Selling to Great Britain

The market in Great Britain is one of the largest in Europe and although this country is no longer a member of the European Union, it is not worth giving up on expansion in the UK. And if you are aware of this, but are terrified by issues related to customs clearance, changing regulations or settlement of transactions, be sure to read our article. We have collected all the most important information about selling to Great Britain.

Of course, by checking the market, but if you are reading this article, we are sure that you have already done this part. If you are determined and want to start selling to Great Britain, the first step should be to obtain an EORI number and EORI GB, if you will also be responsible for import clearance. The second one is the British equivalent of the EORI number. You can read more about the number itself in our article with a similar title “What is an EORI number and how to get it”.

IMPORTANT! The application for EORI GB has to be submitted to the British tax office, i.e. HMRC (His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs).

The next step is to check whether your goods meet British quality and safety standards. If you are not sure, it is better to ask a customs agent who operates on this market on a daily basis. You can obtain such knowledge and much more during our consultation, if you are interested, write to us at customs@dtalimited.com.

Then, your goods have to be appropriately marked (in accordance with UKCA or CE requirements). Finally, you have to prepare customs documents.

What documents you will need depends on whether you will only have export clearance (in Poland or another EU country) or also import clearance (in Great Britain).

The first applies to all entrepreneurs who sell to Great Britain. The second one, in principle, lies with the importer.

However, it will apply to you if you store your goods in the UK and send them to customers from there. And also if it is included in the contract between you and the client or you want to gain competitiveness in the market by saving your clients additional work.

To clear export customs you will need:

• a commercial invoice (containing information about the goods, their value and country of origin, customs tariff codes, incoterms)
• a packing list
• an export declaration (filed at a Polish customs office) – the fastest and safest way to do this is with a customs agency
• certificates of quality or conformity (if required for specific goods)
• transport documents (e.g. CMR waybill)

All documents will be necessary for customs declaration. These documents should be sent to your customs agent who will use the appropriate system to report them to the customs office. The Polish customs office will verify everything, then approve the declaration and the goods can leave the EU borders. They may also ask for additional explanations or documents or carry out a physical inspection of the goods.

IMPORTANT! Even if you have passed customs without any problems, your goods may be subject to a random customs check en route. If you have all the documents and permits, this is just a formality.

When your goods leave the EU border, you will receive a message (old IE599 code) CC599C – codes in the new AES+ system, which is an electronic confirmation of the exit of goods from the EU, and thus the completion of the export procedure. It may be required as evidence in the case of tax settlements (e.g. with a zero VAT rate). You can read more about this in our article on the DTA blog “IE 599 message – everything you need to know”.

Finally, you have to provide the carrier with all the necessary documents, i.e.: commercial invoice, waybill, confirmation of customs clearance (CC529C message).

If you are also responsible for import customs clearance, you will need the aforementioned EORI GB number. If you do not know how to do it, you can contact our official partner – a Polish accounting office in Great Britain. SN Accounts has been supporting entrepreneurs in the field of taxes on the British market for almost 15 years.

In addition to the EORI GB number, you will need similar documents as for export clearance, i.e.:

• Commercial Invoice – with data on the goods, their value, quantity and country of origin
• Packing list – specification with a detailed description of the contents of the shipment
• Waybill – e.g. CMR, AWB, BL (transport document)
• Certificates and licenses (if required) – e.g. phytosanitary, veterinary
• Document confirming the origin of the goods (if you use preferential customs rates, e.g. based on the free trade agreement between the UK and the EU).

You have to submit a customs declaration to the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). In addition to the above documents, you will also need: the customs tariff code of the goods (Commodity Code), the value of the goods (including transport and insurance costs, if applicable), delivery terms (according to INCOTERMS, e.g. FOB, DDP, EXW). Duty and tax will be calculated on this basis. How high it will be will depend primarily on the goods themselves, but not only. You can read more about this on the DTA blog “How to calculate customs duty and what determines its amount”.

Let us remind you that if something is not clear to you, you can use our consultation or entrust the entire process to us. Experts from our subsidiary in the UK will take care of all formalities on your behalf.

In the case of import clearance, in some cases you can use a simplified customs clearance procedure, e.g. a bonded warehouse – the goods are stored without having to pay customs duty and VAT until they are released for circulation.

After acceptance by British customs officers of the declaration and payment of the duties (duty and tax – as described below), the goods can be transported to the end customer or to a warehouse.

IMPORTANT! The importer is obliged to keep the documentation related to customs clearance (invoices, customs declarations, payment confirmations) for 6 years in case of an inspection by HMRC.

If you send your goods to the UK as an exporter, you settle in accordance with the regulations of the country in which your company is registered. As it has been mentioned, if you have confirmation of the export of goods outside its borders, you can apply a zero VAT rate.

However, if you also have import clearance on your side, the matter is a bit more complicated.

If the price of the goods you sell is lower than £135, VAT registration in the UK will be mandatory for you. This applies to you regardless of whether you sell your products through your own store or through sales platforms such as Amazon or eBay. In the case of the latter, registration is enough, because it is the platforms that deal with the settlement and payment of tax to the British tax office.

You must also become a VAT payer if you store your goods in the warehouse in the UK. It does not matter whether it is an Amazon warehouse or any other.

If the value of the goods is higher than £135 or you do not store the goods in the UK, you must settle the import VAT, which in the UK is usually 20% and is calculated on the value of the goods, transport costs and customs duties.

As it has been mentioned, if you need support with accounting in the UK, we recommend contacting SN Accounts, our official partner.

If you are interested in selling to the UK, we have good news for you, now you do not have to look for many companies that will help you with this. By cooperating with DTA, we will help you not only with customs clearance but also with transport. We offer a regular groupage line to and from the UK, but also full vehicle transports.

That’s not all! As it has been mentioned, we have been cooperating with SN Accounts, an accounting company in the UK, for years. We provide assistance in this area in Poland.

Finally – warehouses, both in Poland and in the UK – we can help you here, too.

If you have any questions or would like to start cooperation, please write to us at customs@dtalimited.com or fill out the form.