Subheading · Chapter 38 · Heading 3823
3823.11: Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids: stearic acid
Stearic acid (industrial)
Official description Stearic acid
3823.11 is the HS subheading for stearic acid (industrial), under heading 3823 in chapter 38.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 3823 11 00 00 Stearic acid Free
- Of a kind used for animal feed Free
- 3823 11 00 20 Fatty acids with a carbon chain length of c6, c8, c10, c12, c14, c16 or c18 with an iodine value below 105g/100g, including single fatty acids (also referred to as ‘pure cut’) and blends containing a combination of two or more carbon chain lengths Free
- 3823 11 00 50 Other Free
- Other Free
- 3823 11 00 70 Fatty acids with a carbon chain length of c6, c8, c10, c12, c14, c16 or c18 with an iodine value below 105g/100g, including single fatty acids (also referred to as ‘pure cut’) and blends containing a combination of two or more carbon chain lengths Free
- 3823 11 00 80 Other Free
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Additional duties and charges 1
- Additional dutyAdditional duties 35%
- Applies to goods from
- Belarus, Russia
- Legal act
- 2022 No. 598
- Documents
- 9014
Import requirements 1
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- Russia, Ukraine
- Legal act
- 2023 No. 440, S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 9011
- 9022
- 9038
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | Free |
| DCTS Comprehensive | Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 38 moreAfghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia | Free |
| European Union (including code "EU") | Free | |
| DCTS Enhanced | Algeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville and 13 moreAlgeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu | Free |
| CARIFORUM | Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and 10 moreAntigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago | Free |
| OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories) | Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands and 7 moreAnguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands | Free |
| Central America | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama | Free |
| SADC EPA | Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia | Free |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States | Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | Free |
| CPTPP | Brunei, Malaysia | Free |
| UK–Andorra agreement | Andorra | Free |
| UK–Albania agreement | Albania | Free |
| UK–Australia agreement | Australia | Free |
| UK–Canada agreement | Canada | Free |
| UK–Switzerland agreement | Switzerland | Free |
| UK–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| UK–Chile agreement | Chile | Free |
| UK–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | Free |
| UK–Colombia agreement | Colombia | Free |
| UK–Ceuta & Melilla agreement | Ceuta & Melilla | Free |
| UK–Ecuador agreement | Ecuador | Free |
| UK–Egypt agreement | Egypt | Free |
| UK–Fiji agreement | Fiji | Free |
| UK–Faroe Islands agreement | Faroe Islands | Free |
| UK–Georgia agreement | Georgia | Free |
| UK–Ghana agreement | Ghana | Free |
| DCTS Standard | Indonesia | Free |
| UK–Israel agreement | Israel | Free |
| UK–India agreement | India | Free |
| UK–Jordan agreement | Jordan | Free |
| UK–Japan agreement | Japan | Free |
| UK–Kenya agreement | Kenya | Free |
| UK–South Korea agreement | South Korea | Free |
| UK–Lebanon agreement | Lebanon | Free |
| UK–Liechtenstein agreement | Liechtenstein | Free |
| UK–Morocco agreement | Morocco | Free |
| UK–Moldova agreement | Moldova | Free |
| UK–North Macedonia agreement | North Macedonia | Free |
| UK–Mexico agreement | Mexico | Free |
| UK–Norway agreement | Norway | Free |
| UK–New Zealand agreement | New Zealand | Free |
| UK–Peru agreement | Peru | Free |
| UK–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| UK–Palestinian Territories agreement | Palestinian Territories | Free |
| UK–Serbia agreement | Serbia | Free |
| UK–Solomon Islands agreement | Solomon Islands | Free |
| UK–Singapore agreement | Singapore | Free |
| UK–San Marino agreement | San Marino | Free |
| UK–Tunisia agreement | Tunisia | Free |
| UK–Türkiye agreement | Türkiye | Free |
| UK–Ukraine agreement | Ukraine | Free |
| UK–Vietnam agreement | Vietnam | Free |
| UK–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| UK–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| UK–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
| UK–Iceland agreement | Iceland | Free |
UK: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 Malaysia | £5.6m | 44.8% | -12.1% |
 Sweden | £3.3m | 26.1% | +31.8% |
 Germany | £1.9m | 14.9% | -21.7% |
 Belgium | £800k | 6.4% | -26.6% |
 Indonesia | £558k | 4.4% | -38.8% |
 Netherlands | £149k | 1.2% | -70.8% |
 Italy | £132k | 1.1% | -36.6% |
 France | £62k | 0.5% | -35.8% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EUWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$177kUS$177k+US$1m+US$30m+> US$92m
Exports: 84
- Indonesia: US$740m
- Malaysia: US$391m
- Netherlands: US$92m
- Germany: US$48m
- Belgium: US$42m
