Sourcing tungsten evaporation boats from China

Duty and classification for tungsten boats

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 October 2026, heading 8101 covers tungsten and its articles, including waste and scrap. Finished tungsten evaporation boats are candidates for 8101 99 90 00, subject to classification. The table also identifies sheet or foil, unwrought feedstock and scrap; these are separate supply forms, not alternative descriptions of a finished boat. See the wider tungsten products guide.

All listed lines carry 0% duty for goods from China, with no residual anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspension shown. The sheet and foil line carries an anti-dumping registration control; the published heading guide identifies this as applying to consignments from Laos and Thailand, rather than directly from China. The finished-article and scrap lines attach import and export waste controls. Waste shipment controls apply only to waste; confirm the shipment-specific requirement with your customs broker.

Give your broker the material composition, drawing, manufacturing process and condition of the goods, then confirm the commodity code. Keep new boats, manufacturing stock and used scrap clearly described on order and shipping documents.

Purity, pocket geometry and clamp fit

Specify tungsten purity and permitted impurities, rather than accepting a description of tungsten alloy. Agree overall dimensions, sheet thickness, pocket shape and depth, bend radii, contact-tab dimensions and tolerances. Supply a drawing showing the chamber's clamp arrangement and the material to be evaporated.

Agree surface cleanliness, acceptable forming marks, packaging and batch identification. Approve a sample in the intended chamber before accepting the production design. Record the operating conditions and acceptance criteria for that trial.

For Great Britain, HSE states that UK REACH registration covers substances on their own, substances in mixtures and certain limited cases involving articles. Check the supplied material and intended use before assuming the same treatment for a finished boat and tungsten feedstock.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 500 tungsten evaporation boats; illustrative order, not a quotation under 8101 99 90 00, invoiced at £30,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £30,800. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £30,800, so it is £6,160. 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: match batch identification to the composition certificate and arrange independent analysis where purity is critical.

Geometry: measure thickness, pocket dimensions, tab spacing and flatness against the approved drawing; check seating in the intended clamps.

Surface: inspect formed corners and pocket edges for cracks, splits, burrs and visible residues before chamber trials.

Packing: check that boats are separated and supported so that tabs and pockets arrive without bending or contamination.

What goes wrong

A boat can match the outside dimensions yet seat poorly because its tabs or pocket differ from the approved sample. Forming cracks, thickness variation and bent contacts can undermine repeatable heating. Reject unapproved changes to material, tooling or geometry.

Surface residues can compromise a coating trial, while substituted alloy can make a composition certificate misleading. Link inspection results to the shipment batch and compare production samples with the approved boat. Keep used or contaminated boats separate from new stock when discussing waste status with the broker.

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.