Sourcing wall and alarm clocks from China

4% or 2%

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, alarm clocks, wall clocks and other clocks of heading 9105 carried 4% duty on goods from China when electrically operated and 2% otherwise, with no anti-dumping measure. A battery quartz movement counts as electrically operated. Clocks with watch movements, clock movements sold on their own, and time switches are in other headings, so confirm the commodity code.

Electrical, radio and battery rules

Mains-powered clocks and clocks with mains adaptors fall under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, and alarm clocks with radios, Bluetooth or wireless charging are radio equipment needing a declaration of conformity. Radio-controlled clocks sold in the UK set themselves from the MSF 60 kHz time signal broadcast from Anthorn, so the movement must be the UK version rather than one tuned to the German or other signals.

Electrically operated clocks are electrical equipment for WEEE purposes, and batteries supplied with them bring battery producer obligations. Clocks with button or coin cells need secure battery compartments under general product safety law.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 10,000 battery quartz wall clocks, commodity code 9105 21 00 00, bought for £25,000 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance, so £28,000 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 4% rate for electrically operated wall clocks is £1,120. VAT at 20% applies to £29,120, so £5,824. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £1,120 to the landed cost. A purely mechanical wall clock under 9105 29 00 00 would pay 2% instead. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Timekeeping and movement: sample clocks run for at least a week beside a reference time source to measure gain or loss against the movement's specification, hands checked for clearance at every position with the heaviest hand set, and radio-controlled movements tested in the UK to confirm they set from the MSF signal.

Electrical and radio: mains clocks and adaptors backed by a test report to BS EN IEC 62368-1 or BS EN 60335-1 as applicable and a declaration naming the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, alarm clocks with radio, Bluetooth or wireless charging covered by the relevant ETSI radio standard and the Radio Equipment Regulations 2017, and the UKCA or CE mark and WEEE symbol checked on the product.

Finish and packing: dial print checked for centring and rub resistance, glass or acrylic fronts checked for scratches and fit, hanging fixings pull-tested on the back panel, and packed cartons drop-tested with a sequence such as ISTA 2A before bulk shipment, with a final random inspection to ISO 2859-1.

What goes wrong

Clocks fail on the movement, the glass and the finish. Cheap quartz movements tick loudly, stop when the hands are heavy or the battery weakens, and keep poor time; radio-controlled movements for the wrong signal never set. Glass fronts crack in transit, hands catch on the dial or each other, printed dials are off-centre, and hanging hooks pull out of MDF backs.

Run sample clocks for several days and check timekeeping against a reference, check that the movement drives the hands at all positions, confirm the radio-controlled movement is set for MSF, drop-test packed cartons, check dial print alignment and hand clearance, and pull-test the hanging fixing.

Cambridge China Bridge sources wall, alarm and desk clocks, with movements, packaging and electrical evidence checked before shipment. Read how our homeware sourcing works. For the reverse trade, see exporting UK clocks to China.