C285: How to Reclaim Overpaid Customs Duty in the UK
You find out weeks later that a shipment was declared under the wrong commodity code, or with a value that included costs it should not have. The duty is paid, the goods are sold — is the money gone? Not necessarily. Form C285 and its online equivalent in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) are HMRC’s […]
Duty Deferment Account in the UK: How to Set One Up
Every consignment you import into Great Britain can trigger a payment before the goods are released: Customs Duty, import VAT, sometimes excise. Pay them one shipment at a time and your cash is tied up at the border every week. A duty deferment account in the UK changes that rhythm — HMRC collects everything you […]
Commercial Samples to the UK: Customs Treatment
A buyer in Manchester asks to see the product before placing an order. You post a box of swatches, a cut shoe upper or a few labelled bottles of sauce — and the parcel is held for duty and VAT. It does not have to be that way. Commercial samples to the UK can enter […]
Tariff Rate Quotas in the UK: How to Claim Them
Two importers bring in the same product, under the same commodity code, in the same month. One pays the full rate of duty, the other pays a reduced rate. The difference is not a secret discount: it is a tariff rate quota, and the second importer simply claimed it on the declaration. This guide explains […]
Plastic Packaging Tax: A Guide for UK Importers (2026)
A pallet of shampoo from Poland, a container of empty PET bottles from Turkey and a shipment of garden furniture wrapped in plastic film all have one thing in common once they reach a UK port: the plastic around them may fall under Plastic Packaging Tax. Many UK importers still treat PPT as a manufacturer’s […]
Import Plastics to the UK: UK REACH Rules for Polymers and Articles
A container of polypropylene granules and a container of finished plastic crates can carry the same supplier invoice, cross the same port and land in the same warehouse. Under chemicals law they are different things. Anyone planning to import plastics to the UK needs to know which of the two they are bringing in, because […]
Amazon FBA UK Customs: Import VAT and Duty for Overseas Sellers
Most cross-border e-commerce problems begin when a customer clicks “buy”. Fulfilment by Amazon inverts that order: your stock clears the border weeks before anyone orders it. That single fact is why Amazon FBA UK customs obligations look nothing like those that apply to a parcel posted from Poznan to a buyer in Leeds — and […]
Import stali z UK: kontyngenty i cła antydumpingowe w 2026
Kupujesz belki, blachę albo rury u brytyjskiego dostawcy i w ofercie widzisz zdanie: „od lipca obowiązuje nowy limit, powyżej niego 50% cła”. Brzmi groźnie — ale w większości przypadków nie dotyczy Twojej przesyłki. Import stali z UK do Polski rozliczasz według przepisów unijnych, a głośny brytyjski środek z 1 lipca 2026 roku działa w przeciwnym […]
Importing Timber and Wood Products to the UK: Rules for 2026
A pallet of oak flooring, a container of plywood and the crate a machine arrived in are three different regulatory problems, even though all three are wood. Importing timber to the UK means clearing three gates: legality due diligence, plant health, and — for the packaging itself — a treatment mark stamped into the wood. […]
Import tworzyw sztucznych z UK: REACH i kody HS 39
Granulat polipropylenu, folia techniczna i gotowy wyrób z tego samego zakładu w Manchesterze trafiają do trzech różnych pozycji taryfowych, a przy okazji do dwóch różnych reżimów chemicznych. Import tworzyw z UK wygląda na prostą operację handlową dopóki przesyłka nie utknie na granicy, bo importer nie miał rejestracji, nie miał oświadczenia o pochodzeniu albo próbował sprowadzić […]