Sourcing site office cabins from China

Cabin materials and shipping form determine the code

Heading 9406 covers prefabricated buildings. Site office cabins may fall under steel modular building units, other iron or steel buildings, wooden buildings or buildings of other materials. Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, all the selected lines carry 2% duty on goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspensions. Confirm the commodity code against drawings, materials and the actual shipping form.

The tariff attaches fluorinated greenhouse gas import controls to these lines. For fitted air-conditioning, obtain the refrigerant details and ask your customs broker to confirm the requirements for goods from China. Imported fluorinated gas equipment must be correctly labelled. The wooden-building line also carries a Quarantine Release Certificate control. Confirm its application with your broker; where a certificate is required for wood imported from China, present it to HMRC with the customs declaration.

The selected non-wood lines also carry an import prohibition measure for torture and repression goods. Ask your broker to confirm the linked goods descriptions against the cabin design and use. The supplied lines also attach cultural-object export licensing and torture-goods export restrictions; confirm their relevance before onward export. Our wooden sauna guide covers another product family within this heading.

Specify the cabin and its intended site together

Give the factory a layout showing desks, doors, windows, ventilation, heating and service entry points. Specify the frame sections, corrosion protection, panel core, insulation, roof drainage, floor construction and joint seals. Request drawings for lifting points, support positions and connections between modules. State whether the cabin travels assembled or flat-packed, and agree who supplies foundations, assembly labour and electrical connection.

HSE says temporary works need to be planned and managed. Arrange a site-specific review of support, anchorage, wind exposure and any proposed stacking before approving production. In England and Wales, check whether building regulations approval is needed before construction; building approval and planning permission are separate, and both may be needed. Agree the applicable approval route with the local authority.

For wooden cabins, obtain timber species, country of harvest and supply-chain legality documents before ordering. Confirm with the relevant timber-regulation authority whether timber due diligence requirements apply to the prefabricated wooden buildings you intend to import; also consult the published wooden sauna guide.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: An illustrative order of two steel modular site office cabins under 9406 20 00 00, invoiced at £22,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £25,500. Duty at 2% is £510. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £26,010, so it is £5,202. Import taxes total £5,712; 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

Frame and lifting points: compare sections, welds, lifting-point drawings and support positions with the approved design; inspect coating damage before packing.

Panels and weather seals: verify the panel core and roof build-up, inspect exposed edges, water-test roof and window joints, and check drainage outlets.

Floor and fittings: inspect floor supports, finish and door operation; compare the wiring layout, sockets, ventilation and fitted equipment with the agreed schedule.

Packing and arrival: identify every panel and fixing pack, photograph protected corners and dry-fit connections before shipment. On arrival, check distortion, wet insulation and missing parts before assembly. Arrange pre-shipment inspection against the approved specification.

What goes wrong

A cabin can match the catalogue photograph while using a different panel core, thinner frame sections or poorly sealed roof joints. Distorted frames make doors bind; damaged coatings expose steel to corrosion; wet insulation is hidden behind finished linings. Record the approved materials and construction details, then compare production with those records.

Flat-packed cabins can arrive with mismatched corner details, unlabelled panels or incomplete fixing packs. Assembled cabins can suffer damage around lifting points and window openings. Require a trial assembly and a packing inventory, and settle site access, unloading and support arrangements before shipment.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.