Sourcing printed thank-you cards from China

Duty on printed thank-you cards

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 4 October 2026, printed thank-you cards under 4909 00 00 00 carried 0% duty from China. Heading 4909 covers printed cards bearing personal greetings, messages or announcements, with or without illustrations, envelopes or trimmings. The supplied tariff record shows no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. The table shows different card formats sharing the same commodity line.

The UK Trade Tariff attaches a DCMS Export Licence control and describes a document waiver for recently manufactured goods. Official guidance states that importing objects of cultural interest into Great Britain has no licensing requirement. Ask your customs broker to confirm the relevance of the attached control and waiver to your shipment, particularly if you later export the cards.

Blank cards and stationery sets are classified elsewhere. Confirm the actual artwork and contents using finding your commodity code. See the greeting cards and postcards guide for the wider heading, and UK import duty and VAT for the tax calculation.

Specify the message and writable surface

Agree the exact thank-you wording, spelling, logo placement and whether the card is flat or folded. Specify finished size, board weight, colour, grain direction, coating and any foil or embossing. For handwritten notes, identify the writing area and test the intended pens on the actual stock for smudging and ink rejection.

Approve a physical printed proof on the ordered board, including its envelope and retail pack. Record envelope fit, pack contents and protection against moisture and crushed corners. Use artwork you own or have permission to reproduce. Envelopes and sleeves bring packaging responsibility questions, as explained in the wider greeting-card guide.

Consumer cards supplied in Great Britain must meet general product safety requirements. Include checks for loose decorations and sharp attachments if used. This guide focuses on paper cards without sound or lighting modules.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 50,000 printed thank-you cards with envelopes; illustrative FOB value and freight 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

Message and print: compare wording, punctuation, logo and colour with the approved physical proof; check small text, ink smears and foil alignment.

Writing surface: try the intended pens in the note area; check that ink dries without smearing and that coating does not repel it.

Board and envelopes: measure against the agreed specification, inspect folds for cracking, check that folded cards sit squarely, and insert cards into their envelopes.

Packs and arrival: count cards and envelopes, confirm design assortment and carton labels, and inspect for dampness, bowed cards and crushed corners. Use the agreed brief for quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A glossy coating can make the note area difficult to write on. Fine thank-you lettering can fill in during foil stamping, while a poorly positioned fold can cut through the message or leave the front panel uneven. An envelope approved against a flat sample may be too tight for the finished folded card.

Prevent these failures by signing off the complete card and envelope together. Keep the approved proof as the comparison sample, test writing after the final finish is applied, and check finished packs before shipment. At arrival, inspect for moisture and handling damage before distributing the stock.

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.