China to UK customs charges: import duty, VAT, the £135 rule and anti-dumping (2026)
Ordering from China to the UK, or selling from China to UK buyers? For parcels of £135 or less there is no UK customs duty today, and the 20% VAT is charged at checkout by the marketplace or the seller, so nothing should be due at the door. Above £135 the buyer normally pays duty (0% to 16% on the popular goods we checked, as the UK has no trade deal with China) plus 20% import VAT, and a few Chinese products also carry anti-dumping duties: 36.1% on stoneware tableware, 48.5% on bicycles and 79.3% on e-bikes. Every rule below has an official source and date.
Calculate your own order for China → UK
Quick answer
- £135 or less, not a gift: no customs duty; VAT is in the price you paid. No bill from Royal Mail or the courier is expected.
- Over £135: customs duty at the UK rate for the product, plus 20% VAT on the price, postage and duty, plus the carrier's fee, unless the seller prepaid them (DDP).
- Gifts from family or friends in China: no VAT up to £39; above that, VAT is paid to the delivery company.
- Coming change: parcels of £135 or less will pay customs duty too, by October 2028 at the latest.
Orders of £135 or less
For consignments worth £135 or less (goods value, excluding transport if shown separately), the overseas seller must charge UK VAT at the point of sale and register for UK VAT. If the sale goes through an online marketplace, the marketplace does this instead. No import VAT is charged at the border. UK £135 VAT rule for overseas sellers
When goods outside the UK in a consignment of £135 or less are sold through an online marketplace to a customer in Great Britain, the marketplace is liable for the UK VAT and charges it at the point of sale. Marketplaces are also liable for VAT on goods of any value that are already in the UK when an overseas business sells them through the marketplace.
The £135 limit applies to the value of the whole consignment, not to each item. The value is the price of the goods, without transport or insurance (unless included in the price and not shown separately on the invoice) and without other identifiable taxes and charges. Unless items are sent individually, add their values together. If you change the value so that the consignment goes above £135, you may owe import VAT and customs duty instead and have to adjust the VAT you already accounted for.
Non-excise goods worth £135 or less pay no UK customs duty. Above £135, duty depends on the type of goods and where they come from, and is charged on the price plus postage, packaging and insurance. VAT paid to the delivery company is charged on the goods, postage, packaging, insurance and any duty.
Example: a £40.00 cotton T-shirt made in China, sent by post to a buyer in Great Britain.
| Where you bought it | UK VAT 20% | Customs duty | Pay at the door | Try it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bought on Temu, AliExpress, Shein, Amazon or eBay | £8.00 (in the price) | £0.00 | £0.00 | Open in calculator |
| Bought from a Chinese shop's own website (seller registered for UK VAT) | £8.00 (in the price) | £0.00 | £0.00 | Open in calculator |
The £135 limit is for the whole order in one parcel, not each item. If an order is split into several parcels, or a seller has not charged UK VAT, check the bill from the delivery company before you pay it.
Coming change: duty on parcels under £135
The UK will remove the customs duty relief for consignments of £135 or less, so these parcels will pay normal customs duty. The change starts on a day set by HM Treasury, by October 2028 at the latest (brought forward from March 2029 on 23 June 2026). Until then, the relief still applies.
When this happens, a £40.00 T-shirt from China would pay the normal 12% duty as well as VAT. How it will work in practice is still being set out; we will update this page and the change log when it does.
Orders above £135
Above £135, normal import VAT and customs duty apply at the border, paid by the buyer (DDU) or prepaid by the seller (DDP).
UK standard VAT rate is 20%, with a 5% reduced rate and 0% for e.g. most children's clothes and books.
The UK has no trade-deal preference for goods made in China: on every code we checked, the UK Trade Tariff shows only the normal duty for China. Examples: cotton T-shirts 12%, sports shoes 16%, handbags of plastic sheeting 8%, imitation jewellery 4%, silver jewellery 2%, and 0% for smartphones, earphones, toys and make-up.
Example: one item worth £200.00 made in China, sent by courier to Great Britain, with the buyer paying on delivery (DDU). Duty is the normal UK rate plus any anti-dumping or countervailing duty; VAT is 20% on the price plus all duties. The courier's own fee is extra.
Codes and rates from the UK Trade Tariff (HM Revenue & Customs / Department for Business and Trade (UK Trade Tariff), checked 29 Oct 2026, origin China). For rows with anti-dumping duty, the calculator link enters normal rate + trade-remedy rate as one custom duty rate; the trade-remedy rates shown are the ones for Chinese exporters not named in the measures. Duty and VAT are worked out on the item price only, as if shipping were free; in practice they are charged on the price plus postage, packaging and insurance. Your product may have a different code and rate: check it in our HS code lookup links.
Anti-dumping duties on Chinese ceramics, bicycles and e-bikes
Stoneware tableware and kitchenware made in China (code 6912002310) carries a UK anti-dumping duty of 36.10% on top of the 4% duty, for Chinese exporters not named in the measure; named companies have their own rates. The UK Trade Tariff shows it in force since 1 January 2021.
Bicycles made in China (for example code 8712003090) carry a UK anti-dumping duty of 48.50% on top of the 14% duty, shown until 30 August 2029. Pedal-assist e-bikes up to 250 W (8711601000) carry 62.10% anti-dumping duty plus 17.20% countervailing duty on top of the 6% duty. These are the rates for exporters not named in the measures.
