Sourcing sweets and sugar confectionery from China
Sugar confectionery from China pays 8% UK duty for boiled sweets, jellies and gums, toffees, panned sweets, compressed tablets, cough drops and white chocolate, and 6% for chewing gum, with no anti-dumping duty. Some lines carry a high-risk food control, and six colours need a hyperactivity warning on the label. Cambridge China Bridge sources sweets and confectionery.
Buying from China for a business? How our UK China sourcing agent service works · China sourcing agent for small orders and first imports
Duty at 6% or 8%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, chewing gum carried 6% duty on goods from China, and white chocolate, throat pastilles, sugar-coated goods, gum and jelly confectionery, boiled sweets, toffees and caramels, compressed tablets and other sugar confectionery carried 8%. None had an anti-dumping measure. Read on 27 September 2026, liquorice extract with more than 10% sucrose and no other added substances (1704 90 10 00) carried 12%.
Confectionery containing cocoa, other than white chocolate, is in heading 1806 instead. Confirm the commodity code from the recipe. For sugar ingredients, see our guide to glucose, maltodextrin and other sugars. For UK sugar sales to China, see our sugar export guide.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chewing gum, under 60% sucrose | 1704 10 10 00 | 6% | None |
| White chocolate | 1704 90 30 00 | 8% | None |
| Throat pastilles and cough drops | 1704 90 55 00 | 8% | None |
| Gum and jelly confectionery | 1704 90 65 00 | 8% | None |
| Boiled sweets | 1704 90 71 00 | 8% | None |
| Toffees and caramels | 1704 90 75 00 | 8% | None |
| Compressed tablets | 1704 90 81 00 | 8% | None |
| Liquorice extract, over 10% sucrose, no other added substances | 1704 90 10 00 | 12% | None |
High-risk food control
The tariff attaches a restriction on release to the boiled sweet and jelly confectionery lines: consignments of food listed in the high-risk food of non-animal origin rules need a finalised health entry document before release. Check the current Food Standards Agency list for your product and origin before you ship, because listed goods need pre-notification and border checks.
Labels and colours
Labels need the name, ingredients with allergens emphasised, net quantity, best-before date and UK business address in English. Annex V of the retained food additives regulation requires foods containing sunset yellow (E 110), quinoline yellow (E 104), carmoisine (E 122), allura red (E 129), tartrazine (E 102) or ponceau 4R (E 124) to say the colour may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children. For sugar-free products, see the label checks in our sugar-free boiled sweets guide.
Many UK retailers refuse those colours altogether, so specify natural colours if you sell to them.
Worked duty example
Take a hypothetical order of 15 tonnes of fruit jelly sweets, entered under 1704 90 65 00: £30,000 free on board plus £2,500 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £32,500. The 8% duty on jelly confectionery comes to £2,600, and import VAT is 20% of £35,100, which is £7,020. If you are VAT-registered you normally reclaim the £7,020, leaving £2,600 as the real cost at the border. Unlike most food, confectionery is standard-rated for VAT, so the VAT here is a real charge that a registered importer reclaims. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.
Inspection checklist
Moisture and stickiness: measure water activity by ISO 18787 on samples from each production batch against the value agreed for the recipe, and check for sticking or sweating in wrapped sweets after storage in warm conditions.
Label and contents: check every mandatory particular of retained Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the English label, including emphasised allergens and any Annex V colour warning, against the signed recipe, and weigh a sample of packs against the nominal quantity under the Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006.
Foreign bodies and wrappers: check metal detector records and that the detector rejects the stated ferrous, non-ferrous and stainless test pieces at start-up, and ask for a declaration of compliance under retained Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 for plastic wrappers in contact with the sweets.
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What goes wrong
Sweets fail on moisture, additives and labels. Jellies and boiled sweets pick up moisture in humid containers and stick together, gelatine is used where the label claims vegetarian, colours that need the Annex V warning are left off the label, and additives not permitted in the UK appear in the recipe. Konjac (E 425) may not be used in jelly confectionery, which rules out many jelly mini-cups, and undeclared allergens from shared lines cause recalls.
Fix the recipe with the additive list and gelling agent in writing, test samples in a UK laboratory for colours, allergens and heavy metals, check water activity or moisture, approve the English label against the recipe, ask for metal detection records, and ship in lined cartons with desiccant and ventilated containers in hot months.
Samples and shelf life
Test samples for additives, heavy metals and label accuracy in a UK laboratory, and agree packaging that survives heat in transit. Food contact evidence is needed for wrappers.
Cambridge China Bridge sources sweets and sugar confectionery, with recipe, label and border check questions settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works. For the reverse trade, see our guide to exporting UK sugar confectionery to China.
Honey sweets are confectionery, but natural honey on its own pays 16% duty and needs a health certificate; see our honey guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on sweets from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, boiled sweets, jellies, toffees and most sugar confectionery carried 8% duty from China, and chewing gum 6%.
Which colours need a warning on sweets?
E 110, E 104, E 122, E 129, E 102 and E 124 require the statement that they may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.
Do Chinese sweets face border checks?
Goods listed in the high-risk food of non-animal origin rules need a health entry document and checks; the tariff flags this on boiled sweet and jelly lines.
Is milk chocolate classified here?
No. Confectionery containing cocoa, other than white chocolate, is in heading 1806.