Subheading · Chapter 96 · Heading 9609
9609.10: Pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a sheath
9609.10 is a six-digit subheading of heading 9609, pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608), crayons, pencil leads, pastels…, chapter 96.
What you pay
Importing into UK
Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff
UK lines →- 9609 10 00 00 Pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a sheath
- 9609 10 10 00 With 'leads' of graphite 2%
- 9609 10 90 00 Other 2%
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Import requirements 1
- 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) | — | 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–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–XC agreement | XC | Free |
| UK–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| UK–XL agreement | XL | Free |
| UK–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
UK: imports by month
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 China | £12.4m | 47.3% | -15.9% |
 Germany | £6.9m | 26.4% | -0.3% |
 Vietnam | £1.6m | 6.2% | +25.8% |
 Czechia | £966k | 3.7% | +38% |
 Switzerland | £957k | 3.7% | +42% |
 Brazil | £802k | 3.1% | -28.5% |
 Canada | £521k | 2% | -6.4% |
 France | £453k | 1.7% | -33.2% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
EU 2.7% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines 
Türkiye 60% Statutory rate (Law 474) 2 tariff lines 
USA specific or compound duty General (MFN) 1 tariff line The Turkish schedule prints the statutory rate set under Customs Law 474. The rate applied at import is laid down in the Import Regime Decision and can be lower, or different by country of origin.
World trade in 2024
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$68kUS$68k+US$2m+US$15.8m+> US$60.1m
Exports: 147
- China: US$608m
- Germany: US$113.9m
- Brazil: US$67.1m
- Vietnam: US$60.1m
- India: US$53.5m
- Czechia: US$43.5m
- Indonesia: US$40.1m
- Mexico: US$37m
- France: US$32.6m
- Russia: US$20.4m
- Netherlands: US$19.5m
- United States: US$19.1m
- Thailand: US$17.1m
- Philippines: US$15.8m
- Poland: US$11m
- United Kingdom: US$10.3m
- Spain: US$9.5m
- Switzerland: US$8.7m
- Slovakia: US$8.6m
- Armenia: US$8.1m
- South Korea: US$8m
- Japan: US$7.9m
- Italy: US$7.5m
- Austria: US$7.2m
- Taiwan: US$5.2m
- Denmark: US$3.2m
- Romania: US$3m
- Canada: US$2.5m
- Türkiye: US$2.3m
- Hungary: US$2.3m
- Pakistan: US$2.2m
- Sweden: US$2.1m
- Belgium: US$2m
- Myanmar (Burma): US$1.9m
- Malaysia: US$1.9m
- South Africa: US$1.3m
- Slovenia: US$1.3m
- Hong Kong SAR China: US$1m
- Singapore: US$814.7k
- United Arab Emirates: US$665.4k
- Portugal: US$664.7k
- Peru: US$627.5k
- Greece: US$585.4k
- Latvia: US$583k
- Serbia: US$568.9k
- El Salvador: US$497.8k
- Ireland: US$414.6k
- Estonia: US$387.6k
- Chile: US$319.4k
- Guatemala: US$316k
- Egypt: US$309.2k
- Croatia: US$279.8k
- Lithuania: US$247.8k
- Australia: US$228.5k
- Bulgaria: US$188.2k
- Colombia: US$180.2k
- Dominican Republic: US$170.9k
- Costa Rica: US$168.9k
- New Zealand: US$140.9k
- Finland: US$135.5k
Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$797.9kUS$797.9k+US$4.5m+US$17.5m+> US$30.3m
Imports: 217
- United States: US$213m
- Germany: US$89.7m
- Mexico: US$53.2m
- France: US$47.6m
- United Kingdom: US$37.6m
- Brazil: US$35.9m
- Russia: US$30.3m
- Netherlands: US$29.6m
- Poland: US$28.9m
- Italy: US$28.6m
- Thailand: US$27.5m
- United Arab Emirates: US$24.2m
- Canada: US$23.3m
- Spain: US$21.2m
- Australia: US$21m
- Armenia: US$19.9m
- Japan: US$19.6m
