Many UK residents shop internationally online, especially when they cannot find items they want through UK shops. In fact, international purchases account for a quarter (25 percent) of all e-commerce sales1.

When the amount of an international purchase exceeds £135, you need to pay customs charges – made up of import duty and VAT.

Nobody likes having their money taken out of their pockets, but you only have to pay these fees if you keep the item. If you return the item then you can get your customs duty and import tax refunded. But you might need to dedicate some time to it – getting a tax return isn’t easy.

There are quite a few forms to fill out and HMRC takes time to process these claims. How long is that exactly? And what money is refundable?

What are you getting back?

HMRC isn’t responsible for refunding everything you’ve paid in international customs fees. It is vital to know what you can claim for before you initiate the tax refund claim because they may refuse you without explanation if you ask for what’s not refundable.

What customs charges can you claim back?

Customs duty

Customs or import duty is a tax paid directly to HMRC for certain goods imported into the UK. This tax is paid for all orders over £135 and for goods produced outside the EU.

Customs duty isn’t fixed – HMRC looks into the type of goods, the value of goods, and the country of origin before they set the duty.

Before you reclaim customs duty with Duty Refunds, you can use our calculator. Enter the purchase cost, product description, and the courier used, and you will get an estimated duty rate.

We created the online calculator to serve multiple purposes:

  1. Check the duty and VAT rate you get back

Before you ask for a refund, check the estimated amount you will receive. No matter how small the amount, we advise you to start a claim because it is free of charge!

  1. Estimate duty and VAT you’ll have to pay before you order

You can use the calculator to see how much in customs fees you will pay for your international purchase. It can help you predict all the costs upfront and avoid nasty surprises.

  1. See if you overpaid duty and VAT

If you didn’t fill in some boxes on your customs declaration, you might have overpaid your taxes. The estimate should help you get a picture of the taxes you had to pay and determine your next steps.

Import Tax

Import tax or import VAT (value-added tax) is another tax for goods imported into the UK.

When you ask for an import duty refund, at the same time, you also ask for VAT. Usually, the import tax you pay for the goods that enter the UK is set to 20%. This is the value added to the total price of your goods.

What customs charges are non-refundable?

HMRC will only refund customs fees if eligible. There are a few fees you may have had to pay for your import, which are not refundable.

Excise duty (if any)

Excise duty is paid for items like tobacco and alcohol. Like with customs duty, different rates are applied here, and it is up to HMRC to set them.

If you are returning products for which excise duty is applied, you will not be able to get that cash back.

Courier handling fees

When you order something abroad, a courier will deliver the package. The courier covers all the duties and taxes on your behalf at first and then charges you handling fees for their efforts.

Different couriers in the UK have different fees, which you can check in the table below:

Courier postage costs

How long does a refund with HMRC take?

When you collect all the paperwork and send it to HMRC, it can take as much as 6 or more weeks to process the claim. The more time consuming part is the document collection and form writing.

HMRC will ask you to fill out the C285 form to claim the refund. This form contains approximately 40 questions that can be tricky to answer. And if you received the parcel from Royal Mail or Parcelforce, another form will await you – BOR 286.

Although you have applied online, you will have to print everything out and send it to HMRC.

HMRC sometimes refuses your claim without explaining why. You can always try and contact HMRC, hoping to get an answer.

Can it be quicker?

Unfortunately, HMRC cannot process tax refunds more quickly, and there’s nothing you can do to speed things up. Once you ask for your tax refund, you will have to wait for an answer.

Although it takes a while for your claim to go through, asking for a refund is worth it. If you don’t claim your taxes after a return, the money stays with HMRC.

You have a deadline to ask for your customs duty and income tax refund – 90 days for unwanted goods and 365 days for damaged or faulty items – but if you don’t go for it, they can keep the money indefinitely.

Reclaim your customs charges with Duty Refunds

Although we cannot speed up the waiting period, there’s a way to get your tax refund fairly effortlessly. Most of our claims are processed in 3-6 weeks.

Duty Refunds will send the claim on your behalf, and all we ask from you is to send us the papers we will need. This is how it works:

Start your claim now

1 2021 E-commerce Payments Trends Report: UK Country Insights: Data provided by WPL via ONS, 2021