The UK's £135 low-value import threshold is ending in October 2028 — and for small importers, the clock is already ticking. Here's your plain-English action plan.
In summary: The UK's £135 low-value customs threshold — which currently allows goods under that value to arrive with simplified VAT handling — is being abolished from 1 October 2028. After that date, all imported goods will face standard customs procedures and import VAT at the border, regardless of value. UK importers should review their supplier pricing, product MOQs, landed cost models, and customs processes now to avoid a nasty surprise when the change takes effect.
Let me tell you a little story about the good old days of importing.
Back when online retail was finding its feet, governments around the world had what you might call a "don't bother us with the small stuff" approach to customs. If your parcel was worth under a certain amount, you could largely sail through the border without the full customs fanfare. No lengthy declarations. No import VAT collected at the frontier. Just — pop — your parcel arrives, and you get on with business.
For UK importers, that magic number has been £135. And for years, it's been a quietly useful part of how small businesses and eCommerce entrepreneurs managed their cash flow and import costs.
Twas a simpler time.
But that era is drawing to a close. The UK government has confirmed that the £135 customs-free threshold — technically called the low-value consignment relief for import VAT — is ending on 1 October 2028. And if you're sourcing products from China or Vietnam to sell in the UK, this change matters to you. A lot.
In this post, I'm going to walk you through exactly what's changing, who it affects, and — most importantly — what you should be doing right now to prepare your importing operation. Let's get into it.
Currently, goods entering the UK with a value of £135 or less are subject to simplified customs procedures. Under this system, the responsibility for accounting for import VAT shifts to the seller (or the online marketplace facilitating the sale) rather than being collected at the border. For B2C parcels, this means the end-consumer often pays VAT at the point of sale online, and the goods clear customs more smoothly.
For small importers, this has been genuinely useful. If you're bringing in trial orders, product samples, or small top-up shipments valued under £135, the admin burden has been lighter. It's helped small UK businesses move faster and test products without getting buried in customs paperwork on every parcel.
The threshold also played a role in shaping how some businesses structured their imports — smaller, more frequent shipments to stay under the limit rather than bulk orders. Whether that was smart supply chain management or a workaround, it's been part of the landscape.
From 1 October 2028, the UK is abolishing the £135 threshold entirely. All imported goods — regardless of value — will be subject to standard customs procedures. That means full customs declarations, potential import duty (depending on the product and its country of origin), and import VAT collected at the border in the traditional way.
This brings the UK broadly in line with changes the EU made in 2021 when it abolished its own low-value consignment relief with the introduction of the Import One Stop Shop (IOSS). The US and other major markets are also tightening their de minimis rules, so the direction of travel globally is clear: the era of frictionless low-value imports is ending.
For UK businesses importing from China, this could mean more paperwork on smaller shipments, potential cash flow implications (import VAT paid upfront rather than via the reverse charge mechanism), and higher effective landed costs if you've been structuring imports around the threshold.
The honest answer is: most UK importers, to some degree. But the impact varies significantly depending on how you import and what you import.
If you're an eCommerce seller bringing in small batches of products from China or Vietnam to test the market, you've likely benefited from the threshold's simplified VAT treatment. From October 2028, those small shipments will face the same customs treatment as a container full of goods.
If you're an Amazon FBA seller who has been using direct-to-consumer fulfilment from Chinese warehouses, the changes to how VAT is collected at the border will directly affect your model. Worth reading alongside our existing guide on importing from Alibaba to the UK to understand the full duty picture.
If you're a product brand owner using a White Label or Private Label approach and importing in bulk already, your existing customs processes are likely robust enough to handle this — you may just need to review your landed cost calculations.
Sourcing Hack #1:
Don't wait until 2027 to start reviewing your import model. The businesses that act early will have time to renegotiate supplier terms, adjust MOQs, and update their landed cost models before the change hits. Late movers will be scrambling to recalculate margins under time pressure.
This is the question that keeps importers up at night — and rightly so. The honest answer is: it depends on your product category and country of origin.
Import VAT in the UK is 20% for most goods. If you're currently importing products under £135 where VAT is accounted for at the point of sale (rather than the border), and you then switch to a model where VAT is collected at the border, your cash flow implications change — even if the total tax burden doesn't necessarily increase.
Import duty is a separate consideration. If your goods from China attract duty under the UK Global Tariff, that's already payable regardless of the £135 threshold. The October 2028 change doesn't alter duty rates — it changes the VAT collection mechanism. But for businesses that have been keeping shipments under £135 to simplify procedures, combining full duty declarations with VAT at the border does add administrative cost and complexity.
For context, our existing guide on the complete guide to importing from China to the UK walks through how to calculate your duty exposure by product category. Worth a read if you haven't done a full landed cost review recently.
Sourcing Hack #2:
Run a landed cost model NOW, before the change. Calculate your current import cost per unit (product cost + freight + duty + VAT + agent fees). Then model what changes under the new rules. The gap between those two numbers tells you how much margin you need to protect — and gives you a negotiating brief for your supplier.
