Customs Clearance Costs & Pricing
Standard commercial customs clearance starts at £45 per entry for straightforward declarations, with no entry fee at Heathrow Airport. Total costs depend on the number of tariff lines, CDS development charges (£2.75 per declaration), port origin charges, and whether duty deferment is used. View our detailed customs broker fees schedule for complete rate cards.
No. A transparent customs broker itemises all charges upfront before filing. Additional port-related expenses, such as the CDS System Development Charge (£2.75 per entry or £3.50 per container), port inspection fees, or carrier demurrage, are statutory or third-party cost pass-throughs. Learn more about market benchmarks in our UK customs clearance cost guide.
Clearance Timing & Turnaround
Standard customs clearance on the HMRC Customs Declaration Service (CDS) typically clears within 1 to 3 hours once inventory is linked and paperwork is submitted. Delays occur if goods are selected by Border Force for physical exam or document inspection. Check our guide on how long customs clearance takes to minimise border delays. If a shipment is already held, see what to do when a shipment is stuck in customs or our urgent customs clearance service.
Yes. Air freight arriving at UK airports and containerised ocean freight can have pre-lodged customs entries submitted into CDS before landing. Pre-lodgement allows HMRC automatic route processing so goods can move immediately upon port arrival. Discover the complete import preparation steps in our first-time importer customs guide.
Import Documents & Requirements
Commercial imports require a commercial invoice, packing list, transport document (Air Waybill, Bill of Lading, or CMR), and a UK EORI number. Dependent on commodity classification, you may also need preference origin certificates, organic inspection certificates, or phytosanitary documents. Review the complete list of required trade paperwork in our international shipping guide.
An Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number is a mandatory identifier issued by HMRC for importing or exporting commercial cargo in the UK. Any business trading goods with the EU or rest of the world must hold an EORI starting with GB. Find application details and validation instructions on our UK EORI number page.
Import VAT & Customs Duties
UK import duty is calculated on the CIF value (cost of goods, insurance, plus shipping to the UK port) multiplied by the product commodity code tariff rate. Import VAT (standard 20%) is then charged on the CIF value plus customs duty. Calculate your estimated landed taxes using our UK import duty calculator.
Postponed VAT Accounting allows UK VAT-registered businesses to declare and account for import VAT on their periodic VAT return instead of paying it upfront at the port of entry. PVA eliminates cash-flow constraints at customs clearance. Learn how to apply preference rates and trade terms in our UK customs duty rates guide.
Heathrow Airport Cargo Clearance
Air cargo at London Heathrow (LHR) typically clears within 1 to 2 hours of arrival when documentation is pre-lodged into CDS. Our operations facility in Harmondsworth sits five minutes from Heathrow cargo terminals, offering same-day clearance, bond handling, and ETSF transit. Learn about our direct airport representation on our Heathrow customs broker page.
Because our main customs office and transit warehouse are located adjacent to Heathrow Airport (Skyport Drive, Harmondsworth), we handle LHR airline handovers with minimal local haulage overhead. We pass these operational efficiencies directly to importers through £0 standard entry fees. Explore our air freight clearance services at our Heathrow cargo hub.
UK Seaport Container Clearance
We process customs entries across all major UK container ports, including Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway, Liverpool, Tilbury, and Grangemouth. Through direct CDS connections and inventory-linked port community systems (CNS and MCP Destin8), we clear both FCL and LCL cargo nationwide. Explore our direct representation at the UK busiest container port on our Felixstowe customs clearance page.
A freight forwarder arranges physical transportation, shipping containers, and cargo movements, whereas a customs broker specialises in legal classification, CDS entries, tax liabilities, and HMRC regulatory compliance. Many businesses use an independent broker to avoid inflated carrier disbursement fees. Compare service models in our guide on customs broker vs DIY declarations.
