Sourcing textile coffin palls from China

A flat 12% duty on textile coffin palls

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 6304 covers other furnishing articles, excluding those of heading 9404. For textile coffin palls within this heading, the relevant lines distinguish knitted or crocheted construction from other construction, then separate cotton, synthetic fibres, flax or ramie, wool or artificial fibres, and other textile materials.

All listed lines carry 12% duty for goods from China. The supplied snapshot records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty or suspension. Import control under CITES is attached to 6304 99 00 91 and 6304 99 00 99. Importing CITES specimens into Great Britain requires a permit. If materials or decoration may involve protected species, ask your customs broker to confirm the species-specific restrictions and documentation before ordering.

Give your broker the intended use, fibre composition, fabric construction and details of lining and decoration before confirming the commodity code. These are classification candidates, rather than interchangeable codes. For the wider heading, see textile altar frontals.

Specify coffin coverage, drape and decoration

Specify finished length and width against the coffins the pall will cover, including the intended overhang and clearance around handles. Agree fabric composition, mass per unit area, opacity, lining, edge finish and drape. Approve a sample laid over a representative coffin, rather than judging a folded swatch.

Fix the orientation, position and colour of crosses, crests, lettering and embroidery. Check the design from both sides of the coffin. State whether the pall is reusable and agree its washing or dry-cleaning process. Ask the funeral director or venue to approve the intended use and any requested flame-performance evidence before production.

Funeral products are listed among textiles exempt from mandatory fibre-composition labelling. The exemption has an exception where a trade mark or business name contains a fibre name or a confusingly similar name. Confirm the proposed branding before relying on it. As a purchasing specification, still request composition and care information for the body, lining and trims.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 600 plain cotton coffin palls for a funeral-supply business, illustrative only under 6304 92 00 90, invoiced at £7,500 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £8,400. Duty at 12% is £1,008. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £9,408, so it is £1,881.60. Import taxes total £2,889.60; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,008 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Coverage: measure the finished pall and trial its overhang, handle clearance, symmetry and drape on the agreed coffin shape.

Decoration: compare embroidery, lettering, motif orientation and placement with approved artwork; check puckering, loose threads and the reverse face.

Cleaning: compare shrinkage, colour transfer, lining distortion and trim condition after the agreed cleaning process with the approved sample.

Arrival: check for dampness, musty odours, stains, crushed pile, shade variation, open seams and loose fringe; record findings through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A pall can match the flat dimensions yet hang unevenly over a shaped coffin. Heavy embroidery may pull the cloth off centre, while a lining that shrinks differently can curl the edges. Dark fabric or metallic-looking decoration may transfer colour during cleaning, and fringe can snag on handles.

Approve the made-up pall and a cleaned sample together. Keep the artwork orientation and component materials in the purchase specification. If the pall is intended to remain with the coffin during burial or cremation, obtain the receiving operator's acceptance before ordering that version.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.