- Peru: US$19.5m
- Colombia: US$19.4m
- Malaysia: US$18.1m
- Slovakia: US$17.9m
- Indonesia: US$17.5m
- Czechia: US$17.2m
- Pakistan: US$15m
- Saudi Arabia: US$14.5m
- South Korea: US$14.2m
- Austria: US$13.3m
- Vietnam: US$13.2m
- Iraq: US$12.9m
- South Africa: US$11.5m
- Guatemala: US$11.2m
- Belgium: US$10.8m
- Chile: US$9.9m
- China: US$9.8m
- India: US$9.5m
- Türkiye: US$7.5m
- Switzerland: US$7.4m
- Ireland: US$7.3m
- Algeria: US$7.1m
- Bangladesh: US$6.9m
- Philippines: US$6.8m
- Ecuador: US$6.8m
- Denmark: US$6.5m
- Panama: US$6.4m
- Hungary: US$6.2m
- Romania: US$5.7m
- Sweden: US$5.6m
- Argentina: US$5.4m
- Portugal: US$5.3m
- Bolivia: US$5.2m
- Greece: US$5m
- Taiwan: US$4.9m
- Israel: US$4.8m
- Kenya: US$4.5m
- Nigeria: US$4.4m
- Jordan: US$4.4m
- Kazakhstan: US$4.3m
- Paraguay: US$4.2m
- Nepal: US$4.2m
- Nicaragua: US$4.1m
Top exporters
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | US$608m | 47.6% |
| 2 | Germany | US$113.9m | 8.9% |
| 3 | Brazil | US$67.1m | 5.3% |
| 4 | Vietnam | US$60.1m | 4.7% |
| 5 |  India | US$53.5m | 4.2% |
| 6 | Czechia | US$43.5m | 3.4% |
| 7 |  Indonesia | US$40.1m | 3.1% |
| 8 |  Mexico | US$37m | 2.9% |
| 9 | France | US$32.6m | 2.6% |
| 10 |  Russia | US$20.4m | 1.6% |
Top importers
| Rank | Country | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | US$213m | 16.7% |
| 2 | Germany | US$89.7m | 7% |
| 3 | Mexico | US$53.2m | 4.2% |
| 4 | France | US$47.6m | 3.7% |
| 5 | United Kingdom | US$37.6m | 2.9% |
| 6 | Brazil | US$35.9m | 2.8% |
| 7 | Russia | US$30.3m | 2.4% |
| 8 |  Netherlands | US$29.6m | 2.3% |
| 9 |  Poland | US$28.9m | 2.3% |
| 10 |  Italy | US$28.6m | 2.2% |
In the UK Global Tariff, subheading 9609.10 covers 2 tariff lines and the duty is 2%.
The EU Combined Nomenclature divides subheading 9609.10 into 2 tariff lines; the duty is 2.7%.
Goods from 175 countries can enter the UK at a preferential rate instead of the standard 2%; 175 of them pay no duty at all, for example under DCTS Comprehensive or European Union.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the UK imported these goods worth £26.2m (down 8% on the year before), at an average of £4.25 per kg; China supplied 47%, followed by Germany.
World trade in these goods reached US$1.3bn in 2024, down 1.7% on 2023.
China was the largest exporter with 47.6% of the total, ahead of Germany.
Products classified here
Questions and answers
What is the HS code for pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a sheath?
Pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a sheath fall under HS subheading 9609.10, part of heading 9609, in section XX of the Harmonized System.
What is the import duty on pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a… in the UK?
Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 9609.10 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 pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a… in the EU?
Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 9609.10 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 2.7%. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which country exports the most pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a…?
China, with US$608m in 2024 (47.6% of world exports).
Which countries can export these goods to the UK duty-free?
175 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.
Where does the UK import these goods from?
In the 12 months to August 2026, the largest suppliers were China (47%), Germany (26%) and Vietnam (6%), out of total imports of £26.2m.