Exporting / the United Kingdom
Exporting to United Kingdom: what your buyer pays on arrival
The customs value includes what the seller charges for carriage, so the way an invoice is written changes the duty even when the goods and the price do not.
Every other page on this site answers the importer. This one answers the seller, from the same rows. The figures below are the ones a buyer in United Kingdom meets on arrival, read from the tariff schedules this site holds, and a shipment priced here prices the same in the duty calculator because both go through one function.
What your buyer pays when it lands
Duty first, on the CIF value, then the consumption tax on the value plus the duty. Estimate uses the CIF customs valuation method, so international freight and insurance are part of the dutiable value.
The dearest thing a seller can put in front of United Kingdom out of what this site prices is 640220, flip-flops and thong sandals, rubber or plastic, at 16%. On the duty free ones a seller quoting a landed price is quoting tax and carriage rather than tariff, which is a different conversation to have with a buyer. Between 420211 at 2% and 640220 at 16% there is enough difference to decide whether a DDP price is worth quoting at all. Averaged across the 11 codes this site prices in it, chapter 61 is the dearest chapter into United Kingdom, at 12%. 10 codes here are charged per unit rather than on value, so a percentage will not price them and this guide does not try.
The valuation rule is HMRC UK Trade Tariff: the customs value is the price paid plus transport and insurance to the UK border. This site reads the third country rate, which is what applies when no trade agreement is claimed, so a buyer who can claim one may pay less and never more.
Who collects it
HM Revenue and Customs. The charge falls on the importer of record, which is whoever is named on the customs entry, and that is decided by the delivery term the two of you agreed rather than by the tariff. Which is why the section below matters more to a seller than the percentages above do.
Named here on the evidence of the valuation source cited above, which is a source this site already holds rather than a recollection. This site does not hold a primary source for the collection procedure itself and does not describe one.
The low value regime, and what it does to the rates above
United Kingdom relieves customs duty on consignments at or under GBP 135. A seller shipping under that figure is not selling into a lower duty rate: the rate on the table above has not moved, and only the charge is relieved. That distinction is the one that catches sellers out when a consignment is split or consolidated.
The relief is conditional, and these are the conditions as the source states them:
- the goods are not excise goods, so no alcohol, tobacco or fuel
Import VAT is a separate charge and is not relieved. On a purchase at or under this value the seller normally charges it at checkout.
The source, in its own words
Non-excise goods worth GBP 135 or less No charge
HMRC, Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad, on gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty
One shipment, priced the way your buyer will see it
090121, coffee, roasted, not decaffeinated, invoiced at GBP 2,000.00, priced in GBP because a threshold is set in the destination's currency and nothing here is converted.
| Goods value on your invoice | GBP 2,000.00 |
| International freight | GBP 120.00 |
| Cargo insurance | GBP 30.00 |
| Value the duty is charged on, CIF basis | GBP 2,150.00 |
| Duty at 6% | GBP 129.00 |
| United Kingdom charges no consumption tax at the border | GBP 0.00 |
| What your buyer pays to take delivery, before commercial charges | GBP 2,279.00 |
The same shipment appears from the buyer's side on the 090121 page and in the duty calculator, priced by the same function. An illustration, not a quotation: broker fees, handling and any trade remedy on the origin sit outside it.
And if you shipped it small
The consignment above is over GBP 135, so its duty is charged in full. The same code invoiced at exactly GBP 135 with no freight would be charged GBP 0.00 of duty and GBP 0.00 of tax, a total of GBP 135.00. Splitting one order into consignments under the figure is a decision with a customs view attached to it, and this site does not advise on it.
DDP or DAP, and why it decides who pays the figures above
Under DAP, delivered at place, you get the goods to the agreed place and your buyer is the importer of record. They clear the goods, they are named on the entry, and the duty and the tax in the table above are theirs to pay. The price you quoted is the price they pay you, and the border charge arrives afterwards as a separate bill, which is where a buyer who was not expecting it refuses the parcel.
Under DDP, delivered duty paid, you are the importer of record. You clear the goods into United Kingdom, you pay HMRC what the table above says, and your buyer pays only the price on your invoice. It is the better experience to buy from and it puts the whole of the landed figure on your side of the deal, so the number to quote from is the total in the table rather than the goods value.
The choice is not a customs decision and nobody at the border makes it for you. It is a term of your contract of sale, and the only thing customs takes from it is who is named on the entry. It also interacts with the relief above: a DDP seller shipping at or under GBP 135 is the one who benefits from it, and a DAP seller is not, because the charge that was relieved was never theirs.
DDP and DAP are Incoterms, which are rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce and incorporated into a contract by the parties. They are not customs law and this site does not quote the ICC text, which is not published free of charge. What is written above is the consequence for the charges this site does price, and nothing here should be read as the definition of either term.
What has to be on the invoice, and on the goods
A paragraph carrying a worked figure is dropped everywhere on this site, because a percentage beside the word duty is a rate, and a rate has exactly one home here. What was quoted, and what was left, is recorded under each passage below.
The commercial invoice. HMRC guidance, Valuing imported goods using Method 1 (transaction value), Valuing imported goods using Method 1 (transaction value), published by HM Revenue and Customs, through the GOV.UK content API. Quoted below as published.
You can only use Method 1 in this situation if the importer (company D) can get the invoice for the sale between companies B and C.
