The £135 de minimis threshold is ending in 2028. Here's exactly what UK importers sourcing from China and Vietnam need to do right now to prepare.
In summary: The UK’s £135 de minimis customs duty threshold — which currently means low-value imports enter the UK without attracting customs duty — is scheduled to end in 2028. From that point, all commercial imports will be subject to customs duty regardless of value. For UK SMEs, eCommerce sellers, and Amazon FBA businesses sourcing from China or Vietnam, this changes the landed cost calculations significantly. The businesses that prepare now — by auditing their supply chains, renegotiating supplier pricing, and consolidating shipments — will be in a far stronger position than those who leave it until the last minute.
Cast your mind back to simpler times. You’re a small British entrepreneur with a brilliant idea: source a custom product from a factory in Guangdong, import it to the UK, and sell it on Amazon or your own Shopify store. You find a supplier, you negotiate a price of £120 per consignment, and you ship it over. No customs duty. Happy days.
That’s been the reality for thousands of UK importers operating beneath the £135 de minimis threshold — the level below which customs duty simply hasn’t applied. It’s been a quiet subsidy for small importers, and most of them haven’t even noticed it’s there.
Well. Notice it now. Because it’s going away.
By 2028, HMRC plans to abolish this threshold entirely. Every commercial import, regardless of value, will be assessed for customs duty. And if your sourcing strategy has been quietly relying on staying beneath £135 to keep your landed costs low, it’s time for a serious rethink.
The de minimis threshold is essentially a customs duty relief for low-value imports. In the UK, goods valued at £135 or less currently attract no customs duty — though VAT still applies at the point of sale (that changed back in 2021). The threshold exists to reduce the administrative burden of processing millions of small parcels. In practice, it’s meant that B2C platforms, small importers, and direct-from-factory buyers have had a competitive advantage: they could ship small consignments without paying import duty.
The EU abolished their version of this relief (then set at €22) in 2021, largely to level the playing field between European retailers and overseas platforms selling direct to European consumers. The UK has been signalling a similar move for some time. The government’s plans to end the £135 threshold by 2028 bring the UK in line with international norms — and close a loophole that has allowed some overseas sellers to undercut UK-based businesses on landed cost.
For UK importers sourcing from China or Vietnam, this is significant. And “significant” is the polite way to say it.
Here’s where it gets real. Once the threshold disappears, every consignment you bring into the UK will be assessed for customs duty — calculated against the HS code (commodity code) of your product and the country of origin. Duty rates vary widely: from 0% on some tech products to 12% on clothing, and higher on certain goods. So the impact depends heavily on what you’re importing.
Let’s say you’re importing protein shakers from a factory in Zhejiang. Current duty rate: around 6.5%. If you’re importing small consignments below £135, you’ve been paying zero duty. After 2028, each consignment gets assessed. On a £120 batch, that’s an extra £7.80. It doesn’t sound earth-shattering — but scale it across thousands of units and dozens of shipments per year, and the compound effect is very real.
For businesses importing slightly above £135 already, the operational change is less dramatic. But for those who have specifically structured their supply chain around small, frequent, sub-threshold shipments, the model breaks. And for eCommerce sellers who buy direct from Chinese platforms in individual orders under £135, it fundamentally changes the economics.
Sourcing Hack #1: Don’t wait until 2027 to recalculate. Pull your last 12 months of import invoices right now and identify every consignment that came in below £135. Add the applicable duty rate for each product’s HS code. That’s your annual exposure once the threshold goes. If it’s material, you need a strategy today — not in 2027.
Not all importers will feel this equally. The businesses most exposed are:
eCommerce sellers buying direct from Chinese platforms. If you’ve been sourcing from DHgate, AliExpress, or even Alibaba with small individual orders under £135, your cost structure is about to change. The ability to import small trial quantities without duty has made testing new products very cheap. After 2028, that testing cost goes up.
Amazon FBA sellers with fast-moving, small-ticket items. FBA sellers often import in smaller, more frequent shipments to manage cash flow and avoid long-term storage fees. If those shipments fall under £135, the threshold change bites directly into their margins.
