Epic Guides — UK Import Compliance
Duties, VAT, EORI Numbers & Low Value Imports — Everything UK Businesses Need to Know
Right, let's cut through the noise. UK import compliance in 2026 is genuinely more complicated than it was three years ago — and if you're still running your customs declarations the way you did pre-2021, there's a decent chance you're either overpaying on duties, leaving VAT relief on the table, or operating without the correct EORI setup. None of those are great places to be.
This guide is for UK business owners who are importing physical goods — whether you're sourcing clothing from Vietnam, electronics from China, homeware from India, or sports equipment from anywhere in Asia. It covers everything from getting your EORI number sorted to understanding postponed VAT accounting, navigating the new Customs Declaration Service (CDS), and taking advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement duty savings that most UK importers are still completely missing.
At Epic Sourcing, we've guided hundreds of UK businesses through the import process. We're not accountants or customs agents — and we'll say that clearly. What we are is a team that has sat alongside enough UK importers to know exactly where things go wrong and where the savings are hiding. This guide gives you the full picture so you can have smarter conversations with your freight forwarder, your customs broker, and HMRC.
UK import compliance refers to the complete set of legal obligations a business must fulfil when bringing goods into Great Britain or Northern Ireland — including correct tariff classification, payment of customs duties and import VAT, product safety certification, and accurate declaration to HMRC via the Customs Declaration Service. Getting it right protects you from delays at Felixstowe, unexpected duty bills, and HMRC penalties.
If you don't have an EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number, you can't legally import goods into the UK. Full stop. This is the first thing to get sorted, and the good news is it's straightforward — it's free to apply for via the HMRC EORI service, and most applications are processed within three to five working days.
What's less obvious is what an EORI number actually does. It's essentially your unique business identifier in the UK customs system. Every import declaration, every freight forwarding relationship, every customs clearance filing — all of it is tagged to your EORI. Without it, your goods sit at Felixstowe or Southampton waiting, and every day they sit there costs you money.
This is where UK businesses with Northern Ireland operations need to pay attention. There are two types of EORI numbers relevant to UK importers:
If you trade only within Great Britain, a single GB EORI is sufficient. If your supply chain touches Northern Ireland or involves EU movement, you'll need both.
Since CHIEF (the old customs system) was shut down for import declarations in 2023, all import declarations now go through the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). To use CDS — whether directly or through a customs agent — your EORI must be enrolled. This is a separate step from simply having an EORI number. Your customs broker or freight forwarder will typically handle this for you, but it's worth confirming it's been done if you've recently started importing.
Apply for your EORI number before you finalise any purchase orders with overseas suppliers. You'll need it to provide correct shipping instructions, and some factories in China and Vietnam require it before they'll issue a pro forma invoice.
Every product you import into the UK needs to be classified under a commodity code — a 10-digit number that determines exactly what duty rate applies, whether any licensing requirements exist, and whether any trade restrictions or anti-dumping measures are in force. This classification is done against the UK Global Tariff (UKGT), which has been maintained independently from the EU's Combined Nomenclature since January 2021.
The UKGT is available at GOV.UK's Trade Tariff tool. Type in your product description, and it'll suggest commodity codes with their corresponding duty rates. Straightforward enough — until you realise that the difference between two closely related codes can be the difference between a 0% duty rate and a 12% duty rate.
The product you're actually importing often sits at the intersection of multiple possible codes. A reusable water bottle, for example, might classify differently depending on whether it's marketed as a food-contact item, whether it has insulation properties, whether it has electronics integrated (for temperature display), and what material the lid is made from. Your customs broker will ultimately be responsible for the classification, but if you brief them poorly, they'll classify conservatively — which often means higher duties.
At Epic Sourcing, we've seen this go wrong repeatedly for UK businesses importing composite products or goods with multiple functions. Our advice: before you even brief a customs agent, spend time on the Trade Tariff tool yourself, understand the chapter your product falls into, and come to the conversation with two or three possible codes for discussion.
Beyond the standard duty rate, some goods from China attract additional anti-dumping duties — measures imposed because the UK (and previously the EU) determined that certain Chinese manufacturers were selling below cost. These don't apply to every product category, but where they do exist, they can be significant. Ceramic tableware, bicycles, steel products, certain solar panels, and e-bikes are among the categories that have historically attracted anti-dumping measures.
