United Kingdom: Buying and Selling
Several goods are subject to specific controls and requirements. Goods subject to import controls under the Open General Import Licence (OGIL) include firearms, anti-personnel mines, and certain nuclear and chemical goods. Some industrial goods need import licences as a result of controls imposed at national or UN level, which are issued by the Department for International Trade’s Import Licensing Branch(firearms, goods subject to import sanctions, etc.). The ILB also issues Certificates of Free Sale (CFS) to UK exporters, mostly for products that come into contact with humans (e.g. cosmetics), from countries that have lower product safety standards and enforcement than the UK. Other government departments issue CFS for certain products including the:
Consult the dedicated page on the UK government’s platform to check whether goods need to be declared to UK customs. For a list of goods subject to import controls, click here.
Furthermore, from 1 January 2021 Brexit became effective and therefore trade relations between the EU and the UK are governed from now on by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. To preserve their mutually beneficial trading relationship, the EU and the UK have agreed to create an ambitious free trade area with no tariffs or quotas on products, regulatory and customs cooperation mechanisms, as well as provisions ensuring a level playing field for open and fair competition, as part of a larger economic partnership. The Agreement prevents unnecessary technical barriers to trade, e.g. by providing for self-declaration of regulatory compliance for low-risk products and facilitations for other specific products of mutual interest, such as automotive, wine, organics, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. However, all UK goods entering the EU will still have to meet the EU’s high regulatory standards, including on food safety (e.g. sanitary and phytosanitary standards) and product safety. FTA conditions are not the same as those of the EU Customs Union and the Single Market. In particular:
For the list of goods imported into Great Britain from the EU that are subject to customs controls, click here.
Since 1 January 2021, the UK applies the Guidance on tariffs on goods imported into the UK , which replaces the EU’s Common External Tariff. For more information about the tariffs applied to imports coming into the UK since 1 January 2021, please visit the UK government's website.
For an overview of the impact that the UK’s withdrawal from the Single Market and EU Customs Union will have in the areas of taxation and customs, consult the UK government's dedicated guidance Import, export and customs for businesses: detailed information. For further details on actions required from businesses to continue importing from EU countries, please visit the UK government platform as well as the European Commission's guidance EU-UK: A new relationship including sectorial guidance notices for different sectors and the guide ‘BREXIT Readiness Checklist’ for companies doing business with the UK. For guidance on moving goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland, click here.
To go further, check out our service Import controls and Export Controls.
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Latest Update: August 2024