Sourcing printed birthday cards from China

UK duty on printed birthday cards

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, printed birthday cards bearing personal greetings fall within heading 4909, with or without illustrations, envelopes or trimmings. The recorded duty for China is 0%, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension listed. The table shows variants sharing the same recorded commodity line.

The tariff attaches a DCMS Export Licence control. Its note provides a document waiver for goods produced less than 50 years ago. Official guidance states that cultural objects have no licensing requirements for import into Great Britain. Ask your customs broker to confirm how the attached control and waiver apply to your shipment.

Confirm the finished product's commodity code, especially if the order includes blank stationery or additional items. Import VAT is separate from duty; the published reference guide uses 20% for greeting cards. See UK import duty and VAT and the wider greeting cards and postcards guide.

Specify birthday artwork, board and envelopes

Provide approved files for the front, inside greeting and back panel. State which designs have a blank inside, and check birthday ages, names and relationship wording against the order. Specify folded size, board weight, grain direction, coating and envelope paper. Approve a physical printed proof on the actual stock, including a trial with the intended writing pen.

Define foil, embossing, glitter and other finishes against an approved sample. Confirm with an intellectual property adviser that you have the necessary rights to use the artwork. Cards supplied to consumers in Great Britain must be safe; assess loose decorations and exposed sharp edges. If you add sound or lights, settle the battery and electrical questions separately before ordering.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 50,000 printed birthday cards with envelopes across assorted designs under 4909 00 00 00, invoiced at £11,000 free on board, with £1,600 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £12,600. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £12,600, so it is £2,520. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Artwork and colour: compare front, inside and back printing with the approved proof; check birthday wording, design assortment, colour consistency and foil alignment.

Board and folds: measure against the agreed stock and dimensions; check stiffness, clean trimming, fold alignment, cracking and whether the card stands as intended.

Envelopes and finishes: insert finished cards into their envelopes; check closure, writing performance, foil adhesion and glitter shedding.

Packing and arrival: count designs and envelopes, match pack labels to contents, and inspect for crushed corners, dampness and scuffed surfaces. Agree these checks in the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A correct outer birthday design can be paired with the wrong inside greeting, or an assortment can contain too many of a slow-selling design. Keep an approved front-and-inside sample for each design and specify the assortment in the packing instructions.

Foil can fill fine lettering, dark printing can mark the facing surface, and coating can make handwritten messages smear. Tight envelopes catch embellished cards, while poor scoring cracks the printed fold. Check finished samples with envelopes and pens, then compare production and arrival samples with the signed proof.

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.