How to Import from China to the UK: Costs, Customs and Who Does What

To import from China to UK, you check that your product is allowed and what it needs, find and vet a supplier, work out the full landed cost, agree shipping terms that make it clear who the importer is, get an EORI number (the customs ID that HMRC gives importers), and clear customs when the goods arrive. Problems start when these don’t line up: a cheap quote that leaves out import VAT, a supplier who can’t produce the documents your product needs, or a “door-to-door” deal where nobody can tell you who declared the goods.

Once freight, duty, VAT (value added tax, charged on top of any customs duty) and fees are added, China isn’t always cheaper than a UK wholesaler, so work out your landed cost before you pay a deposit.

As a sourcing agent in Yiwu, we work with Chinese suppliers on our clients’ orders. This guide follows one batch order from quote to delivery in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales); Northern Ireland has different customs and product rules, and dropshipping single orders works differently again.

Here’s the usual split on a business order. Your shipping terms can move some of these jobs to the supplier, and small online orders are simpler (both are covered below).

What Can You Import from China to UK?

Almost anything that’s legal to sell in the UK. A small group of controlled goods needs a licence, and many everyday products have to meet UK safety rules, carry the right markings or come with test reports. As the importer, you’re responsible for getting that right, so check before you pay a deposit.

Do You Need an Import Licence?

Usually not. There’s no general import licence that every importer needs to buy. Licences only cover controlled goods, such as weapons, certain chemicals, medicines, animals, plants and some foods; see the government’s import controls guidance.

Product Safety Rules and Markings

Many products need a conformity marking backed by technical documents; toys and electrical goods are two common examples. In Great Britain, CE marking is still accepted without an end date for many product rules, including toys and electrical equipment, and UKCA remains an alternative. It isn’t one rule for every product, so check your category in the UKCA and CE guidance.

A printed mark proves nothing on its own. If a supplier of custom plush toys offers to “print the CE mark for you”, ask for the declaration of conformity and the test reports behind it, and check they cover the exact product and model you’re buying. Your name and UK postal address as importer normally need to go on the product itself; packaging or accompanying documents are only allowed where the product rules say so.

Verbal reassurance doesn’t count either. A tea supplier may tell you “lots of UK wholesalers buy this from us” and still be unable to produce the documents the UK requires. A supplier’s word doesn’t meet the rule for you.

Medicines, some chemicals and other specially regulated products have their own rules and regulators. If you’re not sure how your product is classed, check with the relevant regulator before you order, and don’t rely on a seller’s assurance that it can be imported.

How to Find Reliable Suppliers in China

Find candidates through the channels below, then check each one before you pay anything. Here are five places to start:

• Alibaba.com: suited to bulk and custom orders. It lists manufacturers, trading companies and businesses that do both.
• AliExpress: retail-sized orders; useful for testing a product before you order in bulk.
• 1688.com: Alibaba Group’s domestic wholesale marketplace for buyers inside China. You’ll need a way to pay, receive the goods in China and ship them out, which is where an agent or forwarder comes in.
• Trade fairs: the Canton Fair runs spring and autumn sessions.
• A sourcing agent: someone in China who finds, checks and manages suppliers for you.

What to Check Before You Pay

• Factory or trading company: Either can work, but know which you’re dealing with. Alibaba’s Verified Supplier report, from a third-party inspector, shows the business type; it doesn’t prove your order will meet UK rules.
• Whether they can really make it: If you need a specific material, coating or test, ask what equipment they have and ask for photos or video, not just a yes.
• Documents: Can they supply the test reports and certificates your product needs, for this product?
• Samples: Pay for one if you have to; it’s the standard you’ll inspect against.
• Minimum order quantity (MOQ): The MOQ decides how much cash you tie up in stock before it decides your unit price. On a first order, a slightly higher price on a smaller quantity is often the better deal.

Write a Clear Product Spec

List materials, dimensions, tolerances, colours, packaging, labelling and how you’ll judge the finished goods, in a form you can tick off. Anything left open to interpretation is a gap the supplier will fill its own way.

Ask for FOB and DDP Quotes

Ask each supplier for two prices: FOB (they load the goods onto your ship at a named Chinese port and you arrange the rest) and DDP (they deliver to your door, duties paid). Then get your own freight forwarder to quote the FOB option. Give everyone the same details: number of cartons, gross weight, carton dimensions, collection address, your UK postcode, unloading needs and the shipping terms. Check the currency too, as exchange rates and payment fees are part of your cost.

