Tantalum powder, sheet and wire from China

Zero duty across heading 8103

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, tantalum of heading 8103 carried 0% duty on goods from China, whether unwrought, sintered bars and powders, waste and scrap, crucibles, wrought bars, rods, profiles, wire, plates, sheets, strip and foil, or other articles, with no anti-dumping measure. Import VAT at 20% applies to the customs value.

Tantalum ores and concentrates are in heading 2615 and tantalum capacitors in 8532, and alloys are classified by the metal that predominates. Confirm the commodity code. Related metals are covered in our minor metals guide and tungsten guide.

Grades, specifications and due diligence

Mill products are commonly ordered to ASTM B708 for plate, sheet and strip, ASTM B365 for rod and wire and ASTM B521 for seamless and welded tube, with the grade (unalloyed, or tantalum-tungsten alloys) and the purity and interstitial limits stated. Capacitor-grade powder is bought on specific charge and leakage performance from the maker's own specification, and sputtering targets on purity, density and grain size.

Tantalum is one of the metals covered by conflict-minerals due diligence. The EU regulation applies in Northern Ireland but not in Great Britain, yet many UK buyers supply customers who ask for smelter lists and responsible sourcing evidence, so ask the supplier which smelter produced the metal and whether it is audited under a recognised responsible minerals programme. Tantalum powder is flammable and ships as dangerous goods.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 100 kg of tantalum sheet and rod for chemical plant linings, commodity code 8103 99 10 00, bought for £45,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance, so £45,900 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on tantalum mill products; import VAT at 20% of £45,900 is £9,180. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. The value is invented to show the method, not a market price; tantalum prices move with ore and powder markets. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

What goes wrong

Tantalum fails on interstitials and paperwork. Oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen above the limit makes sheet brittle so it cracks when formed, powder picks up oxygen when packed without inert gas, and surface contamination ruins welds in chemical plant linings. Shipments are held because the smelter cannot be identified or the dangerous goods declaration for powder is wrong.

Ask for a mill certificate per lot with chemistry and interstitials, test oxygen and nitrogen by inert gas fusion on the first lots at an independent lab, bend-test sheet samples, specify argon or vacuum packing for powder, and confirm the smelter identity and due diligence evidence before payment.

Cambridge China Bridge sources tantalum powder, sheet, rod, wire and crucibles for electronics, chemical process and aerospace buyers, with the producer and smelter checked before the order. See how we verify producers.