Declare commercial goods you’re bringing into Great Britain in your accompanied baggage or a small vehicle
Find out how to declare goods you’re bringing into Great Britain to sell or use for your business that are under the total value of £2,500 and meet certain other conditions.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Commercial goods in your accompanied baggage, also known as merchandise in baggage, are goods which you plan to sell or use in your business, where:
- a commercial transport operator does not carry them for you or you do not pay them to carry them for you
- you’ve travelled to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) carrying goods either in:
- your accompanied baggage
- a small vehicle that can carry no more than 9 people and weighs 3.5 tonnes or less
You must declare all commercial goods. There is no duty-free allowance for commercial goods you bring in to sell or use in your business.
You can use the merchandise in baggage online declaration service to check the Customs Duty and VAT due on commercial goods you intend to bring in your accompanied baggage or small vehicle. You can then declare and pay the amount you owe.
There is a different way to declare:
Before you start
Make one declaration for each journey. You can add goods to a declaration you’ve already made, as long as all the goods combined do not exceed a total value of £2,500.
You can make a simple declaration using the merchandise in baggage online declaration service to declare accompanied commercial goods that:
- are coming to Great Britain
- have a value of less than £2,500
- weigh less than 1,000kg in total
- are not restricted or controlled goods — for example, that need a licence
- are not alcohol, tobacco or fuel (excise goods)
If your goods do not meet these conditions, you need to make a full import declaration.
You cannot make a simple online declaration if your goods are being put into or taken out of a customs special procedure or if you intend to claim relief for these goods.
Check if your goods are restricted or controlled in the UK Integrated Online Tariff.
To check if merchandise in baggage is eligible for relief read Reliefs from Import Duty.
What you’ll need
You must get an EORI number at least 48 hours before travelling if your business does not already have one.
To make a declaration you’ll also need:
- the name of the person carrying the goods
- your customs agent’s name and address (if you’re using one)
- the total value and weight of the goods
- where your goods were made (the country of origin)
- your card payment details
- the vehicle registration number if travelling by vehicle
If you’re a customs agent you should ask your client to get an EORI number before you declare on their behalf.
Calculating your payment
If you need to work out the value of your goods in pounds sterling (GBP), you must only use HMRC’s exchange rates. This service will convert the value for you using these rates.
Goods made outside the EU and declared through this service are charged a flat rate of Customs Duty at 3.3%. There is no duty to pay on EU goods. VAT is then charged on the combined amount of duty and value of the goods.
If you do not want to pay this flat rate of duty (for example, because the rate of Customs Duty is less than 3.3%) you can make one of the following:
- a full import declaration
- an oral declaration at the ‘goods to declare’ channel or the red point phone in the customs area to declare your goods and pay what you owe — your goods must meet all the conditions for making a simple online declaration
You can check the list of UK airports and seaports with red channels and red point phones.
Declare your goods
Use this service for commercial goods carried in accompanied baggage or small vehicles, to:
- make a new declaration
- add goods to a declaration you’ve already made
The earliest you can use this service to declare and pay is 5 days before you enter Great Britain.
Declaring goods made or produced in the EU
When you declare your commercial goods, you need to declare each item you bought. When you declare your items, you may not need to pay Customs Duty on items where all the following are true:
- they were grown or made in the EU using only EU ingredients or materials
- you bought them in the EU
- you are bringing them in from an EU country
If these are true, you can benefit from the preferential arrangements and not pay Customs Duty. You must:
- have evidence these are true for each item you claim these rates for
- be able to show this evidence if asked by a Border Force officer
The level of evidence you need depends on the total value of all the items you claim these rates for.
If the total value is less than £1,000
If the total value of all the items you declare is less than £1,000 the evidence for each item can be:
- a label or packaging showing it was grown or made in the EU
- evidence it was hand-made or grown in the EU (for example, a document or written note from the person or business you bought it from)
A Border Force officer might ask to see this evidence. If you are unable to show this, you will have to pay any Customs Duty you owe.
If the total value is more than £1,000
If the total value of all the items you declare is over £1,000, you can claim a zero rate of Customs Duty if you can prove each item was grown or made in the EU.
This proof could be an invoice or document from the EU producer or manufacturer which clearly identifies the items and includes a ‘statement on origin’.
The ‘statement on origin’ is formal wording from the producer or manufacturer which confirms:
- the EU originating status of the items
- their registered exporter number (if the total value of all the items you declare is over £5,500)
To prove this, you could also show that you know how the items were made in the EU. You can prove this using documents or records which show you have ‘importer’s knowledge’.
A Border Force officer might ask to see this evidence. If you are unable to show this, you will have to pay any Customs Duty you owe.
After you’ve declared your goods
Once you’ve arrived at a point of entry into Great Britain with your goods, check what you need to declare.
If you made a simple online declaration
If you have declared all your goods through the merchandise in baggage online declaration service before arriving, you can go through the green (nothing to declare) channel. Take your declaration and receipts or invoices with you.
If you made a full declaration
If you submitted a full customs declaration using customs declaration software, you’ll need to arrive your declaration.
Getting a refund
There is a different process to get refunds for commercial goods.
If you arrive without making a simple online declaration
If you arrive with goods that you have not declared using the merchandise in baggage online declaration service, you must declare them.
You can make an oral declaration at the ‘Goods to Declare’ red channel or the red point phone in the customs area. You can only do this if your total goods are £2,500 or less in value and meet all the other criteria for making a simple online declaration.
Check the list of UK airports and seaports with red channels and red point phones.
Updates to this page
Last updated 15 January 2024 + show all updates
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The threshold of the maximum value for making simplified declarations of merchandise in baggage has risen to £2,500.
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You must now arrive your declaration while the goods are at the customs border, rather than within 24 hours.
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Information about Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) has been removed. You can no longer use CHIEF for import declarations unless you have permission from HMRC.
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A link to a list of ports and airports with red channels or red phone points has been added.
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This page has been updated with information about how to add items to your declaration and declaring items brought into Great Britain from the EU.
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First published.