Sourcing ready-to-drink herbal tea from China

Normally 8% duty for dairy-free herbal tea

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 November 2026, heading 2202 covers sweetened or flavoured waters and other non-alcoholic beverages, excluding the juices classified separately. This guide covers prepared, dairy-free herbal drinks sold ready to drink. The table gives possible classifications; the recipe determines the code. See the wider soft drinks guide for other drinks.

The selected lines carry 8% duty for goods from China, with no listed anti-dumping or countervailing duty. Code 2202 99 19 19 has a 0% suspension restricted to a flavoured drink containing 25% nata de coco in 320 ml bottles, subject to its tariff conditions. Ordinary herbal tea does not qualify merely because it uses that code.

The tariff attaches an organic import control. For organic tea from China, confirm the certificate of inspection requirements with your customs broker and organic control body; the exporter’s control body issues the certificate. Confirm the commodity code using the full formulation, including sugars, juice and any dairy ingredients.

Specify the botanical recipe and preservation process

Specify each botanical by its scientific name, plant part and form: brewed infusion, extract or flavouring. Agree the recipe, extraction strength, sweetness, colour, aroma and acceptable sediment against a retained sample. Check each botanical’s novel food status before approving the recipe; novel foods need authorisation before sale in Great Britain.

Agree the heat treatment, filling process, container and closure, storage conditions and remaining shelf life on arrival. Request shelf-life evidence for the actual recipe and packaging. Confirm with the Food Standards Agency whether the additives are authorised for their intended use in Great Britain. Ask HMRC whether the added sugar and total sugar content bring the drink within the Soft Drinks Industry Levy; review the formulation before costing the order.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 cases of 24 × 330 ml ready-to-drink herbal tea under 2202 99 19 19, invoiced at £16,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £18,500. Duty at 8% is £1,480. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £19,980, so it is £3,996. Import taxes total £5,476; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,480 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Recipe: compare the batch formulation and ingredient records with the approved botanical species, plant parts and extracts; investigate substitutions.

Laboratory: check sugar against the nutrition panel, and arrange microbiological and contaminant testing appropriate to the botanicals and preservation process.

Packaging: inspect can seams or bottle closures, leakage, corrosion, swelling, fill levels and transit damage; compare colour, aroma and sediment with the retained sample.

Labels and documents: check ingredients, allergen emphasis, nutrition information, net quantity, business name and address, and date marking. Match batch records and shelf-life evidence to the delivered stock; confirm organic paperwork where relevant.

What goes wrong

A familiar Chinese herbal recipe can contain an ingredient whose novel food status needs checking for Great Britain. A supplier may also replace a brewed infusion with an extract, changing bitterness, sediment and the formulation you assessed. Keep ingredient identity and substitution approval in the purchase specification.

Weak preservation or leaking closures can leave drinks fermenting or separating before their declared shelf life. Labels and laboratory sugar results can disagree, affecting levy planning. Hold questionable batches for investigation and compare production records, retained samples and arrival results. Use a quality inspection brief tied to the actual recipe and packaging.

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.