Importing pet supplies from China to Europe

Importing pet supplies from China into the European Union is procedurally similar to importing into the United States, but the compliance burden sits in a different place. US import control is heavily weighted toward customs classification and duty. EU import control is weighted toward product conformity: who inside the Union is legally responsible for the product, and what file exists to prove it is safe.

This guide covers non-food pet supplies: toys, collars and harnesses, beds, carriers, grooming tools and electronic devices. Pet food and edible treats fall under separate veterinary and feed legislation and are not covered here.

Your import identity and the tax position

• An EORI number. Any business importing into the EU needs one. It is issued by the customs authority of the member state where you are established and is valid across the Union.
• A VAT registration. Import VAT is charged at the border at your national rate. For a VAT registered business this is usually recoverable or deferrable, so it is a cash flow item rather than a cost. Customs duty, by contrast, is a real and unrecoverable cost. Model them separately.
• A customs representative. Direct or indirect representation changes who is liable for the declaration. If a service provider offers to act as importer for you, understand which of you carries the liability before you accept.

The rule that catches most non-EU sellers

The EU requires an economic operator established inside the Union to be responsible for most consumer products placed on its market. Under the General Product Safety Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, which has applied since 13 December 2024, a product cannot be placed on the EU market unless such a responsible person exists, is named on the product or its packaging, and can produce the technical documentation on request.

In practice this means one of three things. You are established in the EU and act as the importer yourself. You appoint an authorised representative inside the EU. Or you buy from a supplier who is already the EU importer of record for that product. What you cannot do is ship consumer pet products from a Chinese factory straight to an EU end customer with nobody inside the Union named as responsible. Marketplaces now enforce this at listing level.

Conformity: what has to be in the file

• Electronic devices carry CE marking obligations. A mains powered feeder engages the low voltage rules, anything with a radio engages the radio equipment rules, and essentially all electronics engage electromagnetic compatibility. The manufacturer draws up an EU declaration of conformity; as importer you must hold a copy and be able to produce the test reports behind it.
• Chemical restrictions apply to materials, not to categories. REACH, Regulation (EC) 1907/2006, restricts substances in articles regardless of whether the article is for people or for pets. Ask for material declarations and, for anything a dog chews, third party migration testing.
• Electronics also trigger waste and battery obligations. WEEE registration and, where the product contains cells, battery producer registration are national obligations in each member state you sell into. They are administrative rather than technical, but they are enforced.
• Packaging obligations follow the goods. Most member states operate packaging recovery schemes with a registration and a fee.

Note the asymmetry with the United States: the EU generally does not require country of origin marking on non-food goods the way US rules do, but it demands a conformity file that US rules mostly do not. Buyers who have imported into the US before tend to over-prepare the marking and under-prepare the file.

Classification and duty

The EU uses the Combined Nomenclature, and the practical tool is the TARIC database, where you enter the code and the country of origin and read the duty rate plus any measure in force. As in the US, pet supplies are classified by material far more often than by user, so a rubber chew toy is a rubber article rather than a toy. Common headings are 4201 for collars, leashes and harnesses, 6307 for textile beds, 4016 for rubber toys and 3926 for plastic articles.

Check whether an anti-dumping measure applies to your code and origin before you commit. These are code and origin specific, they change, and they can exceed the ordinary duty by a wide margin. Your customs representative can confirm the position on the day you quote.

Freight and timelines

Sea freight from the main Chinese ports to Rotterdam, Hamburg or Antwerp typically runs 30 to 40 days port to port, plus inland transport. Air freight moves in roughly 5 to 10 days and is normally reserved for samples, first production runs and electronics. Rail to central Europe sits between the two on both time and cost, and is worth quoting for mid volume orders.

Whichever mode you choose, agree the Incoterm explicitly. Ex works leaves you arranging export clearance in China, which is not a good first experience. Free on board or cost, insurance and freight are the usual middle ground. Delivered duty paid moves everything to the seller, which is convenient but only safe when you know which entity will be named as importer and what value will be declared.

Payment terms

A telegraphic transfer split of 30 percent deposit and 70 percent against a copy bill of lading or a passed inspection is the market standard for a new relationship. Tie the balance to an inspection result rather than to a calendar date, and never pay in full before production. For larger commitments a letter of credit is worth the paperwork.

A workable sequence for a first EU import

1. Decide who the EU responsible person will be, before you choose products.
2. Shortlist and verify suppliers using the method in our guide on how to verify a Chinese pet supplier.
3. Buy and approve samples in writing, and keep a sealed reference sample.
4. Collect the conformity file for anything electronic and the material declarations for anything chewed, before the deposit leaves your account.
5. Confirm the code, the duty and any trade measure in TARIC.
6. Inspect before shipment, then release the balance.

Where we fit

AXISLINK TRADING LIMITED is a Hong Kong trading company supplying non-food pet supplies to retailers, distributors and brand owners. We hold the specification, run pre-shipment inspection, and supply the export documentation and the certification files that your EU compliance file needs. We are not an EU established entity, so the responsible person role remains with you or your appointed representative; we tell buyers this at the start rather than after the first detention.

You can browse the current lines in our product catalogue. If you are importing into the United States instead, the equivalent walkthrough is how to import pet supplies from China to the USA, and the safety question is addressed in are pet products from China safe. The wider series lives under sourcing from China.

Send us your item list and destination country and we will quote landed terms, normally within 24 hours. Request a quote.