Subheading · Chapter 90 · Heading 9001
9001.40: Spectacle lenses of glass
Subheading 9001.40 belongs to heading 9001 (optical fibres and optical fibre bundles) in chapter 90.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 9001 40 00 00 Spectacle lenses of glass p/st
- 9001 40 20 00 Not for the correction of vision 2%p/st
- For the correction of vision p/st
- Both sides finished p/st
- 9001 40 41 00 Single focal 2%p/st
- 9001 40 49 00 Other 2%p/st
- 9001 40 80 00 Other 2%p/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 1
- Additional dutyAdditional duties 35%
- Applies to goods from
- Belarus, Russia
- Legal act
- 2022 No. 598
- Documents
- 9014
Import requirements 3
- 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
- Iraq, Russia, Syria, Ukraine
- Legal act
- S.I. 2020/707, 2023 No. 440, S.I. 2019/792, S.I. 2022/395
- Documents
- 9011
- 9022
- 9038
- 9009
- 9010
- 9017
- Import controlImport control on restricted goods and technologies
- Applies to goods from
- Iran, Libya, Russia
- Legal act
- S.I. 2019/461, 2020 No. 1665, S.I. 2019/855
- Documents
- Y966 Goods other than those described in the MG footnotes linked to the measure (Missile Technology Control Regime list - Annex III of Reg. (EU) 267/2012)
- Y920 Goods other than those described in the footnotes linked to the measure
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 2% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Philippines | £2.9m | 64.5% | -31.1% |
 Thailand | £474k | 10.4% | +1,266.5% |
 China | £439k | 9.7% | -66.2% |
 Vietnam | £397k | 8.7% | — |
 France | £147k | 3.2% | — |
| United Kingdom | £45k | 1% | +44.5% |
 United States | £37k | 0.8% | — |
 Italy | £29k | 0.6% | -8.2% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EU
TürkiyeWorld trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$69kUS$69k+US$1m+US$5m+> US$44m
Exports: 102
- China: US$83m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$54m
- Italy: US$44m
- Hungary: US$33m
- Netherlands: US$21m
- Germany: US$11m
- France: US$11m
- Portugal: US$11m
- Czechia: US$10m
- Philippines: US$5m
- Austria: US$4m
- Ireland: US$4m
- India: US$4m
- Myanmar (Burma): US$3m
- United States: US$3m
- Thailand: US$3m
- Belgium: US$3m
- Taiwan: US$2m
- Serbia: US$2m
- Greece: US$2m
- United Kingdom: US$2m
- Lithuania: US$1m
- Slovenia: US$1m
- South Africa: US$1m
- Japan: US$1m
- Israel: US$1m
- Malaysia: US$989k
- Singapore: US$755k
- Armenia: US$658k
- Switzerland: US$635k
- Poland: US$632k
- Tunisia: US$508k
- Spain: US$481k
- Finland: US$377k
- United Arab Emirates: US$317k
- Australia: US$310k
- Indonesia: US$296k
- South Korea: US$186k
- Romania: US$159k
- Vietnam: US$131k
- Sweden: US$110k
- Canada: US$105k
- Costa Rica: US$95k
- Macao SAR China: US$94k
- Türkiye: US$84k
- Panama: US$83k
- Morocco: US$69k
- Mexico: US$68k
- Denmark: US$63k
- Côte d’Ivoire: US$53k
- Dominican Republic: US$52k
- Bulgaria: US$35k
- Iceland: US$17k
- Cyprus: US$15k
- Norway: US$12k
- New Zealand: US$12k
- Luxembourg: US$12k
- Mauritius: US$11k
- Brazil: US$10k
- Chile: US$10k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$83kUS$83k+US$593k+US$3m+> US$22m
Imports: 187
- Australia: US$40m
- Italy: US$34m
- Germany: US$31m
- France: US$30m
- United States: US$25m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$22m
- China: US$17m
- Spain: US$12m
- Netherlands: US$8m
- Singapore: US$7m
- Belgium: US$7m
- United Kingdom: US$7m
- Austria: US$7m
- Philippines: US$6m
- Taiwan: US$4m
- Russia: US$4m
- Vietnam: US$4m
- Portugal: US$3m
- India: US$3m
- Ireland: US$3m
- Japan: US$3m
- South Africa: US$3m
- Luxembourg: US$3m
- Malaysia: US$3m
- Slovenia: US$3m
- Switzerland: US$2m
- Brazil: US$2m
- Sweden: US$2m
- Greece: US$2m
- Czechia: US$2m
- South Korea: US$1m
- Pakistan: US$1m
- Mexico: US$1m
- Macao SAR China: US$1m
- Cyprus: US$1m
- Hungary: US$1m
- Poland: US$924k
- United Arab Emirates: US$829k
- Egypt: US$797k
- Angola: US$694k
- Morocco: US$681k
- Thailand: US$651k
- Canada: US$644k
- Bangladesh: US$627k
- Chile: US$599k
- Sudan: US$593k
- Norway: US$588k
- Peru: US$558k
- Lithuania: US$542k
- Azerbaijan: US$541k
- Nigeria: US$519k
- Guatemala: US$488k
- Serbia: US$472k
- Cape Verde: US$468k
- New Zealand: US$435k
- Zambia: US$417k
- Saudi Arabia: US$376k
- Indonesia: US$368k
- Algeria: US$360k
- Israel: US$345k
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | US$83m | 25.3% |
| 2 |  Hong Kong SAR China | US$54m | 16.4% |
| 3 | Italy | US$44m | 13.5% |
| 4 |  Hungary | US$33m | 10% |
| 5 |  Netherlands | US$21m | 6.5% |
| 6 |  Germany | US$11m | 3.3% |
| 7 | France | US$11m | 3.3% |
| 8 |  Portugal | US$11m | 3.3% |
| 9 |  Czechia | US$10m | 2.9% |
| 10 | Philippines | US$5m | 1.6% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia | US$40m | 12.3% |
| 2 | Italy | US$34m | 10.5% |
| 3 | Germany | US$31m | 9.4% |
| 4 | France | US$30m | 9.1% |
| 5 | United States | US$25m | 7.5% |
| 6 | Hong Kong SAR China | US$22m | 6.6% |
| 7 | China | US$17m | 5.1% |
| 8 |  Spain | US$12m | 3.6% |
| 9 | Netherlands | US$8m | 2.6% |
| 10 |  Singapore | US$7m | 2.3% |
The UK Global Tariff divides subheading 9001.40 into 4 tariff lines; the duty is 2%.
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, subheading 9001.40 covers 4 tariff lines and the duty is 2.9%.
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 2%.
In the UK, additional duty of 35% applies on top of the customs duty to goods from Belarus and Russia.
Imports of these goods into the UK came to £4.5m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 21% on the year before); Philippines supplied 65%, followed by Thailand.
In 2024, countries exported these goods worth US$328m (−2.2% year on year).
The largest exporter was China (US$83m), followed by Hong Kong SAR China.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for spectacle lenses of glass?
Spectacle lenses of glass fall under HS subheading 9001.40, part of heading 9001, in section XVIII of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on spectacle lenses of glass in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 9001.40 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 2%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
What is the import duty on spectacle lenses of glass in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 9001.40 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 2.9%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most spectacle lenses of glass?
China, with US$83m in 2024 (25.3% of world exports).
Which countries can export these goods 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 2% applies. Pick a country above to see its rate.
Is there anti-dumping duty on these goods?
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 these goods from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were Philippines (65%), Thailand (10%) and China (10%), out of total imports of £4.5m.