Importing and exporting by post

Charges are calculated at the postal depots, where the packages are received. In some cases, special arrangements are in place for goods purchased on the internet or by mail order.

Customs Duty becomes payable if the goods are more than £135 in value.

The amount of Customs Duty charged will depend on the type of goods imported and the value stated on the customs declaration CN22/CN23 which is converted to pound sterling using the rates of exchange for the month of importation as shown on the HMRC website.

The percentage varies depending on the type of goods and their country of origin. Duty is charged on:

• the price paid for the goods
• any local sales taxes
• postage, packing and insurance

The cost of postage is excluded from the calculation for Customs Duty on gifts except where the sender has used the Express Mail Service (EMS) as opposed to a standard mail service.

Where the value of gifts is below £630 per consignment, a flat rate of duty of 2.5% will be applied, but only if it is to your advantage.

Excise duty

Excise Duty is charged on alcohol and tobacco products, and is additional to Customs Duty. The Excise Duty on alcohol products (such as wines and spirits) depends on the alcohol content and volume. For wine and cider, it depends on if they’re sparkling or still. Duty on cigarettes is based on a percentage of the recommended retail selling price, plus a flat rate amount per 1,000 cigarettes. On other tobacco products (such as cigars or hand rolling tobacco) Excise Duty is charged at a flat rate per kilogram.

Import VAT

Import VAT is charged at the same rate that applies to similar goods sold in the UK and applies to commercial goods over £135 in value, and on gifts that are over £39 in value. The value of the goods for Import VAT is based on the:

• basic value of goods
• postage, packing and insurance
• any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged

As with Customs Duty, the cost of postage is excluded from the calculation for VAT on gifts, except where the sender has used the Express Mail Service (EMS) as opposed to a standard mail service.

Duty charged on used goods

Used goods are liable to the same duty and VAT charges as new goods. The value on which the charges are calculated may take into account the age and condition of the goods.

Paying customs charges

Royal Mail provides several options for payment and they’ll inform you of the options and the amounts payable when they contact you. A postcard or letter is usually delivered to your address, detailing the amount due and the options available for payment. Once payment has been made, the package may be collected from the post office, or (if you’ve paid online or by phone) you can arrange for it to be delivered. Details of the charges, including the Royal Mail or Parcelforce Worldwide handling fee, will be shown separately on a label affixed to the package.

If the value of the package is over £900 (for Great Britain) and £873 (for Northern Ireland), or it is for a specific customs regime (including all special procedures), you’ll need to complete a customs declaration. You’ll be sent a customs declaration form (C88 or C160) which you must complete and return to Border Force at the Postal Depot, before your package can be delivered. You should not send any payment with this form unless asked to do so. If there are any charges due, you’ll be required to pay them to Border Force before your goods can be released.

Prepayment of Import VAT on goods purchased over the internet or by mail order

HMRC has special arrangements that allow some overseas traders to charge, collect and pay to HMRC the Import VAT for goods purchased by mail order. This would normally be chargeable at the time the goods are imported. These arrangements operate under Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with certain overseas customs and postal authorities. Currently only Jersey and Guernsey has an MoU with HMRC.

Existing arrangements for imports from Jersey and Guernsey will continue after the end of the transition period.

Consignments of goods from Jersey and Guernsey, where VAT is collected and paid to HMRC under the Import VAT Accounting Scheme, will be outside the scope of the new measures.

Overseas traders wanting to use this procedure must be authorised to do so by their authorities.

Once authorised, foreign businesses are issued with a unique authorisation number, which they must show on the customs declaration or packaging. They’ll include the statement ‘Import VAT Prepaid’.

Where these arrangements are used you will not be charged a Royal Mail handling fee when you receive your package.

If you’re a VAT registered business and purchase goods for use in your business, you should keep the outer wrapper and invoice from the supplier to support your claim to input tax.

Paying a handling fee to Royal Mail

If customs charges are payable upon importation, Royal Mail will charge a handling fee to cover the costs for carrying out customs procedures, which includes paying any Customs Duty or VAT due and collecting it from you. If customs examination is required, or if information is missing from the declaration, Royal Mail will open, repack and reseal the package. All international courier and postal operators charge fees for their services. HMRC and Border Force do not have any authority over the level of charges applied for these services.

If there is no duty or tax to pay, you will not be charged a handling fee.

The customs charges and handling fee will be itemised individually on the charge label. Royal Mail will tell you how much you need to pay and the available payment methods. Once payment is received, you can request delivery of your package or pick it up from your local delivery office or depot. You can read more about how to pay charges on either the Royal Mail or Parcelforce Worldwide websites.

As the handling fee is separate from customs charges, queries about the handling fee should be raised with Royal Mail or Parcelforce Worldwide, as appropriate. Royal Mail do not answer queries about customs charges. If you have any queries about the charges raised on your parcel you should contact Border Force. General queries on customs charges should be made to the HMRC Customs International Trade and Excise enquiries service.

Where can I ask about or query a customs charge?

If you have any questions about a particular customs charge you should contact Border Force as soon as possible using form BOR286.

When you write to Border Force, you should include as much detail as you can, including the customs charge label, the customs declaration and the part of the wrapper with your address on it. If your claim is about overcharged tax because the declared value of the goods was incorrect, you will be required to supply evidence, for example, an invoice, receipt of purchase to support your claim.

Border Force deal with thousands of packages every day and without this information they may not be able to trace your package in their records. In the event of a claim, you should retain copies of all wrappings and documents until your claim is settled.