Always check whether your commodity code has any additional measures listed in the Trade Tariff. They appear as third country duty additions alongside the standard MFN rate.
Deliberate misclassification of goods to reduce duty — known as tariff fraud — is a criminal offence under the Customs and Excise Management Act. Don't let any supplier, agent, or forwarder suggest it. The risk is disproportionate to any saving, and HMRC's post-clearance audit capability has improved significantly since 2022.
UK import duties are calculated as a percentage of the customs value of your goods. The customs value isn't simply what you paid the supplier — it's the transaction value as defined under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, which typically means the price paid plus the cost of freight and insurance up to the point of entry into the UK (known as the CIF value — cost, insurance, freight).
In practice, this means the duty base is: Supplier invoice value + international freight cost + insurance. So if you're importing £10,000 of goods and paid £1,200 in sea freight from Shanghai to Felixstowe, your customs value is approximately £11,200, and duty is calculated on that total.
| Product Category | Typical UKGT Duty Rate | UKVFTA Rate (Vietnam) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing & Apparel | 12% | 9.6% → 0% (2027) | Rules of origin apply |
| Consumer Electronics | 0% – 3.7% | 0% | Most electronics duty-free |
| Footwear | 4% – 17% | Staged reduction to 0% | Upper material matters |
| Furniture & Homeware | 0% – 6.7% | 0% – 3% | Timber origin rules apply |
| Sports Equipment | 0% – 4.7% | 0% | Varied by sub-category |
| Plastic & Rubber Goods | 3.5% – 6.5% | 0% – 4% | End use may qualify for relief |
| Toys & Games | 0% – 4.7% | 0% | Safety regs separate |
| Health & Wellness Products | 0% – 6.5% | 0% – 3% | Regulatory classification critical |
The UK offers several legitimate duty relief schemes that many small and medium importers haven't heard of. None of them eliminate your liability permanently, but they can significantly improve your cash flow or reduce your overall duty burden:
These schemes aren't complicated to access, but they do require proper authorisation from HMRC in advance. Your customs broker should be able to advise on eligibility.
Import VAT is charged at 20% on most goods entering the UK, applied to the customs value plus any duties paid. So on a £10,000 shipment with 12% duty (£1,200), you'd pay 20% VAT on £11,200 — that's £2,240 in import VAT.
If you're VAT-registered in the UK, you can reclaim this as input tax on your VAT return — but there's a cash flow gap. In the old system, you'd pay the VAT upfront at customs, then wait up to three months to reclaim it on your next quarterly VAT return. For businesses importing large volumes, that's a significant working capital drag.
Since January 2021, UK-registered businesses have been able to use Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA) for all imports into Great Britain. Instead of physically paying import VAT at the border, you account for it on your VAT return — you declare the VAT as both output tax (as if you'd charged it) and input tax (as if you'd reclaimed it) in the same return period. The net effect for a fully VAT-registered business with no partial exemption is zero cash flow impact on import VAT.
This is, genuinely, one of the most underutilised features of the post-Brexit UK customs regime. At Epic Sourcing, we still regularly speak to UK business owners importing significant volumes who aren't using PVA and are unnecessarily funding their import VAT liability for weeks at a time.
Statements are available from the 6th of the following month. They're in your HMRC business tax account under "Customs Financial Accounts."
Businesses that are partly exempt from VAT (i.e. they make some exempt supplies) need to calculate their partial exemption recovery rate before using PVA, since not all the input VAT will be recoverable. Speak to your accountant before enabling PVA if you have mixed taxable/exempt supplies.
If your business isn't VAT-registered (turnover under the £90,000 registration threshold), you can't use PVA and you can't reclaim import VAT. You pay it, and it becomes an irrecoverable cost that gets baked into your product costs. This is one of many reasons it's worth considering voluntary VAT registration if you're importing significant volumes — even below the threshold, registration is often beneficial for importers.
This is the change that's going to catch the most UK businesses off guard — particularly those who source samples, small test orders, or low-value top-up stock directly from overseas suppliers without going through a formal customs clearance process.
