What costs are involved in importing to the UK?
There are a number of seemingly hidden costs which are often overlooked by new sellers who get a big shock when they total up the final cost of an import. When bringing bulk orders into the UK, you will need to budget for all the additional costs that you will incur. To help you get prepared, we put together this handy little quick-guide, so that you don’t get too many surprises.
Shipping
This is the least-likely cost to be overlooked, as suppliers add the cost of shipping on to the total when you place your order with them. Shipping rates vary a great deal depending on the size and weight of the order, and the country of origin. Many sellers are surprised when their supplier informs them that the shipping costs will be more than the cost of the order. This is common when buying bulk items from countries such as India and China where manufacturing costs are cheap, but international services are not.
VAT
VAT stands for ‘value added tax’ which is the tax that is charged on services that VAT registered businesses provide inside the European Union. It is worth taking the time to find out whether you have to pay VAT on your order before you order from your supplier. VAT is charged on all goods which have been imported from outside of the EU, making it slightly more expensive to import products from the US and Asia. When importing, you will pay the same VAT rate (17.5%) as if you bought the goods from inside the UK.
Duty
Imports may be liable for duty, depending on the classification of the goods and where they came from. Any goods imported from inside the EU will not be liable for import duty. The value of the duty is assessed by Customs based on the declared value of the goods and the shipping costs. Therefore bear in mind that keeping shipping costs down is very important as you will pay a duty on them also.
Note that while goods from inside the EU will not be liable for import duty, you may need to pay excise duty.
For more information on importing to the UK, check out this SaleHoo guide on The Rundown on Importing to the UK.