Sourcing semiconductor and display equipment
Machines for making wafers, semiconductor devices, integrated circuits and flat panel displays, and their parts, pay 0% UK duty from China with no anti-dumping duty. They are machinery under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, fabs expect SEMI S2 safety assessment, and installation and support decide the value. Cambridge China Bridge sources this equipment.
Machines for making wafers, semiconductor devices and flat panel displays from China pay 0% UK duty. Machinery safety, SEMI S2 and a worked example.
0% duty
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, machines and apparatus for the manufacture of boules or wafers, of semiconductor devices or electronic integrated circuits, of flat panel displays, the machines specified in chapter note 11(C), and their parts and accessories carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. Printed circuit board equipment and general test instruments are usually classified elsewhere, so confirm the commodity code with the machine's function.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machines for the manufacture of boules or wafers | 8486 10 00 00 | 0% | None |
| Machines for the manufacture of semiconductor devices or integrated circuits | 8486 20 00 00 | 0% | None |
| Machines for the manufacture of flat panel displays | 8486 30 00 00 | 0% | None |
| Machines specified in note 11(C) to chapter 84 | 8486 40 00 00 | 0% | None |
| Parts and accessories | 8486 90 00 00 | 0% | None |
Safety, facilities and support
Production equipment is machinery under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, so it needs conformity assessment, a technical file, a declaration and UKCA or CE marking, and electrical, laser, gas and chemical hazards must be covered. Fabs usually also require a SEMI S2 environmental, health and safety assessment and SEMI S8 ergonomics review by a third party before the tool is accepted.
The facility specification matters as much as the machine: power, cooling water, exhaust, process gases, vacuum and cleanroom class must match, and software licences, recipe support and spare parts decide uptime. Agree installation, training and service response before ordering; see the silicon wafers guide and the printed circuit boards guide.
Worked duty example
Suppose, purely for illustration, you import 3 wafer dicing machines under 8486 20 00 00. At £450,000 free on board and £15,000 to ship and insure, the customs value is £465,000. With 0% duty on semiconductor manufacturing machines, the only charge is import VAT: 20% of £465,000, or £93,000. VAT-registered businesses usually recover that in their next return. Equipment like this ships crated with shock and tilt indicators, and installation costs come on top. The method is set out in how UK import duty and VAT work.
What goes wrong
Fab equipment fails on specification, installation and support. The tool does not reach the stated throughput, accuracy or particle performance on your wafers, facility connections do not match the UK site, and SEMI S2 or machinery paperwork is missing so the fab will not accept it. Software is locked to the supplier, spare parts take months, refurbished tools arrive with worn components that were not disclosed, and shock during shipping knocks optics or stages out of alignment.
Run a factory acceptance test on your own samples against agreed throughput, accuracy and particle criteria, check the facility interface drawing against the site, get the SEMI S2 report and machinery declaration before shipment, agree software licences and recipe ownership, stock critical spares, inspect refurbished tools against a component list, and ship with shock and tilt indicators and a site acceptance test on arrival.
Cambridge China Bridge sources wafer, semiconductor and display manufacturing equipment and parts for fabs and research labs, with factory acceptance tests and documents agreed before shipment. See how we source fab equipment.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on semiconductor equipment from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, machines and parts of heading 8486 carried 0% duty from China.
Which safety rules apply?
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, and fabs usually also require a SEMI S2 assessment.
What should a factory acceptance test cover?
Throughput, accuracy and particle performance on your own samples, against criteria agreed in the contract.
Are PCB machines in heading 8486?
Usually not. Printed circuit board equipment is generally classified in other headings.