Start-ups and early-stage product businesses. When you’re testing a new product concept with a small initial order, keeping costs low is essential. Small consignments under £135 have historically been a low-risk way to test the market. That changes in 2028.
Businesses using drop-shipping from Chinese warehouses. If products are being shipped directly from a Chinese fulfillment centre to your UK customers in individual parcels, each of those parcels will now face duty assessment. The operational complexity alone — let alone the cost — is significant.
Sourcing Hack #2: Consolidate your shipments. If you’re currently importing in multiple small consignments to stay below £135, start planning to move to fewer, larger shipments instead. Sea freight for consolidated loads is dramatically cheaper per unit than air freight for small parcels — and once duty applies regardless of value, the economics of consolidation improve significantly. Talk to a sourcing agent or freight forwarder about your consolidation options now.
The good news: you have time. Two years is plenty to restructure a sourcing strategy — if you start now. The businesses that will struggle are those who ignore the change until late 2027 and scramble to adjust. Here’s what to do in 2026 and 2027 to get ahead of it.
Audit your current supply chain. Map every product you import, its origin country, its HS code, and the applicable duty rate. This gives you a clear picture of your exposure. Some products attract very low duty rates; others are significant. You can’t strategise without the numbers.
Review your supplier pricing. If duty costs are going to increase, the natural response is to push back on supplier pricing to offset the hit. Factories in China and Vietnam are competitive — and if you can demonstrate commitment through larger, consolidated orders, you have negotiating leverage. This is exactly where working with a White Label or Private Label sourcing partner gives you an advantage: you’re negotiating from a position of volume and expertise rather than as a solo buyer.
Reconsider your shipping cadence. Frequent small shipments have made sense when duty didn’t apply. Post-2028, larger, less frequent consolidated sea freight shipments will typically be more cost-efficient. This requires more working capital and better inventory planning, but the unit economics almost always win.
Explore duty-saving strategies. Depending on your product category, there may be legal mechanisms to reduce your duty exposure — rules of origin under existing trade agreements (like the UK-Vietnam FTA), tariff classification reviews, or customs warehousing arrangements. These are worth discussing with a customs broker or specialist.
Sourcing Hack #3: The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) offers reduced or zero duty rates on a significant range of products manufactured in Vietnam, provided they meet the rules of origin requirements. If your product can be sourced from Vietnam (and many can), check whether the UKVFTA offers a duty advantage. The difference between sourcing from China versus Vietnam can become meaningful once the £135 exemption disappears. Talk to us about what’s sourceable from Vietnam for your product category.
Absolutely — and this is where businesses that invest in their sourcing strategy now will outperform those that don’t. The end of the de minimis threshold is, in one sense, a tax on lazy sourcing. Businesses that have been relying on cheap, small-parcel imports without optimising their supply chain will face a reckoning. Those who have already professionalised their sourcing — working directly with vetted factories, negotiating on volume, using proper freight consolidation — will find the adjustment much more manageable.
At Epic Sourcing, we work with UK SMEs across every product category to help them build supply chains that are cost-efficient and resilient. That means negotiating factory-direct pricing that accounts for real landed costs (duty, freight, VAT — not just the ex-works price), structuring shipments intelligently, and identifying whether China, Vietnam, or another manufacturing hub offers the best combination of quality, price, and regulatory advantage for your specific product.
If you’ve been self-sourcing through Alibaba or direct platform purchases, the 2028 threshold change is a good moment to consider whether a more structured approach makes sense. You can read more about how we work with UK clients through our White Label, Private Label, and Secret Label packages — or take a look at our guide on importing from Alibaba to the UK for context on the broader import landscape.
Sourcing Hack #4: Start treating landed cost as your real product cost — not the ex-works factory price. Landed cost = factory price + freight + duty + VAT + any compliance costs. Once you’re calculating this properly, the impact of the 2028 changes becomes visible — and manageable. We’ve written a full guide on this in our Complete Guide to Importing from China to the UK.
