A Helping Hand With Customs When Sending Goods Abroad

Introduction

Expanding across borders marks an exciting period of growth. There’s plenty to celebrate when you start shipping internationally, but there’s plenty more work to do, too.

One of the most critical tasks will be getting up to speed with your customs responsibilities. It doesn’t matter what business you are or where you’re sending items, you’ll have to meet customs requirements in the UK and abroad, and you need to get them right.

It needn’t be difficult, though. Read on to find out what you need to know about customs when sending goods abroad and how Pro Carrier can help.

Is there Customs Paperwork to Fill Out?

Yes. You’ll need to fill out a customs declaration form when sending any goods to a country outside of the UK via post. That includes the channel islands. You only don’t when you send goods from Northern Ireland to the EU.

If you’re sending goods by post, there are two types of forms. Which one you need will depend on the value of your goods:
Fail to fill out the correct customs form, and items may be delayed or returned.

• Items worth up to £270 require customs declaration form CN22
• Items worth over £270 require customs declaration form CN23

In addition to a customs declaration form, some goods may require a license. These goods include animal products, artwork, medicines and military goods. You’ll also need a commercial invoice. This describes the goods being shipped and their value, and is used to determine what duties need to be paid.

Note: If you don’t use the postal service, you’ll only need to fill out a customs invoice.

What Goes on a Customs Declaration Form?

Whether you need to fill out a CN22, a CN23 or just a commercial invoice, you must include several pieces of information.

The Name and Address of Both the Sender and the Buyer

You must include the details of both parties on all forms. Commercial invoices must also include the date of the invoice and an invoice number.

A Full Description of the Goods

A full description of the goods, their quantity, value and the total value of the shipment.

Commodity Codes and Country of Origin

The World Customs Organization Harmonised System tariff codes (or HS codes), help customs officials quickly identify your goods. The correct code should be included on all forms, as well as the country of origin. If more than one product is being shipped at the same time, every HS code should be included.

You can find a complete list of HS codes on the Trade Tariff section of the Government’s website.

EORI Number

Any company sending goods outside of the UK must have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number and will need to include it in all forms. If you don’t have one, you can register for one with HMRC.

Incoterms

Incoterms are a set of internationally agreed arrangements for delivering goods from sellers to buyers. There are 11 three-letter trade terms in total, but the most common ones used by UK retailers to send goods abroad are DDU and DDP.

Paying Duties

Customs clearance charges and fees will likely be payable when your goods enter their destination country. This includes the EU after the expiration of the UK EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The total amount payable will depend on the goods you ship, their value and the duties charged by the destination country.

You’ll need to decide who will pay these duties prior to sending goods to avoid delays - and this is where you’ll choose between the two most popular Incoterms: DDU and DDP.

DDU: Delivery Duty Unpaid

Choosing this Incoterm means your overseas will need to collect duties from the buyer before delivery. This avoids you having to pay additional fees, but it can cause issues if your customer is not aware of their responsibilities.

DDP: Delivery Duty Paid

For a better customer experience, choose DDP (Delivery Duty Paid). With this Incoterm, you take responsibility for all customs paperwork and the payment of any fees. In doing so, you’ll need to collect these fees from the customer at checkout.

Let Pro Carrier Take Care of Customs

Clearing customs is both vital and time consuming, so it pays to have an expert on-hand to help. At Pro Carrier, we work with hundreds of UK retailers to ship stress-free to Europe and beyond.

It starts with our market-leading software that integrates with almost every major e-commerce platform. This allows us to correctly charge every customer the right VAT so you can ship DDP and get all of the benefits that come with it. We can set up everything, and all you need to do is attach the single label we send to each parcel.

As well as handling the shipping of your goods, we also leverage our decades of experience and network of connections to accelerate customs clearance and find you the best rate possible with international carriers.