Since Brexit, goods valued at or below £135 have been treated differently for customs purposes. When an overseas seller sends goods worth £135 or less to a UK consumer, the VAT obligation sits with the seller (if they're registered in the UK for that purpose) rather than being collected at the border. Customs duty is already technically owed on goods over £135 in value, but the practical reality is that a lot of low-value B2C parcels have been slipping through without proper customs treatment.
The UK government has signalled a review and tightening of the low value consignment relief framework. Whilst the £135 VAT threshold for B2C e-commerce imports was introduced post-Brexit to bring the UK into line with international norms, pressure from UK retailers (who argue it creates an unfair playing field with overseas e-commerce platforms) has led to ongoing consultations about how and when to reform it.
For UK businesses importing goods for resale or use in their own operations (B2B imports), the position is different — customs duty has always been owed on goods above their respective duty-relief thresholds regardless of value, and import VAT has been owed above £0 for business imports. The £135 threshold is primarily relevant to B2C. But if you've been ordering samples or small commercial quantities from platforms like Alibaba and having them shipped to your UK address without going through a formal customs agent, you should audit your process now.
The £135 framework is subject to ongoing legislative change. As of June 2026, the rules remain in flux, and there are consultations underway that could materially change treatment of low-value imports before the end of 2026. This is an area where you should obtain up-to-date advice from a licensed customs broker or specialist rather than relying solely on this guide.
What's clear is that the direction of travel is towards stricter enforcement, not looser. If your business model depends on duty-free or VAT-free treatment of low-value parcels from Asia, plan for that to become significantly harder.
The Customs Declaration Service (CDS) replaced the old CHIEF (Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight) system for import declarations. If you have a customs broker or freight forwarder handling your clearances, they will have transitioned their systems already. But there are a few CDS-specific things you should understand as an importer, because they affect you directly.
If you import frequently, you should have a Duty Deferment Account (DDA) — this allows you to defer payment of customs duties and import VAT (if not using PVA) until a single monthly payment, rather than paying on each individual entry. To set up a DDA, you need to apply to HMRC and provide a financial guarantee (either from your bank or through a Customs Comprehensive Guarantee).
Without a DDA, your customs agent may charge you significantly more for the cost of their own deferment facility — or you'll be paying duty on each shipment as it arrives, with no ability to consolidate. For any business doing more than a handful of imports per year, this is worth sorting out properly.
CDS introduced the concept of simplified frontier declarations followed by supplementary declarations for some goods types. This means your goods can clear customs quickly on arrival, with a simplified declaration, and a full supplementary declaration submitted within a specified period afterwards. The supplementary declaration is where the full tariff classification, customs value, and duty calculation are finalised.
The risk here is that errors or delays in supplementary declarations can lead to HMRC penalties and interest on late duty payments. Make sure your customs agent has clear internal processes for timely supplementary declaration submission — it's worth asking them directly what their process is.
CDS places a legal obligation on you as the importer of record to retain customs records for four years. This includes all commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, airway bills, freight invoices, and insurance documents associated with each import. HMRC can request these at any point for post-clearance audit purposes. A digital records management system — even something as simple as a structured Google Drive or SharePoint folder system — is sufficient. Just make sure it's organised and accessible.
Beyond customs duties and VAT, there's an entire layer of product compliance obligations that UK importers are responsible for. You are, legally speaking, the "economic operator" placing goods on the UK market — and that comes with obligations that don't disappear just because you bought the products from a factory in Guangzhou or Ho Chi Minh City.
The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark is the UK equivalent of the CE mark for products requiring third-party conformity assessment. It applies to a wide range of goods including electrical equipment, machinery, personal protective equipment, pressure vessels, toys, medical devices, and more.
The situation with UKCA has been somewhat confused over the past three years. CE marking has been accepted in Great Britain as a transitional measure, with the deadline for mandatory UKCA compliance having been extended multiple times. As of 2026, CE marking continues to be accepted for most product categories in Great Britain whilst the government finalises its longer-term approach — particularly in light of the UK-EU relationship reset discussions.
The UKCA/CE transitional situation is genuinely evolving and varies by product category. Some categories already require UKCA. For others, CE still applies. Always check the specific regulations for your product category on GOV.UK — and if you're selling into both Great Britain and the EU, you may need both marks on your products, which means working with your manufacturer on dual-certification from the start of product development.