There’s a counterintuitive silver lining here. The end of the de minimis threshold will disproportionately hurt businesses that have been competing on a race-to-the-bottom model — cheap, direct-to-consumer imports from Chinese platforms with no quality control, no brand building, and no supply chain expertise. Those businesses will face a significant cost increase and, for many, it’ll be unviable.
For UK businesses that are building real brands — with proper white label or private label products, vetted suppliers, quality control processes, and genuine customer relationships — the change levels the playing field. Your competitors who have been undercutting you by sourcing cheap and importing in duty-free parcels will lose that advantage. Your investment in building a proper sourcing strategy will look even smarter by 2028.
The UK eCommerce and product-import landscape is professionalising. The businesses that build resilient, optimised supply chains now will be the ones that thrive after 2028. Those that don’t will struggle.
We’ve covered related content in our post on how small businesses can cut costs by sourcing directly, and in our overview of the role of sourcing agents in China — both worth a read as you think through your strategy.
And if you’re wondering whether white label or private label is the right model for your business post-2028, our detailed comparison at white label vs private label: the best choice for your business is a great starting point.
The UK government has signalled that the £135 customs duty relief threshold will be abolished in 2028, though the exact implementation date is subject to confirmation from HMRC. UK importers should plan for the change taking effect from early-to-mid 2028 and begin restructuring their supply chains well in advance. Monitor HMRC announcements and budget statements through 2026–2027 for confirmed dates.
The £135 threshold primarily refers to customs duty relief. UK VAT rules for overseas goods were already reformed in January 2021, when the previous £15 low-value consignment VAT relief was abolished. Most UK businesses are already accounting for VAT on all imports regardless of value. The 2028 change specifically addresses the customs duty component, adding an additional layer of cost for sub-£135 consignments that currently attract no duty.
Products with higher UK customs duty rates will feel the impact most. Clothing and textiles (12%+), footwear (around 17%), and certain consumer goods attract significant duty rates. Tech products and some industrial goods attract lower or zero rates. Your first step should be identifying the HS code for each product you import and checking the applicable UK Global Tariff rate — this tells you exactly what your new duty exposure will be.
Potentially, yes. The UK has free trade agreements with a number of manufacturing countries, including Vietnam (UKVFTA), which offers preferential duty rates on many product categories. If your product can be manufactured in Vietnam and meets the relevant rules of origin requirements, you may be able to import with reduced or zero duty even after the £135 threshold ends. This is one reason why many UK importers are already exploring Vietnam as part of a China-plus-one sourcing strategy.
If your business imports regularly from China or Vietnam, working with a sourcing agent gives you access to factory-direct pricing negotiations, quality control support, and supply chain structuring expertise that DIY sourcing through Alibaba simply can’t replicate. As duty costs rise across the board, the ability to negotiate better factory pricing and structure smarter shipments becomes more valuable — not less. Get in touch with the Epic Sourcing UK team to discuss how we can help you prepare.
Landed cost is the total cost of bringing a product to your UK warehouse or fulfillment centre — including the factory price, international freight, customs duty, VAT (where applicable), and any compliance costs. Many small importers focus only on the factory price, which gives a misleading picture of their true product cost. After 2028, with duty applying to all consignments, calculating landed cost accurately becomes even more critical. Our Complete Guide to Importing from China to the UK covers this in detail.
The 2028 threshold change is coming whether we like it or not. But forewarned is forearmed. The businesses reading this in 2026 — and acting on it — will be the ones looking back in 2028 with a smile, while everyone else scrambles.
Ready to future-proof your supply chain? Book a discovery call with the Epic Sourcing UK team or drop us a line at hello@epicsourcing.co.uk. We work with UK SMEs, eCommerce entrepreneurs, and Amazon FBA sellers to build resilient, cost-efficient sourcing strategies — and the 2028 changes are exactly the kind of challenge we love helping businesses navigate.
Also worth reading alongside this post: our sister piece on Chinese New Year 2027: The UK Importer’s Factory Deadline & Stock Planning Guide — because the other thing that will disrupt your supply chain in early 2027 is the annual CNY factory shutdown.
Written by TK Wang, Founder & Director @ Epic Sourcing
