Subheading · Chapter 84 · Heading 8443
8443.16: Printing machinery used for printing by means of plates: flexographic printing machinery
Flexographic printing machines
Official description Flexographic printing machinery
8443.16 is the HS subheading for flexographic printing machines, under heading 8443 in chapter 84.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 8443 16 00 00 Flexographic printing machinery Freep/st
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 2
- Additional dutyAdditional duties 35%
- Applies to goods from
- Belarus, Russia
- Legal act
- 2022 No. 376
- Documents
- 9008
- Duty suspensionAirworthiness tariff suspension Free
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- Legal act
- S.I. 2018/1249
- Documents
- C119 Authorised Release Certificate — EASA Form 1 (Appendix I to Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012), or equivalent certificate
Import requirements 2
- Prohibition or restrictionImport prohibition
- Applies to goods from
- North Korea
- Legal act
- S.I. 2019/411
- Import controlRestriction on entry into free circulation
- Applies to goods from
- Ukraine
- Legal act
- S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 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–Iceland agreement | Iceland | 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: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 Italy | £6.2m | 31.2% | +16.2% |
 Denmark | £4.9m | 24.7% | +2,044.4% |
 Germany | £1.9m | 9.4% | -35.9% |
 Türkiye | £1.8m | 9.2% | +917.8% |
 Netherlands | £1.8m | 9% | -44.4% |
 Czechia | £1.5m | 7.3% | -45.8% |
 China | £1.4m | 6.8% | +2,363.9% |
 Sweden | £142k | 0.7% | — |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EUWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$449kUS$449k+US$2m+US$46m+> US$183m
Exports: 85
- Germany: US$402m
- Italy: US$197m
- China: US$183m
- Czechia: US$71m
- Spain: US$69m
- United States: US$65m
- France: US$49m
- Netherlands: US$49m
- Taiwan: US$46m
- Switzerland: US$36m
- Denmark: US$36m
- United Kingdom: US$32m
- Türkiye: US$26m
- Canada: US$22m
- India: US$20m
- Austria: US$10m
- Singapore: US$10m
- Brazil: US$8m
- Japan: US$8m
- Poland: US$4m
- Chile: US$2m
- Finland: US$2m
- Serbia: US$2m
- Peru: US$2m
- Uzbekistan: US$2m
- South Korea: US$2m
- Hungary: US$2m
- Thailand: US$2m
- Slovakia: US$1m
- Belgium: US$1m
- Malaysia: US$1m
- South Africa: US$1m
- Kenya: US$1m
- Mexico: US$1m
- Portugal: US$851k
- Pakistan: US$631k
- Australia: US$621k
- Colombia: US$603k
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$545k
- Vietnam: US$486k
- Israel: US$464k
- Bulgaria: US$449k
- Panama: US$391k
- Lithuania: US$307k
- Slovenia: US$276k
- Croatia: US$197k
- Romania: US$180k
- Greece: US$177k
- Guatemala: US$170k
- Ireland: US$160k
- Latvia: US$150k
- Philippines: US$143k
- Norway: US$133k
- Ecuador: US$133k
- Sweden: US$115k
- Paraguay: US$105k
- Kazakhstan: US$94k
- Egypt: US$92k
- Argentina: US$60k
- Bolivia: US$55k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$3mUS$3m+US$8m+US$24m+> US$59m
Imports: 156
- United States: US$162m
- Mexico: US$80m
- Poland: US$67m
- Germany: US$66m
- Türkiye: US$59m
- Brazil: US$50m
- United Kingdom: US$47m
- India: US$46m
- Spain: US$42m
- France: US$41m
- China: US$38m
- Italy: US$32m
- Russia: US$27m
- Canada: US$26m
- South Korea: US$26m
- South Africa: US$24m
- Vietnam: US$23m
- Thailand: US$22m
- Saudi Arabia: US$22m
- Netherlands: US$21m
- United Arab Emirates: US$20m
- Algeria: US$18m
- Australia: US$18m
- Colombia: US$17m
- Kazakhstan: US$14m
- Indonesia: US$14m
- Belgium: US$13m
- Malaysia: US$12m
- Romania: US$12m
- Morocco: US$12m
- Japan: US$10m
- Austria: US$10m
- Chile: US$9m
- Switzerland: US$9m
- Sweden: US$8m
- Peru: US$8m
- Guatemala: US$8m
- Uzbekistan: US$8m
- Taiwan: US$8m
- Portugal: US$7m
- Philippines: US$7m
- Ecuador: US$7m
- Hungary: US$7m
- Egypt: US$7m
- Ukraine: US$6m
- El Salvador: US$6m
- Kenya: US$6m
- Bangladesh: US$6m
- Dominican Republic: US$6m
- Kyrgyzstan: US$6m
- Angola: US$5m
- Georgia: US$5m
- Serbia: US$5m
- Costa Rica: US$5m
- Iraq: US$5m
- Croatia: US$5m
- Nigeria: US$5m
- Slovenia: US$4m
- Israel: US$4m
- Argentina: US$4m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | US$402m | 29.2% |
| 2 | Italy | US$197m | 14.3% |
| 3 | China | US$183m | 13.3% |
| 4 | Czechia | US$71m | 5.1% |
| 5 |  Spain | US$69m | 5% |
| 6 |  United States | US$65m | 4.8% |
| 7 |  France | US$49m | 3.6% |
| 8 | Netherlands | US$49m | 3.6% |
| 9 |  Taiwan | US$46m | 3.4% |
| 10 |  Switzerland | US$36m | 2.6% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$162m | 11.8% |
| 2 |  Mexico | US$80m | 5.9% |
| 3 |  Poland | US$67m | 4.8% |
| 4 | Germany | US$66m | 4.8% |
| 5 | Türkiye | US$59m | 4.3% |
| 6 |  Brazil | US$50m | 3.6% |
| 7 | United Kingdom | US$47m | 3.4% |
| 8 |  India | US$46m | 3.3% |
| 9 | Spain | US$42m | 3% |
| 10 | France | US$41m | 3% |
Recent rule changes mentioning this code
Acts whose text cites this code or its heading. Check the act itself: a code can be cited for reasons other than a change of its duty.
- Sanctions · Applies from:
The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
S.I. 2026/543 · Source: legislation.gov.uk
The UK Global Tariff has one tariff line for subheading 8443.16; the duty is duty-free.
Subheading 8443.16 is a single line in the EU Combined Nomenclature, where the duty is 1.7%.
174 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 flexographic printing machines into the UK came to £19.8m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 4% on the year before); Italy supplied 31%, followed by Denmark.
In 2024, countries exported flexographic printing machines worth US$1bn (+0.5% year on year).
The largest exporter was Germany (US$402m), followed by Italy.
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for printing machinery used for printing by means of plates: flexographic printing machinery?
Printing machinery used for printing by means of plates: flexographic printing machinery fall under HS subheading 8443.16, part of heading 8443, in section XVI of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on printing machinery used for printing by means of… in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 8443.16 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 printing machinery used for printing by means of… in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 8443.16 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 1.7%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most printing machinery used for printing by means of…?
Germany, with US$402m in 2024 (29.2% of world exports).
Which countries can export flexographic printing machines to the UK duty-free?
174 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 flexographic printing machines?
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 flexographic printing machines from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were Italy (31%), Denmark (25%) and Germany (9%), out of total imports of £19.8m.