Sourcing Telehandlers from China
Telehandlers from China carry ordinary UK duty of 4%, with no variation across the listed candidate lines. Some lines also flag a boom-lift trade remedy, so check its scope. Machinery must meet applicable essential health and safety requirements before supply in Great Britain. Cambridge China Bridge sources telehandlers.
Telehandler classification and UK duty
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 8427 covers fork-lift trucks and other works trucks fitted with lifting or handling equipment. For a non-electric rough-terrain stacking telehandler, assess 8427 20 11 00 first. The table includes alternative classification lines, rather than interchangeable codes: propulsion, lifting height and the machine's function matter. See the wider forklift guide.
Ordinary duty on the listed Chinese-origin goods is 4%. The rough-terrain line records no trade remedy; the other table lines flag provisional anti-dumping duty of 71.74%. This is a boom-lift measure, not an automatic tax on every telehandler: confirm scope and any exclusion declaration. No suspensions are recorded. The tariff also attaches fluorinated greenhouse gas import controls, waste import controls and waste export controls, plus anti-dumping or countervailing registration on the remedy-flagged lines.
Ask your customs broker to confirm the code, remedy scope, registration declaration and attached controls for the exact machine from China. Vehicle air-conditioning can contain pre-charged fluorinated gas; obtain refrigerant details for that check. If machinery is waste subject to notification, consent from the destination, dispatch and transit authorities is needed before shipment. Confirm the China-to-UK waste requirements with your broker. Use finding your commodity code before ordering.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping or countervailing duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-electric rough-terrain stacking trucks, lifting height at least 1 m | 8427 20 11 00 | 4% | None |
| Other electric lifting trucks, lifting height at least 1 m | 8427 10 10 90 | 4% | 71.74% residual anti-dumping (provisional) |
| Other non-electric lifting trucks, lifting height at least 1 m | 8427 20 19 90 | 4% | 71.74% residual anti-dumping (provisional) |
| Other electric lifting trucks, outside the higher-lift category | 8427 10 90 00 | 4% | 71.74% residual anti-dumping (provisional) |
Specify capacity at reach and the attachment
Give the factory the load, required forward reach, lifting height, ground conditions and working space. Request load charts for the exact chassis, boom and attachment, including stabiliser configurations where fitted. Agree fork dimensions, carriage interface, attachment locking, tyre specification, steering modes and transport dimensions. Compare capacity at the intended working position, rather than relying on the headline lifting capacity.
Machinery must satisfy its applicable essential health and safety requirements. Ask for the conformity declaration, assessment evidence and operating manual for the delivered configuration, and have these reviewed before shipment. For a combustion-engine model, check the engine's type approval and displayed markings. Record the engine model and approval evidence in the purchase specification.
Worked duty example
Illustrative example, not a quote: A telehandler for a small contractor, illustrative only under 8427 20 11 00, invoiced at £20,000 free on board, with £1,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £21,000. Duty at 4% is £840. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,840, so it is £4,368. Import taxes total £5,208; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £840 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.
Inspection checklist
Boom and carriage: inspect welds, pins, wear pads, extension movement, fork condition and attachment locking against the agreed drawings.
Hydraulics and controls: have a competent tester check leaks, controlled lowering, boom holding, overload protection and emergency controls using an agreed safe test procedure.
Travel and stability: check braking, parking brake, steering modes, tyres and stabiliser operation where fitted; record defects during the agreed functional test.
Identity and arrival: match machine and engine identification to the documents; check load charts, manuals, supplied attachments and transport damage. Retain the inspection record.
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What goes wrong
A quoted lifting capacity may refer to the boom retracted, while the buyer needs capacity at forward reach. An attachment can arrive with a different carriage interface or without the matching load chart. These discrepancies should be resolved in the specification and verified on the actual machine before shipment.
Other problems include boom play, hydraulic drift, ineffective attachment locks and documents describing a different configuration. A customs quotation can also apply the flagged residual remedy without checking product scope. Resolve technical discrepancies and the declaration basis before paying the balance.
Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For machinery and equipment, see machinery imports.
Frequently asked questions
What is UK import duty on telehandlers from China?
Ordinary duty is 4% on the listed lines. The rough-terrain line has no recorded remedy; alternative lines flag 71.74% provisional anti-dumping duty, whose boom-lift scope must be checked.
Does every Chinese telehandler attract anti-dumping duty?
Do not assume so. The attached measure concerns boom lifts. Confirm whether the exact machine falls within its scope and whether an exclusion declaration applies.
What load chart should a telehandler supplier provide?
Request the chart for the exact machine and attachment, showing capacity at your required reach and height and the relevant stabiliser configuration.
What should I check on a diesel telehandler?
Check engine type approval and displayed markings, then match the engine identity to the supplier's evidence. Also inspect boom movement, hydraulics, brakes and attachment locking.