About importsexports.uk

importsexports.uk is written for small businesses in Great Britain that are starting to buy goods from abroad or sell goods overseas, or are doing it for the first few times. It sets out each step in the order a business meets it, with the rule and its source alongside.

About importsexports.uk

Buying from abroad, or selling overseas

A business that starts buying from a supplier abroad, or selling to a customer overseas, meets a series of requirements along the way. There is a number to register, a code to find for each product, a value to work out, and duty, VAT, a declaration and records to deal with. GOV.UK and HMRC set the rules for each of these, and the rules change from time to time.

Each step, in the order you meet it

importsexports.uk works through importing and exporting in the order a business meets each step, starting with an EORI number (the reference HMRC uses to identify a business making a customs declaration) and continuing through to the paperwork needed once goods are moving. Each guide draws on a named GOV.UK or HMRC page, kept close to its own wording, with the date that page was read sitting next to the point it supports.

The guides cover:

  • EORI numbers: who needs one and how to apply
  • commodity codes: how to find the right one using GOV.UK's Trade Tariff tool
  • Customs Duty and import VAT: how they are charged and how to pay them
  • customs declarations: who can make one and what it has to contain
  • the eleven Incoterms® 2020 rules, explained in everyday words
  • exporting: licences, proof of origin and VAT zero rating
  • the separate rules for moving goods to and from Northern Ireland

General information, not advice

importsexports.uk gives general information rather than tax or customs advice. It is not HMRC, a customs agent or a freight business, and it makes no declarations on anyone's behalf.

Every step in order

From an EORI number to the paperwork needed once goods are moving, covered in the order a business meets it.

Sourced and dated

Each guide draws on a named GOV.UK or HMRC page, with the date it was read sitting next to the rule it supports.

General information, not advice

importsexports.uk is not HMRC, a customs agent or a freight business, and makes no declarations.

How each fact is checked and dated

Customs and tax rules on GOV.UK and HMRC change from time to time, sometimes without much notice. Where this site states a rule, it names the GOV.UK or HMRC page the rule came from and the date that page was read, so you can go back to the source yourself and see whether anything has moved on since.

Why the date matters

A threshold, a time limit or a procedure that was correct on the date shown may no longer be current by the time you read it. The date next to a rule tells you how recent that reading is, and the linked page lets you check it against what GOV.UK or HMRC currently say.

Reporting an error

If a rule on this site no longer matches what GOV.UK or HMRC say, or a quotation looks wrong, write to importsexports with the page and the rule in question.

Public sector information

GOV.UK and HMRC publish the rules, time limits and tool descriptions quoted on this site, and each one is reproduced close to its own wording with the date it was read.

That material is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, which permits public sector information to be copied, published and adapted provided the source is acknowledged.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.