These duties are charged on top of normal duty and VAT, so an e-bike or a set of stoneware plates from China can cost much more to import than the price suggests. We have not found official guidance on whether they apply to parcels of £135 or less while the low-value relief lasts, so this page only uses them for orders above £135.
Paying the bill, gifts and refunds
If you have to pay VAT, duty or charges on a parcel from abroad, Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier sends you a bill stating exactly which fees to pay. They normally hold the parcel for about 3 weeks; if the bill is not paid by then, the parcel goes back to the sender.
When the buyer pays on delivery, Royal Mail charges an £8 handling fee and Parcelforce £12 (£25 for goods over £900). Couriers charge their own fees.
No VAT is charged on gifts worth £39 or less. A gift must be described as a gift on the customs form, be for a birthday, anniversary or other occasion, be sent between individuals (not companies) and be for personal use. Gifts over £39 sent by someone else pay VAT to the delivery company. Several gifts in one parcel each get the allowance if they are for different people, listed with their own values and wrapped individually.
To reclaim VAT or customs duty after returning goods or being charged too much, use form BOR 286 if Royal Mail or Parcelforce delivered the parcel, or form C285 for any other courier or freight company.
For sellers in China shipping to UK buyers
There is no turnover threshold for overseas sellers: you must register for UK VAT, whatever your turnover, if you and your business are based outside the UK and you supply any goods or services to the UK (or expect to in the next 30 days). The £90,000 threshold applies to UK-based businesses. An overseas business that still supplies the UK cannot ask to cancel its registration just because its turnover falls below £88,000.
B2B sales to a UK VAT-registered customer who gives their VAT number use the reverse charge, so the seller does not charge VAT.
- Selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Temu or AliExpress? The marketplace charges UK VAT on orders of £135 or less. Selling on your own website? You need a UK VAT registration to charge it: see the UK £135 VAT rule for overseas sellers.
- For orders above £135, decide who pays duty and VAT: the buyer on delivery (DDU), or you, built into your price (DDP). See DDP vs DAP.
- Put the UK commodity code, a precise description ("stoneware coffee mug", "cotton T-shirt"), the value and "Country of origin: China" on every customs form. See how to fill in CN22 and CN23.
- Selling ceramics, bicycles or e-bikes? Check the anti-dumping duty for your company in the UK Trade Tariff before you set UK prices.
中文摘要
- 寄往英国（大不列颠）的包裹，货值135英镑及以下：目前不征收关税；20%增值税由电商平台（如亚马逊、eBay、Temu、速卖通）或已注册英国增值税的卖家在结账时收取。
- 英国政府将取消135英镑以下包裹的关税减免，最迟于2028年10月生效。
- 超过135英镑：按英国税率征收关税（英国与中国没有自由贸易协定，例如纯棉T恤12%，运动鞋16%，智能手机0%），并对货价、运费和关税合计征收20%进口增值税。
- 反倾销税（未列名出口商）：炻器餐具和厨具（6912002310）36.10%，自行车（8712003090）48.50%，250瓦以下电动助力自行车（8711601000）反倾销税62.10%加反补贴税17.20%。
- 海外卖家在英国销售商品，无营业额门槛，必须注册英国增值税。
- 本页仅为一般信息，不构成法律、税务或海关建议。
Also shipping from China to the US or the EU? See China → US: the 12.5% duty and the Section 301 lists and China → EU: the €3 duty, the €2 fee and anti-dumping. Goods made in Japan or South Korea? See Japan → UK customs charges and 0% CEPA duty and Korea → UK customs charges and 0% FTA duty. Made in Vietnam or Türkiye? See Vietnam → UK customs charges and Türkiye → UK customs charges (0% under UK trade deals). Sending a present rather than a sale? See customs gift allowances. Returning an order? See international returns and duty refunds. We record every rule change in the change log.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules in Northern Ireland are different for goods from outside the UK and the EU. Anti-dumping duties depend on the exporter and the exact product scope of each measure. See the disclaimer.
Sources for this page
- VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK, HMRC / GOV.UK. Accessed 26 Oct 2026. Verified
- VAT and overseas goods sold to customers in the UK using online marketplaces, HMRC / GOV.UK. Accessed 26 Oct 2026. Verified
- Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad (parts: Tax and duty; Gifts), GOV.UK. Accessed 3 Nov 2026. Verified
- Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK (policy paper, 13 Jul 2026), HM Treasury / HMRC. Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- Government backs high street with acceleration of cheap import reforms (23 Jun 2026), GOV.UK. Accessed 11 Nov 2026. Verified
- VAT rates, GOV.UK. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Verified
- UK Trade Tariff: commodity measures for imports from China (third-country duty, anti-dumping and countervailing duties), codes 6109100010, 6404110000, 4202221000, 7113110000, 7117190090, 8517130000, 8518300090, 9503009990, 3304990000, 6912002310, 8712003090, 8711601000, HM Revenue & Customs / Department for Business and Trade (UK Trade Tariff). Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- Pay a fee (customs charges), Royal Mail. Accessed 5 Nov 2026. Verified
- Pay a customs charge for parcel deliveries, Parcelforce Worldwide. Accessed 20 Oct 2026. Partly verified
- Register for VAT (when to register, including businesses based outside the UK), HMRC / GOV.UK. Accessed 26 Oct 2026. Verified
Rules change often: the latest change we tracked was on 10 Nov 2026 (US: the 178 China Section 301 product exclusions are extended to 9 January 2027). Alerts send one short email, with the source, only when a rule changes on a route you pick.