Sourcing tantalum nuts from China

UK duty on tantalum nuts

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 8103 covers tantalum and its articles, including waste and scrap. Every supplied line carries 0% duty for goods from China. For finished tantalum nuts, 8103 99 90 00, other articles, is the candidate line. The table shows nut forms sharing that line, rather than separate tariff subdivisions.

The supplied snapshot lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension. It attaches import and export waste controls to the candidate line. Ask your customs broker to confirm the import-control requirement for your China shipment. If the goods are waste subject to notification controls entering England, shipment can begin only after consent from the Environment Agency and the other competent authorities involved.

A commodity code is needed for the customs declaration. Give your broker the drawing, material composition, intended use and confirmation of the goods' condition, then confirm the commodity code. For related fasteners and the wider heading, see tantalum bolts.

Specify the material and mating thread

State whether the nut is pure tantalum or a named tantalum alloy, and agree the composition acceptance criteria. Specify thread system, nominal diameter, pitch, handedness, tolerance, nut height, width across flats, chamfers and bearing-face finish. Supply the mating bolt drawing and agree which gauges will decide acceptance. Ask for material certificates linked to the machining batch.

Agree any coating, lubricant and cleaning condition explicitly. Ask the supplier to identify these materials for your compliance review. Under UK REACH, substances in articles may require registration if intended to be released during use. Set the assembly method and trial the proposed nut and bolt combination before approving production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 200 tantalum hexagon nuts; illustrative order and values, not a quotation under 8103 99 90 00, invoiced at £2,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,800. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,800, so it is £560. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Material: compare batch certificates with the agreed composition and independently analyse sampled nuts where material identity is critical.

Thread fit: use the agreed acceptance gauges, inspect thread starts for burrs and damage, and trial assembly with the specified mating bolt.

Dimensions and surfaces: measure nut height and width across flats; inspect bearing faces, chamfers and slots for distortion, tool marks and contamination.

Traceability and packing: match bag labels to certificates and inspection records, check quantities, and keep thread sizes separated. Agree the sampling scope through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A nut can match the external drawing while having the wrong pitch or an internal thread outside the agreed tolerance. Burrs can obstruct assembly, and damaged or contaminated threads can seize during tightening. A tantalum description on an invoice does not establish the material composition. Resolve these points with gauges, batch-linked analysis and a trial assembly.

Mixed sizes and certificates that cannot be linked to the delivered batch make acceptance difficult. Keep uncertain stock separate and record the defect against the purchase drawing before agreeing rework or replacement. Describe the shipment precisely to your broker so the attached waste control can be assessed before dispatch.

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.