Imports of low value goods are any consignments, made up of goods of a negligible value, that are dispatched direct from a third country (non-EU) country to a consignee in the EU which may be admitted free of customs import duty and/or import VAT.
Currently this means that:
The intrinsic value is the price paid or payable for the goods excluding postage and packing and insurance costs.
The importation of goods of a negligible value without payment of customs duty is provided for in Chapter V of Regulation (EC) 1186/2009.
The Value Added Tax (Imported Goods) Relief Order 1984:746, Schedule 2, Group 8 item 8 provides relief from import VAT on consignments of goods. Legislation introduced under Section 76 of the Finance Bill 2011 reduced the import VAT relief from £18 to £15 on commercial consignments, excluding alcohol, tobacco, perfumes and toilet waters from 1 November 2011.
Yes.
The import VAT and customs duty reliefs for low value items do not apply to:
In addition, you must not use the low value arrangements to import goods subject to Prohibitions and Restrictions, for example, controlled drugs, firearms and fake branded goods/labels which may subject to Intellectual Property Rights.
If you require further information and guidance about the type of goods that are subject to EU and UK Prohibitions and Restrictions see Volume 1, Part 3 of the UK Integrated Tariff, or visit the Business Link website.
a) If you are importing single items to a single consignee/recipient and the intrinsic value of the goods is either below £15 or between £15 - £135, you can enter the goods to HMRC using a partly completed import entry.
b) If you regularly declare bulk low value imports to several consignees you can apply to HMRC to bulk your imports. This is known as the Low Value Bulking Imports (LVBI) concession and prior authorisation from HMRC is required.
LVBI allows a single import entry declaration to be made to which is supported by a manifest identifying the individual items in the consignment in sufficient detail for Customs control purposes.
Import declarations to HMRC for low value goods must be entered to us on Form C88/SAD (or electronic equivalent) using the correct Customs Procedure Code (CPC) for the imported goods.
Please refer to the Volume 3, Part 3 and Appendix E2 of the UK Integrated Tariff for full details of how to complete C88 declarations and for completion notes for the each CPCs respectively.
You do not need authorisation for imports of single items to a single consignee.
However, prior authorisation is required to use the LVBI concession. If you wish to become approved to use the LVBI you should contact National Import Reliefs Unit (NIRU) at the following address for an application form:
The National Import Reliefs Unit
HM Revenue & Customs
Abbey House
Head Street
Enniskillen
County Fermanagh
Northern Ireland
BT74 7JL
Tel: 028 6633 4557
Fax: 028 6634 4571
Email: niru@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
No. If the total intrinsic value of a consignment exceeds the £15 or £135 thresholds they must be entered together and the import VAT (and customs duty if applicable) paid on the complete consignment.
For example a single customer buys three separate items each valued at £14 at the same time from the same retailer and they are delivered together. This is a single consignment and they must be entered together and import VAT paid on the entire value £42 of the goods. They must not be entered separately to claim the import relief on each item.
Yes.
Volume 3, Part 3 and Appendix E2 of the UK Integrated Tariff provides detailed instructions on the completion and criteria for entering low value goods and which CPC to use.
The following is given as a guide only:
Intrinsic value of the goods |
Imported from |
CPC |
|---|---|---|
£15 or less |
Outside the EU |
40 00 C07 |
£15 or less |
From one of the EU Special Territories* |
49 00 C07 |
£15 to £135 |
Outside the EU |
40 00 004 |
£15 to £135 |
From one of the EU Special Territories* |
49 00 004 |
Intrinsic value of the goods |
Imported from |
CPC |
|---|---|---|
£15 or less |
Outside the EU |
40 00 003 |
£15 or less |
From one of the EU Special Territories* |
49 00 003 |
£15 to £135 |
Outside the EU |
40 00 005 |
£15 to £135 |
From one of the EU Special Territories* |
49 00 005 |
* Special Territories of the EU are countries that are part of the EU for customs purposes, but not for fiscal purposes. Goods imported from these countries therefore are free of customs duty, but subject to excise duty and import VAT. The Special Territories are: The Ǻland Islands (Finland), The Canary Islands (Spain), The Channel Islands, The French Overseas Departments of Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique and Reunion and Mount Athos also known as Agion Poros (Greece).
No. The LVBI concession must not be used with another simplified import procedure, for example, Customs Freight Simplified Procedures (CFSP).
You can import low value commercial goods to a single consignee, ie low value goods being imported to a single customer, but you must not use these arrangements for samples.
You must not use the approved LVBI concession for imports of low value commercial goods. This is one of the conditions of the LVBI authorisation.
HMRC policy is that you must not enter goods under one of the low value procedures that are destined for a consignee in another EU Member State.
However, HMRC are currently waiting for a ruling from the EU Commission on this point, at present and until further notice, you may enter goods here in the UK that are for a consignee in another Member State.
A maximum of 99 low value items may be entered on a single import entry.
This rule also applies to bulk items entered on a manifest under the LVBI concession. For example, if you have one manifest covering 156 items you must complete at least 2 import entries one for 99 items the other for the remaining 57.
If you are entering goods that have an intrinsic value of £15 or less you do not need to classify your goods or enter the commodity code in Box 33 of your import entry.
However, goods entered under the low value arrangements that have an intrinsic value of between £15 and £135 must be accurately classified and show the correct commodity code.
For single items the accurate commodity code must be shown in Box 33 of the import entry.
Goods entered under the LVBI concession must show the correct commodity code for each item on the accompanying manifest alongside the description of the goods. In Box 33 of the import entry the commodity code of the goods from the consignment which represents the highest value should be entered. For example, if you have 50 items on a manifest, and 30 of the items are t-shirts valued at £40, and 20 are necklaces valued at £75, you should enter the correct commodity code for the necklaces.
For help classifying your imported goods visit the Business Link classification pages.
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