UK REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) applies if your products contain chemical substances above certain concentration thresholds. This is relevant for a wider range of consumer goods than most importers realise — it captures products like textiles, toys, electronics (for certain chemical components), and coatings.
Under UK REACH, the importer is responsible for ensuring that substances in their products are appropriately registered with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This is distinct from EU REACH registration — being compliant with EU REACH does not automatically make you compliant with UK REACH. Engage a REACH specialist if you're importing goods that may contain regulated substances.
The Product Safety and Metrology Act 2024 came into force with the aim of modernising the UK's product safety framework. It's particularly relevant for online sellers and marketplace operators, but its provisions extend to any business placing goods on the UK market. The Act strengthens OPSS (Office for Product Safety and Standards) enforcement powers, introduces new obligations for economic operators in digital supply chains, and creates a clearer framework for product recalls and market surveillance.
For UK importers, the practical implication is that your product safety obligations are being taken more seriously by regulators, and enforcement activity has increased. Make sure you have technical documentation, conformity declarations, and labelling in order for all products you import.
The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) entered into force in January 2021 and it is, genuinely, one of the most significant duty-saving opportunities for UK importers that most people are still ignoring. At Epic Sourcing, we've calculated duty savings for clients switching from China to Vietnam sourcing (or adding Vietnam alongside China) and regularly see annual savings of £15,000–£80,000 for businesses in the £500k–£3m import spend range.
The deal eliminated tariffs on 65% of UK-bound goods from Vietnam immediately, with most remaining tariffs being phased out over a seven-to-ten year schedule. By 2026, the vast majority of standard consumer goods sourced from Vietnam are either already at 0% or are in staged reduction towards it.
| Product Category | China (UKGT Rate) | Vietnam (UKVFTA 2026) | Saving on £100k Import |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing & Apparel | 12% | ~6% (en route to 0%) | ~£6,000 |
| Footwear | 8% – 17% | 0% – 5% | £8,000–£12,000 |
| Furniture | 0% – 6.7% | 0% | Up to £6,700 |
| Bags & Luggage | 3.7% | 0% | £3,700 |
| Plastic Consumer Goods | 3.5% – 6.5% | 0% – 3% | Up to £6,500 |
The UKVFTA tariff benefits only apply if your goods genuinely originate in Vietnam according to the agreement's rules of origin. "Originating" doesn't just mean the goods were shipped from Vietnam — it means they were manufactured or sufficiently transformed in Vietnam.
To claim the preferential duty rate, your supplier must provide a valid proof of origin — typically a EUR.1 movement certificate or an origin declaration from an authorised exporter. Make sure this is requested before goods leave Vietnam, not after they arrive at Felixstowe.
One of the most common mistakes we see with UKVFTA claims is UK businesses assuming their Vietnamese supplier knows how to prepare proper origin documentation. Many smaller Vietnamese factories are unfamiliar with the UK-specific requirements. At Epic Sourcing, we coach our Vietnamese supplier network on UK rules of origin documentation as part of our onboarding process — it's that important, and it's not something you should leave to chance.
UK-Vietnam bilateral trade reached approximately £9.6bn in 2024, with UK imports from Vietnam growing steadily as more British businesses diversify their supply chains away from China. Vietnam has become a particularly strong alternative for clothing and footwear (where it's already the world's third-largest exporter), furniture, electronics assembly, and certain plastics goods.
Sea freight from Ho Chi Minh City to Felixstowe runs approximately 30–35 days on standard services. For northern Vietnam (Hanoi, Haiphong), transshipment options via Singapore or Hong Kong add 3–5 days. Freight costs are typically comparable to China, sometimes slightly higher depending on vessel availability and the time of year.
Book a free 30-minute consultation with the Epic Sourcing UK team. We work with UK importers every day — we'll help you map out your compliance requirements and identify the best sourcing strategy for your business.
Book Your Free ConsultationWe're not a customs broker. We won't file your import declarations for you, and we won't be your HMRC point of contact. But what we do is make sure you're sourcing from suppliers who understand UK compliance requirements — and that your products arrive in the UK ready to clear customs, not held up because of a labelling issue, missing documentation, or a certificate of conformity that doesn't match the goods description.
