Sourcing polypropylene filter fabric from China

8% duty, subject to classification

Heading 5512 covers woven fabrics containing 85% or more synthetic staple fibres by weight. Polypropylene staple fabric belongs to the other synthetic fibre branches when this heading applies. The table separates unbleached and bleached variants, which share a code. See the wider synthetic staple fabrics guide.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 2 October 2026, every supplied line carried 8% duty for goods from China. The record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty, no suspension and no attached import controls. These findings concern the supplied heading, rather than confirming the classification of a particular filter cloth.

Before using these codes, ask your customs broker to assess the technical-use classification from the sample, construction, finish and intended filtering application. Send fibre composition evidence and explain whether you are importing rolls or finished filter components. Use finding your commodity code and the technical filter cloth guide.

Specify the cloth and the filtering process

Specify polypropylene staple yarn, fibre composition, weave, yarn construction, fabric mass, usable width and roll length. Record any calendering, heat setting or surface treatment. Keep an approved sample and agree how the supplier will identify production batches.

Describe the liquid or gas, solids, operating temperature, pressure and cleaning process. Agree permeability with its test conditions, particle retention, wet strength, dimensional change and cake release. Trial the sample in your process: a stated pore size alone does not establish filtering performance.

UK REACH restrictions can limit, ban or condition the use and supply of substances. Ask for information on additives and finishes to check applicable restrictions. For food filtration, the cloth must be safe for its application and must not adversely affect food. Request supporting evidence for the intended contact and cleaning conditions.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 1,200 metres of dyed polypropylene staple woven fabric, assuming classification here is confirmed under 5512 99 90 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £1,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,200. Duty at 8% is £576. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,776, so it is £1,555.20. Import taxes total £2,131.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £576 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Material: verify staple yarn and fibre composition against the order; match the production sample to the approved cloth.

Filtration: check permeability using the agreed method and conditions; trial retention, flow and cake release with representative process material.

Strength: check warp and weft strength, wet performance and dimensional change after the agreed cleaning cycle.

Rolls: measure usable width and length; inspect for holes, missing yarns, distorted weave, contamination and damaged edges. Follow the quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

Substituting filament yarn for staple yarn can change the cloth surface and filtering behaviour. Changes in weave density or calendering can alter flow and cake release even when fabric mass matches. Holes and missing yarns allow bypass; loose fibres can contaminate the filtrate.

A clean-water test may miss problems with the buyer's slurry, temperature or cleaning chemicals. Compare production cloth with the approved sample under representative conditions before accepting the batch. Keep the classification decision separate from a supplier's description of the material as filter fabric.

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.