Sourcing wooden export skids from China

Duty and classification for wooden export skids

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 4415 covers wooden packing and load boards. For export skids, the relevant distinctions are flat pallets under 4415 20 20 00 and other load boards under 4415 20 90 00. The table shows product variants sharing these tariff lines; their descriptions are provisional classification prompts.

Both relevant lines carry 0% duty on goods from China. The supplied tariff records list no anti-dumping or countervailing measures and no suspensions. They attach a DCMS Export Licence control: ask your customs broker to confirm its applicability and any document waiver for your goods. Official cultural-goods licensing guidance concerns exports from Great Britain.

Give your broker the skid drawing, photographs, construction details and intended use to confirm the commodity code. Do not classify solely from the supplier's word 'skid'. For the wider wooden packing family, see wooden dunnage frames.

Specify the runners and actual load support

Define the cargo footprint, weight distribution, bearing points and centre of gravity. Specify runner spacing and section, deck-board thickness, fork openings, lifting direction, fastener pattern and any bolt holes. State whether the skid will rest on a floor, span supports or travel with machinery attached. Agree a sample loading test that reproduces the intended handling.

Solid-wood skids entering Great Britain must meet ISPM 15 even when imported empty for supply to businesses. Specify debarked, treated timber and a legible treatment mark. A certificate cannot replace the mark. Request treatment records as a purchasing check, alongside photographs of the finished skids.

For skids imported as products, confirm any timber-legality duties with the relevant authority rather than relying solely on our wooden packing reference guide. Obtain the species, country of harvest and supporting legality documents, assess the illegal-harvest risk and retain records. Ask how the requirements differ for packaging used only to carry another imported product.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 wooden export skids classified as other load boards under 4415 20 90 00, invoiced at £18,000 free on board, with £3,500 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £21,500. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £21,500, so it is £4,300. 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

Geometry: measure runner sections, spacing, deck thickness, fork clearance and bolt-hole positions against the approved drawing, including on arrival.

Timber: check moisture against the agreed specification, distortion, mould, splits and knots at bearing points and fasteners.

Assembly: check nail or screw length, placement and protruding points; trial-fit the cargo and test support under the agreed loading arrangement.

Treatment and traceability: check legible treatment marks and matching batch documents before dispatch; repeat the visual checks on arrival. Use a written inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A skid can match the outside dimensions yet fail because the runners miss the machine's bearing points or fork openings are obstructed by bracing. Thin boards, split runners and weak fastener joints can allow the cargo to shift. Wet timber can shrink around bolts or arrive mouldy. Record these checks against the approved sample rather than accepting a generic load-capacity claim.

Treatment paperwork is sometimes offered instead of a readable mark on the skid. It cannot substitute for the mark. Keep the treatment check separate from the structural test: a marked skid still needs to support your particular cargo.

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.