If the importer cannot get this invoice, you cannot use Method 1 and must consider Method 2 (transaction value of identical goods) .
Use the seller’s invoice or whatever document they use to ask for payment as evidence, providing that:
To find the amount of duty included in the invoice price, use the formula:
Duty inclusive invoice price multiplied by the duty rate divided by (100 plus the duty rate).
The cost of marketing activities borne by the seller are to be included in the customs value even if they are charged separately from the invoice price for the goods.
If, at the time of entry, you have contractual arrangements with the seller where retrospective price adjustments may happen, the invoice price for those goods is in effect provisional.
All 7 paragraph(s) the selector matched are above. The selector was every paragraph of the guidance that names the invoice and carries no worked figure. Read from https://www.gov.uk/api/content/guidance/valuing-imported-goods-using-method-1-transaction-value on 2026-09-07. The whole document is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/valuing-imported-goods-using-method-1-transaction-value.
Proving origin, from the seller's side
A preferential rate into the United Kingdom is an entitlement rather than a discount, and it has to be proved: HMRC accepts a document you or your buyer make out, and what that document has to contain is set by the agreement rather than by either of you.
- What counts as proof. A claim under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement rests on a statement on origin made out by the exporter, which is prescribed text added to a document describing the goods.
- When it has to exist. The claim normally travels on the customs declaration that enters the goods, rather than being sent separately afterwards.
- What has to sit behind it. An exporter making out that statement has to already hold what shows the goods originate, and where materials came from a supplier that includes the supplier declaration.
HMRC guidance, Proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU, Proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU, published by HM Revenue and Customs, through the GOV.UK content API. Quoted below as published.
A claim for preference, and the ‘presentation' of the proof of origin, is normally included on the customs declaration to enter the goods into free circulation. However, a claim can also be made after importation as long as it is made within 3 years of the importation date and accompanied with a valid proof of origin. In those circumstances any duties would be repaid to the importer.
As long as they are declared to the customs authorities as meeting the origin rules, some goods may be imported without the need for a formal proof of origin (a waiver).
One option for claiming preference is for the importer to use a ‘statement on origin' made out by the exporter. A statement on origin is prescribed text which the exporter adds to the invoice or any other document that describes the originating product in enough detail to allow it to be identified. The statement or document may be in an electronic format.
An exporter completing a statement on origin must hold information showing that the product is originating, including information on the originating status of materials used in the production of the product. This may include declarations obtained from their suppliers.
A statement on origin may apply to either:
If an exporter completes a statement on origin and later becomes aware that it holds incorrect information, they must let their customer know immediately in writing.
The text of the statement on origin is shown in Annex 7 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement .
You must hold a supplier declaration (when needed) at the time you issue a statement on origin.
8 of the 32 paragraphs the selector matched are above. The selector was every paragraph of the guidance that names a statement on origin or importer's knowledge and carries no figure of money and no dash. Read from https://www.gov.uk/api/content/guidance/proving-originating-status-and-claiming-a-reduced-rate-of-customs-duty-for-trade-between-the-uk-and-eu on 2026-09-08. The whole document is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/proving-originating-status-and-claiming-a-reduced-rate-of-customs-duty-for-trade-between-the-uk-and-eu.
HMRC guidance, Using a suppliers' declaration to support a proof of origin, Using a suppliers' declaration to support a proof of origin, published by HM Revenue and Customs, through the GOV.UK content API. Quoted below as published.
If you export goods from the UK, you must hold the supplier declaration (when needed) at the time that you issue the proof of origin.
Where the goods do not meet the Trade and Cooperation Agreement rules of origin (non-originating), you must follow the bilateral cumulation and suppliers' declaration guidance .
If you're exporting goods to the EU for bilateral cumulation, you must issue a suppliers' declaration when each of the following applies to the goods, they:
If you're importing goods from the EU for bilateral cumulation, you must get a suppliers' declaration from your EU supplier when each of the following applies to the goods:
The suppliers' declaration must use the wording set out in Annex 6 (suppliers' declaration) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement .
If you're a supplier based in the UK, you may be asked to provide a suppliers' declaration to your UK customer to prove:
If you're exporting goods you may need to get suppliers' declarations from your UK suppliers to prove the origin of materials used in the manufacture process, or for finished products that you buy and re-export.
If you're importing originating goods you will not need a supplier's declaration but must have a proof of origin to claim a preferential duty rate.
8 of the 16 paragraphs the selector matched are above. The selector was every paragraph of the guidance that names a supplier's declaration and carries no figure of money and no dash. Read from https://www.gov.uk/api/content/guidance/using-a-suppliers-declaration-to-support-a-proof-of-origin on 2026-09-08. The whole document is at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-a-suppliers-declaration-to-support-a-proof-of-origin.
Whether a product originates under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is decided by the product specific rules in its annexes, which this site does not hold. What the rate is worth once you have proved it, and the tax and any low value relief sitting on top of it, are on the United Kingdom guide; the terms are in the glossary and the wider question in the agreements FAQ.
One thing is true of every destination on this site and does not need a national source: the classification is yours to get right. The code you put on the invoice is what the duty above is charged under, and a code that is wrong is wrong in both directions, so a reader deciding one should be on the code page and the chapter note rather than on this page. Start at 090121 or in the full directory.