colour and decoration positions on a physical sample. Agree pouring tests using the intended sauces, and washing and temperature-change trials reflecting the intended service.

For sale in England, new ceramic food-contact articles must meet lead and cadmium migration requirements and be accompanied by a written declaration through the retail stage. Ask for evidence matching the finished body, glaze and decoration. The importer must make supporting compliance documentation available to authorities on request, subject to the documentary exception for materials containing neither lead nor cadmium.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 plain porcelain sauce boats; allow separately for anti-dumping duty. 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

Pouring: check the stream, drips down the spout and control when nearly empty, using the agreed sauce.

Handle and base: check handle joints for cracks, grip clearance when filled, and rocking on a flat surface or matching stand.

Glaze and documents: inspect food-contact surfaces for pinholes, crazing and rough areas; match the declaration and supporting evidence to the supplied finish.

Packing and arrival: check cushioning around spouts and handles, separation from stands, carton condition and sampled pieces for chips. Record findings using the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A spout can pour cleanly with water yet dribble with thick gravy. Handles may have hairline cracks at their joints, bases may rock, and stands may rub against the boat during transport. Compare production and arrival samples with the approved sample, including pouring and packing trials.

A report for plain white ware may not describe the decorated finish delivered. Check the product identity and finish before accepting the paperwork. An assumed exporter-specific anti-dumping rate can also understate the import cost when the required invoice declaration is missing.

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.