Sourcing riding crops from China

UK duty on riding crops

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 November 2026, heading 6602 covers walking sticks, seat-sticks, whips, riding crops and the like. Hand-made and other riding crops both carry 2% duty for goods from China. The supplied tariff facts list no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension.

The tariff attaches CITES and seal-product import controls, a torture-goods import prohibition, and CITES and torture-goods export controls. CITES specimens moving into or out of Great Britain require a permit application. Seal products are generally banned, with limited exceptions. For crops containing protected-species materials or seal-derived parts, or unusual designs potentially covered by torture controls, ask your customs broker to confirm the applicable requirement before ordering.

The supplied facts contain only the hand-made and other lines shown here. Confirm which applies using finding your commodity code. For the wider heading, see walking sticks and seat-sticks.

Specify the shaft, grip and flap

Agree overall length, shaft material, flexibility and recovery after bending. Specify grip shape, covering, attachment method and end-cap construction. For the flap, agree material, width, thickness, edge finish, stitching and attachment to the shaft. Keep an approved sample so the factory and inspector can compare the same features.

Confirm with the relevant authority which product safety regulations apply to riding crops sold to consumers in Great Britain. You must not sell products you know, or should have known, are unsafe. Agree sample checks for exposed fibres, sharp edges and detached parts, and approve safe-use wording before printing.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 3,000 riding crops, illustrative order under 6602 00 00 90, invoiced at £9,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £9,900. Duty at 2% is £198. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £10,098, so it is £2,019.60. Import taxes total £2,217.60; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £198 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Shaft: compare length and flexibility with the approved sample; flex samples and check for cracking, exposed fibres and permanent bends.

Grip: twist and pull the handle covering and end cap; check for movement, rough seams and slippery surfaces.

Flap: check material, stitching and attachment; flex and pull samples to reveal splitting, loose stitches or separation.

Finish and packing: check colour transfer with a damp cloth, exposed edges and carton protection against bent shafts. Compare labels and product descriptions with the approved artwork.

What goes wrong

Watch for shaft substitutions that change flexibility, grips that rotate, caps that detach and flaps that split around the stitching. A crop can match the sample's appearance while behaving differently when flexed. Compare production samples with the approved crop and record the agreed checks through quality inspection.

Vague descriptions such as leather or wood can hide material substitutions and leave species checks unresolved. Ask for a component material list before approving production. The tariff's torture-goods control also needs checking where the design is unusual; listed prohibited goods cannot be imported or exported.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.