Using a Sourcing Agent

A good sourcing agent hands over checked factory names and addresses, evidence that someone has visited or verified the factory, and samples. A spreadsheet of names and prices is not verification.

We find and verify suppliers, one dedicated manager handles your order from quote to shipment, we take small orders, and our fees are built into the unit price, with no separate commission.

How Much Does It Cost to Import from China to the UK?

Your landed cost is the goods plus freight and insurance to the UK, customs duty, import VAT, and any clearance, handling and delivery charges. Work it out per unit and compare it with a UK wholesale price.

How to Calculate Import Tax from China to the UK

Work out customs duty first, then import VAT on top. For a straightforward sea shipment like the example below, duty is charged on the customs value, which is the goods plus freight and insurance to the UK border, at the rate for your product’s commodity code. Import VAT is charged on the customs value plus the duty plus clearance and delivery costs to the goods’ first destination in the UK, and to any further UK destination already known at import. Some orders need other valuation adjustments, so check yours with your customs agent.

Look up your commodity code and rates on the government’s Trade Tariff service.

• Don’t just copy your supplier’s code. The first six digits are usually the same worldwide, but a UK import declaration normally uses a 10-digit UK code. If you’re unsure, apply to HMRC for an Advance Tariff Ruling. It says it replies in 30 to 120 days, so apply early.
• There’s no blanket “China tariff”. Whatever you’ve read about US tariffs, the UK doesn’t add an extra tariff on all Chinese goods. You pay the normal UK rate for that code.
• Some products carry extra duty. Certain Chinese ceramic tableware and kitchenware, for example, carries anti-dumping duty of 13.1% to 36.1% depending on the exporter. To claim a lower named-exporter rate, you need the exporter’s exact details and a specific invoice declaration; otherwise the highest rate applies.
• Some goods are duty-free. Many tariff lines are 0%, but VAT is separate: most goods pay 20%.

Here’s one sea-freight order worked through that way. All figures are assumed, with no other valuation adjustments, the £270 covering everything up to the final warehouse, and 20% VAT.

Also ask forwarders what triggers extra charges such as port storage, demurrage or redelivery, and who pays them.

Do You Pay VAT on Imports from China?

Yes. Import VAT, usually 20%, is due on most goods from China. Whether it’s a cost or something you get back depends on your VAT registration:

• If you’re VAT-registered, you can usually reclaim import VAT on goods you own and use for business activities that give you a right to recover VAT, normally with a C79 certificate or your monthly postponed VAT statement in your name as evidence.
• If you’re UK VAT-registered and the import qualifies, postponed VAT accounting (PVA) lets you account for import VAT on your VAT Return instead of paying it at the border. You don’t need approval, but your customs agent needs your written instructions before the declaration. See HMRC’s PVA guidance.
• If you’re not VAT-registered, import VAT is a straight cost, though you don’t charge VAT on sales. For a UK business, registration is compulsory once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the previous 12 months, or is expected to in the next 30 days alone, and some VAT on stock you still hold can then be reclaimed, within limits.

Do You Pay Tax on Alibaba, AliExpress or Temu Orders?

Yes, but how you pay depends on the order value. For non-excise goods (so not alcohol or tobacco) that are outside the UK when sold, in a consignment worth £135 or less (not counting shipping and insurance shown separately), the seller or online marketplace charges VAT at checkout and no customs duty is due. For those consignments, if you’re VAT-registered and give the seller your VAT number, they shouldn’t charge VAT; you account for it on your VAT Return under the reverse charge. Above £135, normal import VAT and customs rules apply: whether duty is due depends on the commodity code, and PVA may be available if the business and import qualify. HMRC explains the rules for direct sellers and online marketplaces.

That explains a common worry: “My DDP quote already includes taxes, so why has Alibaba added 20%?” Platform VAT and duties covered by shipping terms are different systems. Check your order record for which VAT was charged and in whose name, compare it with the DDP breakdown, and get a written answer from the seller before you confirm the order. Splitting a consignment worth more than £135 into smaller parcels to get under the limit is not allowed, and the government plans to remove the £135 duty relief by October 2028 at the latest.

Is It Worth Importing from China?

