UK – End of Customs Duty for Low-Value Imports 

The UK Government is planning to abolish the no-customs-duty concession for low-value imports. The economic impact of foreign e-commerce marketplaces on UK online shopping is steadily increasing. The expansion of the market share held by e-commerce strongholds like Shein and Temu in the UK raises concerns among domestic competitors. 

A significant percentage of the products that are sold through these e-marketplaces, and mostly shipped from China, are below the customs-duty threshold. Money-wise, it is free of any customs duty, benefits from fast customs clearance, and the final price is often significantly lower than the same offering from a local seller. 

The domestic online retailers and leading merchants are raising their voices, concerned about “losing” their market share, unanimously sharing that non-resident sellers that facilitate their sales through the likes of Temu and Shein have a beneficial treatment( deriving from the applicability of the customs-free threshold for low-value parcels).

The UK chancellor officially announced that officials will review this rule, with the possibility of removing the no-customs-duty treatment for low-value parcels from outside the UK.