- Sweden: US$40m
- China: US$37m
- United States: US$33m
- Italy: US$30m
- Argentina: US$16m
- India: US$9m
- Spain: US$7m
- Denmark: US$6m
- France: US$3m
- South Korea: US$3m
- United Kingdom: US$2m
- Brazil: US$2m
- Honduras: US$2m
- Poland: US$1m
- Taiwan: US$1m
- Czechia: US$1m
- Türkiye: US$1m
- Cameroon: US$1m
- Japan: US$1m
- Ghana: US$838k
- Singapore: US$720k
- Panama: US$715k
- Senegal: US$656k
- Sierra Leone: US$615k
- Lithuania: US$541k
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$432k
- Côte d’Ivoire: US$422k
- Thailand: US$403k
- Austria: US$396k
- Russia: US$324k
- Norway: US$314k
- Bulgaria: US$311k
- Finland: US$289k
- Gabon: US$257k
- Portugal: US$231k
- Canada: US$209k
- Mexico: US$177k
- Saudi Arabia: US$129k
- Luxembourg: US$103k
- Slovenia: US$82k
- Colombia: US$79k
- Ireland: US$77k
- South Africa: US$69k
- Hungary: US$66k
- Romania: US$52k
- Slovakia: US$48k
- Egypt: US$43k
- Morocco: US$40k
- Guatemala: US$38k
- Switzerland: US$35k
- Serbia: US$29k
- Tonga: US$29k
- Ukraine: US$28k
- Australia: US$24k
- Ecuador: US$23k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$569kUS$569k+US$4m+US$24m+> US$80m
Imports: 164
- China: US$248m
- Germany: US$113m
- Netherlands: US$102m
- United States: US$84m
- South Korea: US$80m
- Malaysia: US$78m
- Türkiye: US$77m
- Vietnam: US$56m
- India: US$55m
- Mexico: US$47m
- Thailand: US$47m
- Singapore: US$42m
- Japan: US$40m
- Poland: US$35m
- Taiwan: US$31m
- Brazil: US$29m
- Russia: US$24m
- Italy: US$23m
- Belgium: US$22m
- France: US$21m
- Iran: US$21m
- United Kingdom: US$20m
- Canada: US$19m
- Bangladesh: US$16m
- Spain: US$15m
- Egypt: US$14m
- United Arab Emirates: US$11m
- Denmark: US$10m
- South Africa: US$7m
- Czechia: US$7m
- Austria: US$7m
- Saudi Arabia: US$6m
- Latvia: US$6m
- Indonesia: US$6m
- Portugal: US$6m
- Philippines: US$5m
- Nigeria: US$4m
- Peru: US$4m
- Hungary: US$4m
- Colombia: US$4m
- Angola: US$4m
- Serbia: US$4m
- Slovakia: US$3m
- Sri Lanka: US$3m
- Sweden: US$3m
- Slovenia: US$3m
- Pakistan: US$3m
- Jordan: US$3m
- Romania: US$3m
- Ukraine: US$3m
- Cambodia: US$2m
- Greece: US$2m
- Australia: US$2m
- Luxembourg: US$2m
- Myanmar (Burma): US$2m
- Finland: US$2m
- Argentina: US$2m
- Côte d’Ivoire: US$2m
- Tanzania: US$2m
- Senegal: US$1m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | US$740m | 48.7% |
| 2 | Malaysia | US$391m | 25.7% |
| 3 | Netherlands | US$92m | 6.1% |
| 4 | Germany | US$48m | 3.2% |
| 5 | Belgium | US$42m | 2.7% |
| 6 | Sweden | US$40m | 2.6% |
| 7 |  China | US$37m | 2.4% |
| 8 |  United States | US$33m | 2.2% |
| 9 | Italy | US$30m | 2% |
| 10 |  Argentina | US$16m | 1% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | US$248m | 16.3% |
| 2 | Germany | US$113m | 7.4% |
| 3 | Netherlands | US$102m | 6.7% |
| 4 | United States | US$84m | 5.5% |
| 5 |  South Korea | US$80m | 5.2% |
| 6 | Malaysia | US$78m | 5.1% |
| 7 |  Türkiye | US$77m | 5.1% |
| 8 |  Vietnam | US$56m | 3.7% |
| 9 |  India | US$55m | 3.6% |
| 10 |  Mexico | US$47m | 3.1% |
The UK Global Tariff divides subheading 3823.11 into 4 tariff lines; the duty is duty-free.
Subheading 3823.11 is a single line in the EU Combined Nomenclature, where the duty is 5.1%.
173 countries pay no duty in the UK thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as DCTS Comprehensive and European Union, against a standard rate of Free.
In the UK, additional duty of 35% applies on top of the customs duty to goods from Belarus and Russia.
Imports of stearic acid (industrial) into the UK came to £12.6m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 14% on the year before); Malaysia supplied 45%, followed by Sweden.
In 2024, countries exported stearic acid (industrial) worth US$2bn (+3.7% year on year).
The largest exporter was Indonesia (US$740m), followed by Malaysia.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids: stearic acid?
Industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids: stearic acid fall under HS subheading 3823.11, part of heading 3823, in section VI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 3823.11 from countries without a preferential agreement are free of duty. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 3823.11 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 5.1%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most industrial monocarboxylic fatty acids?
Indonesia, with US$740m in 2024 (48.7% of world exports).
Which countries can export stearic acid (industrial) to the UK duty-free?
173 countries pay no duty under a trade agreement or preference scheme, among them partners under DCTS Comprehensive, European Union, DCTS Enhanced. The goods must meet the agreement’s rules of origin and the importer needs proof of origin; otherwise the standard rate of Free applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.
Is there anti-dumping duty on stearic acid (industrial)?
The UK charges additional duty of 35% on goods from Belarus and Russia. Lower rates apply to the named exporters listed in the measure.
Where does the UK import stearic acid (industrial) from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were Malaysia (45%), Sweden (26%) and Germany (15%), out of total imports of £12.6m.