China remains the dominant sourcing market for UK importers, and it's worth being specific about what this change means for China-origin goods.
Goods from China are already subject to UK import duty at the UK Global Tariff rate for each product's HS code. Those rates haven't changed as a result of the £135 threshold change. What changes is the simplification of how VAT is handled on lower-value consignments.
One nuance worth flagging: if you use a sourcing agent to combine goods from multiple suppliers into a single consolidated shipment — which is standard practice, and something we do routinely for our clients — the value of that consolidated shipment will almost certainly exceed £135, meaning you're likely already operating under standard customs procedures. The change may affect you less than you think if you're already importing properly.
If you're unsure whether your current import model will be affected, that's exactly the kind of thing we walk through in a sourcing strategy call. No obligation — just a straight conversation about your numbers.
Sourcing Hack #3:
Review your HS codes for every product you import. Make sure you're using the correct commodity code — misclassification is one of the most common and costly customs mistakes UK importers make. Getting this right before October 2028 means your new customs declarations will be accurate from day one.
Here's the practical action list — and the good news is that two years is plenty of time to get your ducks in a row if you start now.
1. Audit your current import model. How are you currently structuring your imports? Are you sending multiple small shipments that benefit from the current threshold rules? Map it out clearly so you understand what's actually changing for your specific business.
2. Update your landed cost calculations. Build a proper landed cost model that accounts for product cost, international freight, insurance, UK import duty, import VAT, and last-mile delivery. If you haven't done this recently, you may be operating on stale margin assumptions. Our guide on cutting costs by sourcing directly has some useful pointers here.
3. Work with a customs broker or freight forwarder. If you don't already have a relationship with a customs broker, now is the time to build one. They'll be essential for navigating the full customs declarations required on all shipments post-October 2028.
4. Talk to your suppliers about pricing. If you're going to face higher effective landed costs on smaller orders, it might be time to renegotiate purchase pricing or consolidate orders to bring unit economics back into line. A Private Label or Secret Label sourcing package includes this kind of supplier negotiation as standard.
5. Don't panic about the timeline — but don't ignore it. October 2028 isn't tomorrow. But two years passes faster than you think, especially when you factor in product development cycles, supplier relationships, and cash flow planning. The businesses that act in 2026 will be in a much stronger position than those who scramble in 2028.
Sourcing Hack #4:
If you're also thinking about your packaging and branding as part of your import overhaul, it's worth knowing that custom packaging from China can be consolidated with your main product orders — reducing the number of customs entries you need to manage and keeping your overall logistics costs efficient ahead of the 2028 changes.
Navigating regulatory change is honestly one of the most underrated parts of what we do at Epic Sourcing. It's not just about finding suppliers — it's about making sure the full import journey from factory floor to UK warehouse makes commercial sense for your business.
When we work with clients through our White Label, Private Label, or Secret Label packages, landed cost modelling is built into the process. We help you understand your real cost per unit — including all duties, freight, and compliance costs — so you can price your products properly and protect your margins.
We've been doing this sourcing business for a long time. And we've seen enough regulatory changes to know that the importers who adapt early are the ones who come out ahead.
If you want to talk through how the £135 threshold change affects your specific product and business model, book a call with us. We'll give you a straight answer — no fluff, no sales pitch. Or drop us a line at hello@epicsourcing.co.uk.
Also worth reading: our guide on the role of sourcing agents in China — because a good agent is one of the best ways to consolidate your import operations and simplify your customs exposure going forward.
The UK's £135 low-value import threshold is being abolished from 1 October 2028. From that date, all imported goods — regardless of their value — will be subject to standard customs procedures, including full customs declarations and import VAT collected at the border in the traditional way.
The threshold change doesn't alter import duty rates, which are set by your product's HS code under the UK Global Tariff. What changes is how import VAT is collected — moving from a point-of-sale model for eligible low-value consignments to a border-collection model for all goods. Depending on your current import structure, this may affect your cash flow and administrative costs.
Yes — the change applies to all imported goods entering the UK, regardless of country of origin. China-sourced goods are already subject to UK import duty under the UK Global Tariff, so the primary change for most China importers is in how VAT is handled, rather than duty itself.
Possibly less than you think. If you're already importing consolidated shipments through a sourcing agent — which is common practice — those shipments likely already exceed £135 in value and are already going through standard customs procedures. The biggest impact tends to be on direct-to-consumer cross-border fulfilment models, where individual parcels are shipped directly from China to UK consumers.
Start with a landed cost audit. Calculate your current total import cost per unit across all your products, then model what changes under the new rules. Ensure you have a relationship with a reliable customs broker. If you'd like help with this process, get in touch with the Epic Sourcing team — we help UK importers get their supply chains commercially optimised as a core part of our service.
Written by TK Wang, Founder & Director @ Epic Sourcing
📞 07551 136406 | ✉️ hello@epicsourcing.co.uk
