Türkiye to UK customs charges: import duty, VAT, the £135 rule and 0% FTA duty (2026)
Selling Turkish towels, kilims and rugs, ceramics, tea glasses, leather or silver jewellery from Türkiye to UK buyers, or ordering them from the UK? 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 Türkiye can come in at 0% duty under the UK–Türkiye free trade agreement if the preference is claimed with a declaration on origin from the exporter. Without it, duty is the normal UK rate: 12% on cotton towels, T-shirts and porcelain, 10% on decorated glasses, 4% on stoneware and leather jackets, 2% on kilims, handmade leather bags and jewellery. Every rule below has an official source and date.
Calculate your own order for Türkiye → 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 Türkiye: 0% duty if the trade-deal preference is claimed on the UK import declaration, plus 20% VAT and the carrier's fee. The exporter's declaration on origin goes on the invoice.
- Over £135, preference not claimed or not made in Türkiye: the normal UK duty for the product plus 20% VAT. Knotted wool rugs, handmade copperware, glass beads and soap are 0% anyway, so you pay VAT only.
- Gifts from family or friends in Türkiye: 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 Türkiye, 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 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–Türkiye 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.
The UK–Türkiye free trade agreement is in effect (it replaced the EU–Turkey customs union for UK trade). The UK Trade Tariff lists a 0% tariff preference for goods originating in Türkiye on every product line we checked, including cotton towels, T-shirts and jumpers, kilims, porcelain and stoneware, decorated glasses, leather jackets and bags, and silver and gold jewellery, which otherwise pay 2% to 12%. The preference is only for goods made in Türkiye under the agreement's rules of origin, and it must be claimed on the UK import declaration.
Normal UK duty (if the preference is not claimed, or the goods are not of Turkish origin) on the lines we checked: 12% on cotton terry towels, cotton T-shirts, knitted cotton jumpers and porcelain tableware, 10% on cut or decorated drinking glasses, 4% on stoneware tableware and leather clothing, 2% on hand-woven kilims, handmade leather handbags and silver and gold jewellery, and 0% on knotted wool rugs, handmade copper household articles, handmade glass beads and toilet soap. Roasted coffee is 6% without preference and 0% with it, but food has separate UK import rules beyond duty.
Example: one item worth £200.00 made in Türkiye, 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 7 Nov 2026, origin Türkiye). 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. In the calculator, tick "preferential origin" for the FTA rate. Roasted coffee and Turkish delight also have a 0% Turkish preference, but food has separate UK import rules beyond duty, so they are not in the table. Your product may have a different code (a flat-woven peshtemal, for example, is not a terry towel): check it in our HS code lookup links.
Getting the 0% rate on a parcel
To claim the 0% rate, the UK importer relies on a declaration on origin made by the exporter on, or attached to, the invoice or another commercial document that identifies the goods (not a bill of lading); PDFs and emails are accepted. GOV.UK gives the wording ("The exporter of the products covered by this document (customs authorisation No ...) declares that ... these products are of ... preferential origin"): a Turkish approved exporter enters its authorisation number, otherwise the brackets are left blank, and no REX number is needed. It is valid for 24 months for imports into the UK and may cover repeat shipments of identical goods for up to 12 months. Duty paid without a claim can be reclaimed later (Art. 21).
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.
- Check the item is made in Türkiye under the agreement's rules of origin. "Ships from Istanbul" is not enough: a towel woven in another country and only packed in Türkiye pays the normal UK rate.
- Sellers: put "Country of origin: Türkiye", a precise description ("cotton terry bath towel", "hand-woven wool kilim") and the UK commodity code on the customs form, and add the declaration on origin to the invoice in the GOV.UK wording, with "Turkish" as the origin. Leave the authorisation number blank unless you are an approved exporter.
- Buyers: the preference is claimed by whoever makes the UK import declaration, usually the courier. If a courier's bill shows duty on a Turkish-made item over £135, ask before paying whether preference was claimed; duty paid without a claim can be reclaimed later with a 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 changes.
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 Türkiye 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 Etsy, eBay or Amazon? 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. Selling silver or gold jewellery? See jewellery import duty.
Türkçe özet
- İngiltere'ye gönderilen 135 sterlin ve altındaki siparişlerde bugün gümrük vergisi yoktur; %20 KDV'yi ödeme sırasında pazar yeri (Etsy, eBay, Amazon) ya da İngiltere KDV kaydı olan satıcı tahsil eder.
- 135 sterlinin üzerinde alıcı %20 ithalat KDV'si öder. Türkiye menşeli ürünler, Birleşik Krallık–Türkiye Serbest Ticaret Anlaşması kapsamında tercih talep edilirse kontrol ettiğimiz tüm kalemlerde %0 gümrük vergisiyle girer. Talep edilmezse normal oran uygulanır: pamuklu havlu, tişört ve porselen %12, dekorlu çay bardağı %10, taş/toprak sofra eşyası ve deri ceket %4, kilim, el yapımı deri çanta ve gümüş/altın takı %2.
- Tercih için ihracatçı, faturaya GOV.UK'deki menşe beyanını ("... these products are of Turkish preferential origin") ekler. Onaylanmış ihracatçı değilseniz yetki numarası boş bırakılır; REX numarası gerekmez. Beyan İngiltere ithalatı için 24 ay geçerlidir.
- Bu sayfa genel bilgidir; hukuki, vergi veya gümrük danışmanlığı değildir.
Also selling from Türkiye to the US? See Türkiye → US: normal duty + 12.5% Section 301. Goods made in Vietnam (0% under the UK–Vietnam FTA)? See Vietnam → UK. Made in China (no UK trade deal)? See China → UK. Made in India? See India → UK. 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 in the agreement. 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 Türkiye, codes 6109100010, 6110209100, 6302600090, 5701109000, 5702100000, 6912002310, 6911100090, 7418109010, 7113110000, 7113190000, 3401110000, 0901210000, 7013379100, 4203100000, 7018101910, 4202210010, 1704909993, HM Revenue & Customs / Department for Business and Trade (UK Trade Tariff). Accessed 7 Nov 2026. Verified
- Trade with Turkey (UK–Turkey trade agreement guidance), Department for Business and Trade / GOV.UK. Accessed 7 Nov 2026. Verified
- UK–Turkey FTA: revised Rules of Origin Protocol (Annex to Decision No. 02/2021), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office / GOV.UK. Accessed 7 Nov 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.