Importing from China to the UK: Duties, VAT, UKCA and EORI (2026)

Importing from China to the UK has been a separate exercise since 1 January 2021: the UK left the EU customs union and single market, and now runs its own tariff, its own declaration system and its own product-marking rules. For a British company, the routine is well established. For an EU or US brand selling into Britain, it's a distinct customs territory, with its own identifier, its own VAT and its own representative.

Here's the UK case step by step, with a worked example. For the EU and Canada side by side, see our customs clearance overview; for America, our guide to importing from China to the USA. This is general information, not legal or tax advice: your customs agent and adviser have the final word.

Great Britain or Northern Ireland: two regimes since Brexit

Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) applies UK customs law, the UK Global Tariff (UKGT) and UK product rules. Northern Ireland stays aligned with EU rules for goods.

Goods shipped from China straight to Northern Ireland are presumed "at risk" of entering the EU and pay EU duty, unless the importer is authorised under the UK Internal Market Scheme and the goods are for end consumers in Northern Ireland. The rest of this guide focuses on Great Britain.

Step 1: get a GB EORI number

An Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number starting with GB is required to import into Great Britain; an EU one won't do. HMRC usually issues it online straight away, or within 5 working days if it runs checks. A business not established in the UK can apply. For Northern Ireland, you also need an XI EORI, issued after the GB one. Your customs agent, the safety declaration and your VAT all hang on this number: apply before the goods leave China.

Step 2: find your commodity code and duty in the UK Global Tariff

Imports are declared under a 10-digit commodity code, looked up in the online Trade Tariff. Only the first six digits are international: your supplier's code may differ from the UK one.

The UK has no trade agreement with China, and China isn't a beneficiary of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme either: Chinese goods pay the third-country duty. Checked in the Trade Tariff on 21 October 2026:

• LED lamps (8539 52 00 00): 0%;
• stoneware tableware and kitchenware (6912 00 23 10): 4%, plus an anti-dumping duty on Chinese goods;
• ceramic tiles with low water absorption (6907 21 00 00): 4%, plus an anti-dumping duty on Chinese goods.

If in doubt, apply to HMRC for an Advance Tariff Ruling, which is binding on HMRC for your product.

Trade remedies, steel and carbon

On a recommendation from the Trade Remedies Authority, the government imposes anti-dumping or countervailing duties, usually at a rate specific to each exporter. A few measures on Chinese goods in October 2026:

For steel, a new trade measure replaced the safeguard on 1 July 2026: tariff-free quotas cut by 51% and a 50% duty above quota, with existing anti-dumping duties still due. Check the quota left for your category before shipping. And from 1 January 2027, the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will cover aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen, iron and steel, with registration required from £50,000 of such imports over 12 months.

Step 3: customs value, duty and import VAT

In the UK, customs value starts from the price of the goods plus transport, insurance and handling up to the place of entry: the UK port, for direct sea freight. That's the opposite of the US, which leaves international freight out. A FOB price must therefore be increased by the freight; a CIF price already includes it.

Import VAT is then charged on the customs value plus duty and costs up to the first destination in the UK. The standard rate is 20%; some goods are at 5% or 0%.

Customs duty, by contrast, is a final cost. Keep your customs records for at least four years and your VAT records for six.

Step 4: choose your customs agent and type of representation

Most importers hand the declaration to a customs agent (or customs broker), who lodges it on CDS, the only system since CHIEF closed in 2024. Two types of representation:

• direct: the agent acts in your name; you alone are liable for duty and VAT;
• indirect: the agent acts in its own name on your behalf; you're jointly and severally liable.

The key point for EU and US businesses: a business not established in the UK can only import into Great Britain through indirect representation, via a UK-established agent. Expect thorough checks and sometimes a deposit. It must also register for UK VAT from its first taxable supply in the UK, whatever its turnover.

Before departure, the carrier lodges a safety and security entry summary declaration (ENS), at least 24 hours before loading for containerised sea freight, using data from you and your supplier. NOVASEA does not clear goods itself: we coordinate with our approved UK customs agent partners and give them consistent data from China.

