Sourcing truck-mounted drilling rigs from China

UK duty on truck-mounted drilling rigs

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 8705 covers special purpose motor vehicles principally designed for purposes other than carrying people or goods. Mobile drilling derricks under 8705 20 00 00 carry 0% duty from China. The supplied data records no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension for this line. It contains only a single dedicated drilling line, shown in the table.

The tariff attaches fluorinated greenhouse gas and waste import controls. Pre-charged equipment includes vehicles with air-conditioning; confirm the requirement for the rig's refrigerant with your customs broker. If the shipment is waste subject to notification controls, the authorities of dispatch, destination and transit must consent before shipment. Ask your broker to confirm waste status and requirements. The supplied data also lists cultural-object and waste export controls; check these separately if exporting the rig.

Confirm classification against the complete vehicle's construction and principal function using finding your commodity code. Do not classify a drilling machine merely carried as cargo by its transport vehicle. For the wider product family, see piling rigs and drilling machinery.

Specify the chassis and drilling package together

Describe the ground conditions, drilling method, bore diameter and intended depth. Agree torque, rotation speed, feed and pullback capacity, mast travel, drill-rod connections, and the compressor or mud-pump package. Request test records showing the operating conditions behind performance claims, rather than accepting a catalogue depth figure alone.

Specify chassis model, driving position, axle configuration, laden axle weights, stabilisers, transport dimensions and mast restraints. For road use in Great Britain, confirm with the relevant vehicle authority whether approval is needed before first registration and whether an exemption applies. Confirm the approval route before ordering. Machinery must satisfy its applicable essential health and safety requirements; obtain the drilling equipment's conformity documents and English operating instructions. Agree replacement hydraulic seals, filters, drill-head parts and service support.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: A truck-mounted drilling rig for a drilling contractor, illustrative only under 8705 20 00 00, invoiced at £185,000 free on board, with £9,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £194,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £194,500, so it is £38,900. 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

Identity: match chassis and drilling-unit identification plates to the order, drawings and supplied documents; record any substituted components.

Drilling performance: witness rotation, feed, pullback and flushing tests against the agreed specification, recording the tooling and test conditions.

Safety and stability: check mast restraints, stabiliser operation, guards, interlocks and emergency stops; inspect hydraulic hoses and connections for damage or leakage.

Arrival: inspect mounting bolts, welds, corrosion and transport damage before commissioning; reconcile drill rods, tools, spares and manuals with the packing list. Use the quality inspection guide to prepare the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A quoted drilling depth can conceal unsuitable ground assumptions, different tooling or an undersized compressor. A successful unloaded demonstration does not establish performance in the buyer's ground conditions. Agree an acceptance test that represents the intended work and record the actual configuration tested.

Vehicle approval evidence may describe the base chassis while overlooking the completed drilling vehicle. Other problems include poor mast alignment, leaking hydraulics, mismatched rod connections and unavailable replacement parts. Resolve document gaps and substitutions before shipment, and check the builder's actual assembly capability through factory verification.

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.