9609.90: Pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608), crayons: other

Official description Other

9609.90 is a six-digit subheading of heading 9609, pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608), crayons, pencil leads, pastels…, chapter 96.

Importing into Country of origin

What you pay

Importing into UK from Papua New Guinea

Customs duty Free preferential rate · UK–Papua New Guinea agreement · across 2 national lines

Additional duties and charges — No additional measures recorded for this origin.

VAT 20.00 % import VAT

Duty calculatorCalculate duty and taxes →

Rates by national line · UK Global Tariff

UK lines →

9609 90 00 00 Other
9609 90 10 00 Pastels and drawing charcoals Free2%
9609 90 90 00 Other Free

Additional duties and import rulesPapua New Guinea

Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.

No additional measures recorded for this origin.

UK: imports by month

last 12 months£8.3m-5% · previous 12 months

Average import price£3.49 per kg

Data up to August 2026 (provisional) · Monthly data: Eurostat Comext (CC BY 4.0), HMRC (OGL v3.0)

Main suppliers, last 12 months

Country	Value	Share	Change
China	£5.3m	64.1%	-2.9%
United States	£691k	8.3%	+1.8%
Switzerland	£477k	5.8%	+83.6%
Vietnam	£347k	4.2%	-50.5%
France	£258k	3.1%	+3.5%
Japan	£154k	1.8%	+53.7%
Germany	£111k	1.3%	+23.4%
Mauritius	£105k	1.3%	+18.6%

Same subheading in other tariffs

EU 1.7% – 2.7% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines · average 2.2%

Türkiye 1.7% – 2.7% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines · average 2.2%

USA Free General (MFN) 2 tariff lines

World trade in 2024

9609.90 · US$425m

Trade value (US$) no reported trade < US$85kUS$85k+US$1m+US$5m+> US$16m

Exports: 136

China: US$238m
United States: US$23m
Germany: US$18m
France: US$16m
Mexico: US$14m
Vietnam: US$11m
Indonesia: US$10m
Netherlands: US$10m
Greece: US$8m
Thailand: US$8m
South Korea: US$7m
Poland: US$5m
India: US$4m
Tunisia: US$4m
Switzerland: US$4m
Italy: US$4m
Spain: US$4m
United Kingdom: US$3m
Czechia: US$3m
Denmark: US$3m
Japan: US$3m
Singapore: US$3m
Taiwan: US$2m
Austria: US$2m
Jordan: US$2m
Mauritius: US$1m
Peru: US$1m
Romania: US$1m
Slovakia: US$1m
Belgium: US$1m
Hong Kong SAR China: US$1m
Türkiye: US$870k
Sweden: US$729k
South Africa: US$722k
Hungary: US$701k
New Zealand: US$653k
Russia: US$601k
Malaysia: US$588k
Slovenia: US$483k
Portugal: US$468k
Canada: US$430k
Brazil: US$416k
United Arab Emirates: US$390k
Lithuania: US$318k
Australia: US$318k
Ireland: US$307k
Bulgaria: US$220k
Estonia: US$196k
Guatemala: US$192k
Fiji: US$160k
Latvia: US$144k
Croatia: US$138k
El Salvador: US$134k
Serbia: US$130k
Finland: US$121k
Dominican Republic: US$103k
Paraguay: US$99k
Ukraine: US$87k
Egypt: US$85k
Colombia: US$85k

Top exporters

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	China	US$238m	55.9%
2	United States	US$23m	5.3%
3	Germany	US$18m	4.3%
4	France	US$16m	3.8%
5	Mexico	US$14m	3.3%
6	Vietnam	US$11m	2.5%
7	Indonesia	US$10m	2.4%
8	Netherlands	US$10m	2.4%
9	Greece	US$8m	1.8%
10	Thailand	US$8m	1.8%

Top importers

Rank	Country	Value	Share
1	United States	US$93m	21.9%
2	Germany	US$20m	4.8%
3	France	US$16m	3.8%
4	Philippines	US$16m	3.7%
5	Italy	US$12m	2.8%
6	Canada	US$11m	2.7%
7	Indonesia	US$11m	2.6%
8	United Kingdom	US$11m	2.6%
9	Spain	US$11m	2.6%
10	Poland	US$11m	2.6%

Binding rulings for similar goods 28

Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.

N356868 U.S. CBP 17 December 2025 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of school supply kits from China
N335600 U.S. CBP 10 October 2023 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of crayons from China
N334305 U.S. CBP 8 August 2023 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of the Disney “Fun Pack” from China
N325222 U.S. CBP 27 April 2022 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of “Play Chalk” from China.
N324875 U.S. CBP 1 April 2022 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of a child’s activity kit from China
N323798 U.S. CBP 4 March 2022 · 9609.90.80.00

The tariff classification of a chalk and bubble wand from China.
600014955 HMRC 4 March 2026 – 3 March 2029 · 9609 90 90 00

The product is an activity set that includes a 16‑page colouring book, six pages of sticker sheets, a set of eight wax crayons, and eight washable felt‑tip markers. The set is intended for children to use for colouring the book with the crayons, markers, or stickers. It is packaged in a closed…
600014414 HMRC 15 December 2025 – 14 December 2028 · 9609 90 10 00

The item is an art set depicting a popular cartoon character. The item includes the following: - A sheet of 24 stickers, 14 crayons (measuring 8cm x 0.4cm diameter and are pink, purple, brown, red, 2 shades of green, yellow, orange, light peach, 2 shades of blue, black and silver), 12 watercolour…
600014207 HMRC 2 December 2025 – 1 December 2028 · 9609 90 90 00

The product is an activity set which includes 20 printed A4 posters, a sticker sheet, and a set of 6 wax crayons. The set is for children to colour in the posters using the crayons. It is packaged in a cardboard-style envelope, ready for retail sale.

28 rulings in total for this code

In the UK Global Tariff, subheading 9609.90 covers 2 tariff lines and the duty is between 0% and 2%. 1 of them is duty-free.

The EU Combined Nomenclature divides subheading 9609.90 into 2 tariff lines; the duty is between 1.7% and 2.7% (average 2.2%).

Goods from 174 countries can enter the UK at a preferential rate instead of the standard Free – 2%; 174 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 £8.3m (down 5% on the year before), at an average of £3.49 per kg; China supplied 64%, followed by United States.

World trade in these goods reached US$425m in 2024, down 4% on 2023.

China was the largest exporter with 55.9% of the total, ahead of the United States.

Products classified here

Questions and answers

What is the HS code for pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608), crayons: other?

Pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608), crayons: other fall under HS subheading 9609.90, part of heading 9609, in section XX of the Harmonized System.

What is the import duty on pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608)… in the UK?

Under the UK Global Tariff, imports under 9609.90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 0% to 2%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

What is the import duty on pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608)… in the EU?

Under the EU Combined Nomenclature, imports under 9609.90 from countries without a preferential agreement are charged at 1.7% to 2.7%, depending on the line. Preferential rates, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.

Which country exports the most pencils (other than pencils of heading 9608)…?

China, with US$238m in 2024 (55.9% 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 Free – 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 (64%), United States (8%) and Switzerland (6%), out of total imports of £8.3m.