It is when your landed cost per unit clearly beats what a UK wholesaler charges, and that isn’t always the case. Bulky, low-value goods such as garden furniture can cost more landed from China than from UK stock once MOQs and sea freight are priced in, and cheap small items can lose their edge once freight and import VAT are added. Count samples and testing too, compare on the same VAT basis, and don’t pick a product because it’s on a “most profitable items” list.

Shipping from China to the UK

Pick the shipping method by size, weight and urgency. Pay even more attention to the shipping terms and the customs arrangements behind them: together they decide who arranges each leg, who pays the import taxes and whose name goes on the import declaration.

What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship from China to the UK?

For bulky or heavy goods that aren’t urgent, sea freight usually gives the lowest cost per unit: LCL (sharing a container) for smaller loads, and a full container once your volume justifies it. On small shipments, compare full quotes, because minimum and handling charges can cancel out the saving. Express and air are faster and suit samples and urgent or high-value goods.

How Long Does Shipping from China to the UK Take?

Typical door-to-door times to the UK are 3 to 7 days by express courier, 5 to 14 days by air freight and 4 to 8 weeks by sea. Transit times have shifted with route changes around the Red Sea, so treat these as a guide rather than a promise.

To get a delivery date you can plan around, ask for each stage separately: when the goods will be ready at the factory, the planned departure and arrival dates, and how long clearance and UK delivery usually take. Check where the quoted transit time starts and ends, because “20 days” port to port is not 20 days to your door.

EXW vs FOB vs DDP

These three Incoterms, the standard trade terms, decide who arranges and pays for each stage:

FOB is a sea-freight term. For a sea-freight order, compare the FOB and DDP options side by side.

How Does DDP from China Work?

Under DDP, the supplier quotes one price to your door and takes on the freight, UK import clearance, duty and import VAT. That’s what the Incoterms say. UK customs law, though, looks at whose name is on the declaration. With some courier and consolidated DDP services, the UK buyer ends up declared as the importer. If an agent declares in your name, you’re treated as the declarant and you’re liable for any customs debt, including duty on an undervalued invoice. HMRC normally has three years from when the customs debt arose to tell you about underpaid duty. And for a normal GB import, a Chinese seller that isn’t established in the UK generally needs an indirect customs representative, which declares in its own name on the seller’s behalf.

A warning sign: a DDP shipment reaches your door, the freight was cheap, and there’s no paperwork showing any import duty or VAT was paid. Before you accept a DDP quote, ask:

1. Whose EORI number goes on the declaration as importer?
2. What value will be declared, and can I see the declaration?
3. What will I receive to show duty and VAT were paid, and can I reclaim that VAT?
4. If HMRC queries the import later, who deals with it?

Vague answers can mean the low price came from leaving the risk with you. And since you generally can’t reclaim import VAT shown in someone else’s name, a VAT-registered buyer may do better with FOB and their own forwarder.

How to Choose a Freight Forwarder

Ask each forwarder whether they handle UK customs clearance, take small LCL loads and include UK delivery, what surcharges apply, and who you’ll deal with if something goes wrong. Compare two or three quotes on the same shipment details.

Then work in this order. Agree the terms and collection address with your supplier, send your forwarder the order details and ask for a quote that includes UK clearance and delivery. If the supplier is arranging freight, get the details of the forwarder handling the UK side and speak to them before the goods leave, not when they’re sitting at the port. Your customs agent will need your EORI number, commodity codes and written instructions (see the documents section below).

Consolidating Orders from Several Suppliers

If your order comes from several factories, you can collect it in one place in China and ship it together. Ask your forwarder to compare a combined shipment with separate ones, and your customs agent how it will be declared. We consolidate and repack goods from different suppliers at a 6,000㎡ warehouse in Yiwu, and consolidation and repacking are included in our quote. We can then ship by sea, air, rail or express to your door on DDP terms, to your own forwarder, or straight to Amazon’s warehouses.

Samples, Deposits and Pre-Shipment Inspection

Approve a sample, pay a deposit, and have the goods inspected before you pay the balance. Once the goods leave China, your leverage drops sharply.

• Keep the approved sample. Keep one and ask the supplier to keep another; the bulk order is checked against it.
• Pay in stages. Agree a deposit before production and the balance after inspection, before shipment. Don’t pay a new supplier everything up front.
• Inspect against your spec and the sample. Check quantities, measurements, workmanship, function, labels and packaging, and agree in advance what happens to faulty units. For high-value orders, you can also have an inspector watch the container being loaded.

