Customs duty charges information on International prizes

The Customs charges applicable to the importation of any goods, whether new or used, would be customs duty at the appropriate % duty rate plus VAT at the standard rate of 20% or zero rated whichever is applicable.

Customs duty becomes payable if the goods are over £135 in value and is usually charged as a percentage of the value of the goods. The amount of customs duty charged will depend on the type of goods and their country of origin. Duty is charged on the price paid for the goods including any local sales taxes plus postage, packing and insurance costs.

Import VAT is charged at the same rate that applies to similar goods sold in the UK and applies to commercial goods over £15 in value. The value of the goods for import VAT is based on the:

- basic value of goods, plus
- postage, packing and insurance, plus
- any import (Customs or Excise) duties charged.

If the value of the goods exceeds the relief limits, you must pay duty and/or tax on the full value, not just the value above the allowance.

To enable you to determine the rate of import duty for each item they must be given a commodity code based on the description of the goods. The commodity code for imports is a ten-digit number, which equates to the description of the item. Every item will have a code number - however diverse or obscure.

To obtain a commodity code to identify the duty rate for any item the Tariff Classification Helpline will give you this code based on your description of the goods. Their email address is classification.enquiries@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and opening hours 1pm to 5pm Monday – Thursday, 1pm to 4.30pm on Fridays. The duty rate and any restrictions and prohibitions can then be obtained from the National Helpline 0300 200 3700.

A free online version of volume 2 of the UK Trade Tariff, which contains the commodity codes and lists the duty rates including any reduced tariffs, can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff.

Further information can be found in Notice 143 ‘A Guide for International Post Users’, which can be found on the https://www.gov.uk website by typing in the Search box – Notice 143, Section 3 (Charges), or using the link below.

Notice 143
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users/notice-143-a-guide-for-international-post-users
This notice explains what happens when you import or export goods by post through Royal Mail or Parcelforce Worldwide.

If the goods are sent by one of the international courier services, such as DHL or FedEx, they will clear your goods for you, deliver the goods to your door and bill you for the customs charges plus their clearance fee.