Step 5: UKCA or CE: product rules in Great Britain

Since 1 October 2024, UK law has recognised CE marking alongside or instead of UKCA for most product regimes (toys, electrical equipment, machinery, radio equipment, PPE…), with no end date currently set. UKCA remains necessary where a UK Approved Body carried out a mandatory third-party assessment; it can appear on a label or accompanying document until 31 December 2027. Construction products, medical devices, marine, rail and transportable pressure equipment, cableways and drones follow their own rules; for medical devices, the government confirmed on 21 October 2026 that CE recognition will continue long term, with legislation to follow.

Whatever the marking, the GB importer:

• shows its name and UK postal address on the product, or failing that on the packaging or an accompanying document;
• supplies instructions and safety information in English;
• keeps the declaration of conformity and technical documentation available, generally for 10 years.

For everyday consumer goods, Great Britain still applies the General Product Safety Regulations 2005; a new framework covering online marketplaces was consulted on in 2026 but hasn't been adopted yet. Add the producer obligations: electrical equipment (WEEE) and batteries, packaging (from £1 million turnover and 25 tonnes of packaging) and connected-product security (the PSTI regime).

Related guide

Product compliance for imports (2026): CE marking, UKCA, GPSR and North American rules

Importing a product made in Asia makes you responsible for its compliance. CE marking, GPSR, REACH, UKCA, US and Canadian rules: the documents, markings and inspections to plan for.

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Step 6: import licences and special controls

Most consumer and industrial goods from China need no import licence. Licences cover specific categories (firearms and ammunition, sanctioned goods, nuclear materials, torture equipment), and other controls apply to controlled drugs, precursors, CITES species, F-gases, fireworks and explosives. Plants and some foods require a phytosanitary or health certificate and pre-notification on IPAFFS, and wood packaging (pallets, crates) must meet the ISPM 15 standard.

Small parcels and e-commerce: the £135 rule

For a consignment of £135 or less sold directly to a customer in Great Britain, UK VAT is charged at the point of sale by the seller or online marketplace, not at the border, and the consignment is currently relieved from customs duty. That relief is going: under draft legislation published by HMRC on 13 July 2026, it will be removed on a date set by the Treasury, by October 2028 at the latest, with a possible UK fiscal representative jointly liable for overseas sellers. For a brand, one container cleared in a single declaration into a UK warehouse remains the most robust route: see our 3PL guide.

FOB, CIF or DDP to the UK?

Incoterms® rules, a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), split costs and risks, but they don't decide who the importer is. For a UK VAT-registered company, the usual route is FOB or FCA: you choose the forwarder and agent, you're the importer, you recover VAT through postponed accounting and you see every pound of duty.

Full comparison: FOB, CIF, DDP or EXW.

Worked example: stoneware mugs delivered to Great Britain

The lesson: here the anti-dumping duty weighs nine times more than the customs duty and adds a third to the landed cost. It depends on the product's exact scope and on the manufacturer, so it has to be checked before you choose a factory, not on arrival. And where a manufacturer has its own lower rate, the documents must identify it precisely for that rate to apply.

Import on your own or work with a partner?

Importing into the UK on your own works well for a VAT-registered company with a reliable agent and a simple product. The trouble starts upstream: a product caught by anti-dumping duty, a missing UK address, an invoice that doesn't match the goods, three suppliers shipping three consignments.

In practice, NOVASEA:

1. writes a product specification with you that covers the UK market: commodity code, UKCA or CE marking, importer address, instructions, packaging;
2. selects factories with anti-dumping measures in mind, with an on-site audit for every new supplier;
3. carries out inspections during production, before shipment and at loading, with a full photo report;
4. handles consolidation in China, as close as possible to your factories, so a single container leaves China; clearance is handled by our approved partners, with whom we coordinate;
5. makes everything visible in NOVASEA Bridge: reports, documents, shipments, costs.

See our logistics and end-to-end sourcing services, our pricing and our comparison of importing from China on your own or with a partner.

Checklist before importing from China to the UK

• GB EORI obtained (plus XI for Northern Ireland).
• 10-digit code confirmed, anti-dumping and steel quotas checked.
• Customs agent appointed in writing; postponed VAT accounting instruction given.
• Marking, UK address and English instructions checked before shipment.
• Producer obligations reviewed: WEEE, batteries, packaging.
• ISPM 15 wood packaging; licence or pre-notification where needed.
• Pre-shipment inspection passed before paying the balance.