Plan the whole timeline, not just transit: sampling, production, a shipping slot, the journey and customs. Chinese factories close for Chinese New Year and can take weeks to get back to normal, so confirm dates before promising stock.

Our quality control covers every order. We check goods before, during and after production and before shipment, and every unit is checked when it arrives at our warehouse. If we find a problem, we send you photos and video straight away, and faulty units don’t ship without your decision: you choose between rework or replacement by the factory, a refund, or shipping at a discount. Our payment terms are a 30% deposit, with the balance paid before shipment.

What Documents Do You Need to Import from China?

You’ll need a commercial invoice, a packing list, the transport document for your shipment, any licence or certificates your product needs, and your EORI number. Confirm these are in place, or how they’ll be issued, before the goods leave China:

Do You Need an EORI Number?

Yes, if you import for your business. You need an EORI number starting with GB. It’s free and usually issued straight away, though HMRC checks can take up to five working days. Contrary to several guides, you don’t need to be VAT-registered, and sole traders can apply: you only enter a VAT number on the EORI application if you have one. Goods only for personal use that aren’t controlled don’t need an EORI.

If a supplier’s forwarder asks for your “company number or VAT number”, give them your EORI and ask who’s making the import declaration.

Working with a Customs Agent

An agent can declare in your name (direct representation), which leaves you responsible for the declaration, or in their own name on your behalf (indirect representation), which makes you both liable. Agree which in writing. For PVA, the agent needs your written instruction and VAT number before the declaration goes in.

On the China side, the supplier or its forwarder handles export clearance under FOB and DDP; under EXW, it’s your job. Either way, check the description, quantity and value on the invoice and packing list match what’s in the boxes.

How to Clear Customs and Pay Import Duty

For parcels, the courier or Royal Mail declares the goods and, if any VAT, duty or handling fee is still due from you, sends a bill before delivering. For freight, your customs agent declares the goods and either invoices you or pays through a duty deferment account, which bundles charges into one monthly direct debit.

• Paperwork problems cause delays. Missing, invalid or mismatched documents can hold up clearance, and HMRC can examine the paperwork or the goods before releasing them. If a shipment stalls, contact whoever is clearing it with your tracking number or declaration reference and ask exactly which document they need.
• Collect promptly. Goods left at the port or depot run up storage charges.
• Download your VAT evidence. If you’re VAT-registered and the import was declared in your business’s name, ask your customs agent for the declaration reference and which EORI and VAT numbers they used. Then find the import on your monthly postponed VAT statement from the Customs Declaration Service if you used PVA, or on your C79 certificate if you paid the import VAT. HMRC’s guidance says to keep customs records for at least four years and VAT records for at least six.
• Correct mistakes. Report underpaid duty to HMRC as soon as you find it. Claim back overpaid duty through HMRC’s repayment process, normally within three years. VAT-registered businesses correct overpaid import VAT on their VAT Return.

Get Your Next China Order Right

Not sure whether a DDP quote is hiding costs you’ll end up paying? Want your supplier checked and your goods inspected before you release the balance? Tell us what you’re buying and where it needs to go. Get a Quote.

FAQ

Are any goods exempt from UK import duty?

Many tariff lines have a 0% duty rate, which you can check on the Trade Tariff service. VAT is a separate question: some goods, such as most children’s clothes, are zero-rated for VAT, but most pay 20%. There are also reliefs with conditions, such as for goods you exported from the UK and are bringing back unchanged.

Can I claim back import VAT on goods from China?

Usually yes, if you’re VAT-registered, you own the goods and use them for business activities that give you a right to recover VAT, and you have evidence in your name, normally a C79 certificate or your postponed VAT statement. If a DDP seller imported the goods in their own name, you generally can’t reclaim import VAT shown on their documents.

What happens if I don’t pay import duty?

The goods aren’t released. A parcel is normally held by Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier for about three weeks and then returned to the sender. For freight, the goods stay at the port or depot until the charges are paid, and storage fees build up.

Can I import a car from China to the UK?

Yes, but it’s a separate process from importing stock. You make a customs declaration and pay the taxes, tell HMRC within 14 days of arrival, get vehicle approval, register and tax it with the DVLA, and arrange insurance before using it on the road. See the government’s guide to importing vehicles into the UK.