How to check UK import licences and restrictions
Before placing an order, confirm the product and destination, check its commodity code and China-origin tariff measures, then ask the relevant authority about any unresolved conditions. Keep the answer with your order file. Cambridge China Bridge can help gather the factory information needed for these checks.
Start with the product and destination
Prepare a description covering materials, ingredients, intended use, manufacturing process and packaging. Include photographs and the proposed specification. Record whether the goods will enter England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and ask the authority to confirm that its guidance covers that destination.
Use our commodity code guide for classification. This guide adds the next task: working through the controls attached to that code and resolving them before you commit. Fit this check into your first-order checklist, before paying a deposit or approving production.
Read the measures, not just the duty rate
Open the official UK Trade Tariff entry for your product. Check the import measures for Chinese origin and the intended import date. Read each relevant measure, its conditions and footnotes. Record any licence, certificate, document code or additional code mentioned, alongside the wording that makes it relevant to your goods.
Ask your customs agent to explain which condition matches the specification and what evidence supports that choice. If an exemption appears relevant, ask what proves it rather than choosing it because the supplier says the goods are unrestricted. Save the entry and your reasoning, and repeat the check before dispatch.
Check the product-specific route
For plants and plant products entering Great Britain, importers must check whether phytosanitary certification is required. For animals and animal products, the official guidance requires a health certificate for medium and high risk imports. Establish the applicable product category before asking the factory for a generic certificate.
For goods containing material from an endangered species, ask the Animal and Plant Health Agency about the permit application route. Also flag medicines, chemicals, waste, weapons and unusual materials for a separate product-specific enquiry. Treat these as screening prompts, not a complete list or a conclusion that a licence is required.
Put a precise question to the authority
For Department for Business and Trade import controls unrelated to sanctions, its Import Licensing Branch is the advice route. Use the current contact details on the official import-controls page. For other products, start with the authority identified in the relevant product guidance. See our UK sanctions checks guide for the separate sanctions review.
Send the specification, proposed code, origin, destination, intended use and tariff wording. Ask whether import is permitted, which licence or certificate applies, who should apply, and what must be ready before dispatch. Ask about any inspection, notification or entry-route arrangements. Keep unresolved questions open until you have an answer covering the actual goods.
Turn the answer into an order condition
Keep a control record with the official guidance, tariff extract, authority correspondence, required documents and the person responsible for obtaining each document. Make approval to proceed depend on resolving these points. If materials, ingredients, intended use or destination change, reopen the check before accepting the revised order.
Ask Cambridge China Bridge’s staff in China to obtain the factory information and document drafts needed for your review. Compare names, product descriptions and specifications across the file. Use our customs clearance documents guide for the general shipping paperwork, and keep the product-specific authority response alongside it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a commodity code tell me if I need an import licence?
It is the starting point for checking tariff controls. Read the measures for Chinese origin, then resolve product-specific questions with the authority named in the relevant guidance.
Can I rely on my supplier saying no licence is needed?
Ask for the product facts behind that answer. Check them against the tariff conditions and official guidance, and obtain authority advice where the position remains unclear.
Who should I contact about UK import restrictions?
Use the authority named in the product guidance. The Import Licensing Branch advises on Department for Business and Trade import controls unrelated to sanctions.
What should I keep before placing the order?
Keep the specification, classification reasoning, tariff measures, official guidance and authority reply. Record who obtains each document and what remains unresolved before approving production.