Japan to UK customs charges: import duty, VAT, the £135 rule and 0% CEPA duty (2026)
Buying from Japan, or selling from Japan 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. Above £135 the buyer pays 20% import VAT, but goods made in Japan can come in at 0% duty under the UK–Japan trade agreement (CEPA) if preference is claimed; without the claim, duty is the normal UK rate, such as 12% on cotton T-shirts and porcelain or 8% on kitchen knives. Every rule below has an official source and date.
Calculate your own order for Japan → 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, made in Japan: 0% duty if the trade-deal preference is claimed, plus 20% VAT and the carrier's fee. Below £1,000 no statement on origin is needed.
- Over £135, preference not claimed or not made in Japan: the normal UK duty for the product plus 20% VAT.
- Gifts from family or friends in Japan: no VAT up to £39.
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 Japan, 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 eBay, Amazon, Etsy or another marketplace | £8.00 (in the price) | £0.00 | £0.00 | Open in calculator |
| Bought from a Japanese 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 a seller has not charged UK VAT, check the bill from the delivery company before you pay it.
Orders above £135 and the UK–Japan trade deal
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.
Goods originating in Japan get 0% UK customs duty under the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on every sample tariff line we checked, if they meet the origin rules and preference is claimed. Without preference, the normal UK rates apply, for example: cotton T-shirts 12%, porcelain tableware 12%, kitchen knives 8%, e-bikes 6%, stoneware tableware 4%, green tea 2%, playing cards 2%, silver jewellery 2%, and 0% for cameras, camera lenses, game consoles, toys, books and make-up. No UK anti-dumping duty applies to Japanese goods on these lines.
The 0% CEPA rate is only for goods that originate in Japan: wholly obtained there or sufficiently processed there under the product-specific rules. Goods only sold or shipped from Japan but made elsewhere (for example in China) pay the normal UK rate for their own country of origin. The claim is based on the exporter's statement on origin or the importer's knowledge, and goods entering the UK from Japan worth less than £1,000 do not need a statement on origin.
A preferential rate is only given if it is claimed on the UK import declaration; if it is not claimed, the normal rate of duty is charged. The importer must keep the declaration, the proof of origin and supporting records for at least 4 years, and duty already paid can be claimed back if a valid proof of origin is obtained later.
Example: one item worth £200.00 made in Japan, sent by courier to Great Britain, with the buyer paying on delivery (DDU). VAT is 20% on the price plus duty. 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 Japan). 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. The calculator uses the normal rate for Japan; for the CEPA column enter a custom duty rate of 0%. Your product may have a different code and rate: check it in our HS code lookup links.
Getting the 0% rate on a parcel
- Check the item is made in Japan. "Ships from Japan" is not enough: a figure or phone case made in China pays the UK rate for China (see China to UK customs charges).
- Sellers: put "Country of origin: Japan", a precise description and the UK commodity code on the customs form. For orders of £1,000 or more, add a statement on origin to the invoice.
- Buyers: if a courier's bill shows duty on a Japanese-made item, ask the courier before paying whether preference was claimed. If you paid it, duty can be claimed back later with valid proof of origin.
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.
How preference will be claimed on low-value parcels once this happens is not yet set out. We will update this page and the change log when it is.
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. China to UK customs charges
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 Japan 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 eBay, Amazon or Etsy? 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 VAT (and any duty): the buyer on delivery (DDU), or you, built into your price (DDP). See DDP vs DAP.
- Fill in every customs form fully: see how to fill in CN22 and CN23.
日本語の要約
- 英国（グレートブリテン）宛て、135ポンド以下の荷物：現在は関税がかかりません。20%の付加価値税（VAT）は、マーケットプレイス（eBay、Amazon、Etsyなど）または英国VAT登録済みの販売者が購入時に徴収します。
- 135ポンドを超える場合：20%の輸入VATがかかります。日本原産品は、日英包括的経済連携協定（CEPA）の特恵を申告すれば、確認したすべての品目で関税0%です。申告しない場合は通常の英国税率（例：綿Tシャツ12%、磁器製食器12%、包丁8%）です。
- 1,000ポンド未満の貨物には原産地に関する申告文は不要です。日本から発送されても、日本以外で製造された商品には特恵税率は適用されません。
- 海外の販売者が自社サイトで英国の消費者に販売する場合、売上高の基準なしで英国VAT登録が必要です。
- このページは一般的な情報であり、法律・税務・通関に関する助言ではありません。
Also selling from Japan to the US? See Japan → US: the 12.5% Section 301 rule and Japan Post DDP. To the EU? See Japan → EU: the €3 duty, the €2 fee and 0% EPA duty. Made in China? See China → UK customs charges. Buying from South Korea? See Korea → UK customs charges. 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. Whether goods qualify for preference depends on the product-specific rules of origin. 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 Japan (third-country duty and UK–Japan CEPA tariff preference), codes 6109100010, 8211920000, 0902100000, 9504400000, 6911100090, 6912002310, 7113110000, 8711601000, 9002110090, 8525890000, 9504500000, 9503009990, 4901990000, 3304990000, HM Revenue & Customs / Department for Business and Trade (UK Trade Tariff). Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- Trade with Japan (summary of the UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), Department for Business and Trade / GOV.UK. Accessed 29 Oct 2026. Verified
- Pay less Customs Duty on goods from a country with a UK trade agreement, HM Revenue & Customs / GOV.UK. 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.