Sourcing woven plush upholstery fabric from China

8% duty on woven plush upholstery fabric

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 5801 covers woven pile fabrics and chenille fabrics, excluding fabrics of headings 5802 and 5806. For plush upholstery, identify the fibre and whether the pile is formed in the warp or weft. Knitted plush belongs to heading 6001. Our woven chenille upholstery guide covers the related family within this heading.

All supplied lines carry 8% duty for goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no tariff suspension recorded. The supplied cotton and man-made fibre plush lines have no attached import controls. The wool or fine animal hair and residual other-material lines attach CITES import and export controls; silk and ramie lines attach export controls. For these variants, confirm the applicable requirement with your customs broker before ordering.

Confirm the commodity code using the weave construction, pile formation and fibre composition rather than the supplier's description of plush. Keep a fabric sample and construction specification with the classification decision.

Specify the pile, backing and upholstery use

Specify pile and ground-fabric composition, pile height, density, usable width, weight per square metre, colour, nap direction and backing. Approve a swatch showing the finished back-coating and agree how rolls will be packed to avoid crushing. State the intended furniture use and cleaning method, then agree abrasion, colour transfer, pile loss and shrinkage checks.

For domestic upholstered furniture, confirm the applicable cigarette and match resistance requirements and whether a fire-resistant interliner is an acceptable option with the relevant authority or your testing adviser. Ask for reports covering the actual fabric and back-coating, and discuss the assembly with your testing adviser. Fabric sold by the metre to consumers needs fibre composition information.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 3,000 metres of woven polyester plush upholstery fabric under 5801 37 00 00, invoiced at £11,448 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £14,448. Duty at 8% is £1,155.84. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £15,603.84, so it is £3,120.77. Import taxes total £4,276.61; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £1,155.84 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Pile and shade: compare rolls with the nap facing the same direction; look for bald areas, uneven pile, shedding and pressure marks.

Dimensions and backing: check usable width, roll length and weight against the order; inspect coating coverage, stiffness and separation from the ground fabric.

Performance: check agreed abrasion, rubbing colour fastness, cleaning shrinkage and pile recovery results against the approved finished sample.

Identification and evidence: check roll references, shade batches and nap markings; match fibre labels and fire-test reports to the supplied construction and finish.

What goes wrong

Reversed nap makes adjoining upholstery panels appear different colours. Tight packing can flatten the pile, while weak pile anchoring causes shedding or bald patches. Compare shade batches before cutting and inspect unpacked rolls before releasing them to the upholsterer.

A changed backing or fire-retardant coating can alter both handle and fire performance. A report for an earlier sample does not establish the performance of the delivered finish. Record the approved construction and keep a retained production sample for comparison.

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.