The reality is that most compliance problems don't originate in the UK — they originate at the factory, in the way products are labelled, documented, and packaged before they leave China or Vietnam. That's where we work. Here's how we support UK importers across our service tiers:
From £699
For UK businesses wanting to add their branding to existing, proven products. We source from verified suppliers with existing UK-relevant certification, reducing your compliance burden significantly. Ideal for businesses starting out with overseas sourcing.
Learn more about White Label →From £1,899
For businesses developing custom products. We manage the full supplier relationship including specification compliance, testing coordination, and pre-shipment quality inspection. We ensure your products are correctly labelled and documented for UK customs before they leave the factory.
Learn more about Private Label →From £3,299
Full-service sourcing for established UK businesses with complex or high-volume needs. Includes factory audits, detailed compliance documentation review, duty optimisation analysis (including UKVFTA eligibility assessment), and dedicated project management from order to UK delivery.
Learn more about Secret Label →Available as a standalone service
Before you commit to any new supplier, we conduct a thorough verification — business registration checks, factory audit, capacity verification, and UK-specific compliance assessment. Particularly useful if you're considering a new factory for products with stringent UK safety or marking requirements.
Learn more about Supplier Verification →Getting these details right before shipment is exponentially cheaper than fixing problems after goods arrive at Felixstowe or Southampton.
Yes. The EORI number requirement applies to any commercial importation into the UK, regardless of whether the goods are for resale or for your own business use. The only exemption is for private individuals importing personal goods (e.g. holiday purchases), which have their own separate allowances. If you're a business importing goods — even samples, materials, or equipment — you need an EORI. The good news is it's free and takes only a few days to obtain via the HMRC website. Get it before you need it, not after your first shipment is sitting at Felixstowe.
Use the UK Trade Tariff tool on GOV.UK — it's publicly available and free. Enter your product description, and it will suggest applicable commodity codes with their associated duty rates. However, for any product where the classification isn't immediately obvious (composite products, multi-function items, goods that might straddle multiple chapters), we strongly recommend getting a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) ruling from HMRC. A BTI gives you legal certainty on your commodity code, protecting you in the event of a post-clearance audit. Your customs broker can help you apply for one.
For the vast majority of UK VAT-registered businesses that make fully taxable supplies, PVA is clearly the better option — it eliminates the cash flow disadvantage of paying import VAT upfront and waiting to reclaim it. The only situations where PVA may not be straightforwardly beneficial are: if you're partially exempt (you make some VAT-exempt supplies), if your accounting system struggles to handle the monthly statements correctly, or if you have specific cash flow reasons to want to separate your VAT and customs costs. Discuss PVA with your accountant if you're unsure — but most businesses should be using it.
Start by auditing your current product range against the UKVFTA tariff schedule — work with your customs broker to identify which of your imported products would benefit from a 0% or reduced rate if sourced from Vietnam instead of China. Then assess whether your products can genuinely be manufactured in Vietnam at equivalent quality and cost, bearing in mind the rules of origin requirements. Vietnam is now a genuinely mature manufacturing destination for clothing, footwear, furniture, bags, and a wide range of consumer goods — the myth that "China quality, Vietnam can't match" is decades out of date for most product categories. Book a consultation with Epic Sourcing to explore your specific product category.
Post-clearance audit by HMRC (conducted by their National Customs Audit team) can result in demands for unpaid duty, import VAT, and interest — going back up to three years for errors and up to 20 years for deliberate evasion. Civil penalties can be levied at 30%–100% of the unpaid duty depending on whether the error was careless or deliberate. HMRC does offer a voluntary disclosure process — if you've identified errors in past declarations, proactive disclosure reduces penalties significantly and demonstrates good faith. The most important protection is maintaining clean, accurate records and using a competent customs broker who takes classification and valuation seriously. Document everything, and if you're uncertain about anything, ask before you declare — not after.
Work With Experts Who Know UK Import Compliance
At Epic Sourcing, we've helped hundreds of UK businesses navigate the complexity of importing from China and Vietnam — from getting the documentation right at the factory, to identifying UKVFTA duty savings, to ensuring products hit UK shelves with full compliance.
Book a free 30-minute consultation with our team. No sales pitch, no obligation — just a frank conversation about your sourcing situation and where we can help.
Epic Supply Chains UK Ltd · 71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ · hello@epicsourcing.co.uk
