Sourcing teriyaki sauce from China

Teriyaki recipes and UK duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 2103 covers sauces, preparations for sauces, mixed condiments and seasonings, and mustard products. Typical mixed teriyaki sauces without tomato fall under 2103 90 90 89 at 6%. Other sauces containing tomato carry 6%, while tomato sauces carry 10%. The table includes neighbouring classifications for recipe comparison, rather than interchangeable codes for teriyaki sauce.

The supplied China tariff lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty. Plain soya sauce has a 6% rate with a suspension to 0.00%, excluding mixtures containing it. The suspension under 2103 90 90 89 is restricted to a specified fermented cayenne preparation. Other-sauce lines attach veterinary, organic and GMO controls. For Chinese rice-derived products, ask your broker or the relevant border authority whether a common health entry document is required, including coverage for rice wine or rice vinegar. For animal-origin recipes, ask your broker to confirm the attached veterinary requirement before ordering.

For organic sauce from China into Great Britain, obtain a certificate of inspection for each consignment. Confirm the finished recipe and commodity code before approving production. The soy sauce and condiments guide covers the wider heading.

Specify the teriyaki recipe and cooking performance

Agree whether the sauce is a marinade, cooking sauce or finishing glaze. Specify the soy sauce base, sugar source, rice wine or vinegar, starch, preservatives and any animal-origin ingredients. Obtain the full recipe, including ingredients within the soy sauce base, and require approval before substitutions.

Approve a retained sample for sweetness, saltiness, colour, aroma, pouring consistency and coating after cooking. Agree the pack material, closure, net contents, storage instructions and remaining shelf life on arrival. Confirm allergen labelling requirements with the relevant food authority, including soya and wheat where present; sesame or fish ingredients also need attention.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 12 tonnes of teriyaki sauce in catering packs; illustrative FOB and freight values under 2103 90 90 89, invoiced at £24,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £27,000. Duty at 6% is £1,620. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £28,620, so it is £5,724. Import taxes total £7,344; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,620 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step. This assumes the goods are standard-rated for VAT. Most food for human consumption is zero-rated, and animal feed can be too, in which case no import VAT is due, so check the rate for your product in HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14.

Inspection checklist

Recipe: compare the production recipe and batch paperwork with the approved sample, including rice-derived and animal-origin ingredients.

Performance: taste and cook a batch sample; check pouring, glaze adhesion, separation and scorching against the agreed sample.

Labels: check ingredient and allergen declarations against the complete recipe, and match batch markings with cartons and retained samples.

Packaging: inspect seals, caps, leaks, net contents, damaged bottles and pallet protection before shipment and on arrival.

What goes wrong

A supplier calls a sweetened soy-based blend plain soy sauce and assumes the duty suspension applies. Recipe changes can also introduce undeclared wheat, sesame, rice ingredients or fish flavouring. Resolve classification and ingredient declarations from the finished recipe before printing labels.

A sauce that tastes right cold can become too thin, separate or burn during cooking. Leaking closures and broken bottles can damage otherwise acceptable stock. Use cooking trials and retained batch samples alongside quality inspection, rather than accepting appearance alone.

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.