Sourcing women's knitted culottes from China

Duty on knitted culottes from China

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 6104 covers women's or girls' knitted or crocheted garments, including divided skirts. The table selects its divided-skirt lines for women's knitted culottes. Wool or fine animal hair, cotton, synthetic fibres and other textile materials all carry 12% duty from China. The supplied lines show no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions.

The tariff attaches cat and dog fur and seal-product import controls, plus CITES import controls on the wool or fine animal hair and other-material lines. Imports containing cat or dog fur are banned. Seal products for sale in Great Britain must qualify under the Inuit and other indigenous communities exemption. For orders from China containing animal materials, confirm species, CITES permit requirements and seal documentation with your customs broker before ordering.

Official classification guidance places skirts and divided skirts under heading 6104 or 6204. Give your broker the sample, fibre composition and fabric construction to confirm the commodity code, including whether a style sold as culottes is a divided skirt or trousers. For woven versions, see women's woven culottes. For skort styles, see women's knitted skorts sourcing.

Specify the drape, rise and waistband

Specify the knit construction, fibre blend, fabric weight, opacity and stretch recovery. Approve how the wide legs hang when standing and moving, including pocket show-through and cling. Write the waist, hip, rise, crotch depth, leg opening and finished length into the graded size chart, with agreed tolerances.

Define the waistband elastic, attachment method, pocket bags, lining and hem finish. Approve a fit sample and size set in the intended fabric. Textile labels must show fibre content. Agree durable, legible, securely attached composition labels, plus the buyer's care instructions and size labels, before production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 women's polyester knitted culottes; illustrative whole-pound FOB value and freight under 6104 53 00 00, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £1,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £19,200. Duty at 12% is £2,304. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,504, so it is £4,300.80. Import taxes total £6,604.80; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £2,304 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit and drape: measure sampled garments across sizes against the approved chart; check crotch comfort, leg symmetry, pocket position and opacity under stretch.

Waistband and seams: stretch and release the waistband, check elastic recovery and rolling, and inspect crotch seams, skipped stitches and hem waviness.

Washing and colour: wash production samples from each colour; record changes in length and width, seam twisting, colour transfer and pilling against the agreed specification.

Labels and packing: compare fibre wording, care instructions and size labels with the approved artwork; reconcile garments and carton assortments with the packing list. Use the inspection guide to brief the checks.

What goes wrong

A substitute knit can make the legs cling instead of drape, expose pocket bags or become transparent when stretched. Poor recovery leaves the waist loose, while rolling elastic and an incorrect rise make an otherwise correctly sized garment uncomfortable.

Uneven fabric relaxation can leave twisted legs and unequal hems after washing. Approve production-fabric samples, retain a reference garment and compare arrival samples before releasing stock. Record affected colours, sizes and batches so the factory can address the specific fault.

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.