Sourcing quartz lumps from China

Quartz lump duty and waste controls

Heading 2506 covers quartz other than natural sands, together with quartzite. Natural quartz lumps fall under 2506 10 00 00. The table repeats this code for different buying specifications, rather than separate tariff subdivisions. For the wider product family, see quartz and quartzite sourcing.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 6 October 2026, quartz carries 0% duty from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension listed. The tariff attaches import and export waste controls. Waste shipment controls apply only if the material is waste. Ask your customs broker to confirm the requirement for the proposed China shipment, and before returning rejected material.

Confirm the commodity code using the mineral identity, physical form and processing history. Do not describe quartz lumps as natural silica sand or quartzite. For naturally occurring quartz that is not chemically modified, confirm any UK REACH registration exemption with HSE; use the site's wider quartz guide as background.

Specify chemistry, lump size and fines

State the intended process and agree silicon dioxide content, limits for iron, aluminium, titanium, alkali metals and boron, and the laboratory method. Specify the accepted lump size range, permitted fines and oversize, and moisture limit. Define whether the material is washed and how foreign rock, clay and visible staining will be assessed.

Ask for a certificate of analysis tied to each lot, rather than a general quarry report. Approve a representative sample that includes smaller fragments and fines. Retain a sealed comparison sample and arrange independent testing before accepting an unfamiliar source.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 40 tonnes of high-purity quartz lumps; illustrative order and values under 2506 10 00 00, invoiced at £36,000 free on board, with £6,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £42,000. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £42,000, so it is £8,400. 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

Identity and chemistry: compare representative samples with the approved material; check batch analysis and independently test agreed impurities.

Sizing and fines: sample across the load, measure lumps against the agreed size range and assess fines separately rather than judging the exposed surface.

Moisture and cleanliness: test moisture and look for clay, foreign stone, rust contamination and wet pockets inside the load.

Packing and handling: check liners, bag integrity, batch labels and container cleanliness. Agree dust controls for opening, tipping and processing; cutting mineral materials can create harmful respirable dust.

What goes wrong

A clean surface sample can conceal dirty fines or mixed quarry material deeper in the shipment. Iron staining and trace impurities can make an apparently acceptable lot unsuitable for the buyer's process. Transit breakage changes the size distribution, while moisture increases the delivered weight without increasing usable mineral.

Agree sampling, test methods and acceptance criteria before dispatch. Compare arrival results with retained samples and keep disputed lots separate while investigating. Photographs support an inspection record, but cannot establish chemical purity.

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.