By Crossave · Updated: August 2026

UK import duty rates by product (2026), read line by line from the official tariff

Most 'UK import duty' tables online are copied from other tables, and it shows: they quote EU rates, pre-Brexit rates, or averages that exist nowhere in law. Every figure on this page was read on 3 August 2026 from the UK Global Tariff — the official schedule on the government's own Trade Tariff service — under the 'Third country duty' measure, which is what you pay when no trade agreement applies. Next to each rate is the commodity code we read it from: type it into the official service and check us.

First: under 135 GBP there is no duty at all

Everything below applies only above 135 GBP per consignment. Up to that line the UK charges no customs duty, and the 20% VAT is normally collected by the seller at checkout rather than at the border. So for most everyday purchases the duty question simply does not arise — the rates on this page matter for watches, graded cards, TVs, and anything else that clears the threshold.

The zero club: electronics, books, vinyl, cards, coins

A surprising amount of what collectors and consumers import pays no UK duty at any price. Smartphones (commodity 8517 13), laptops (8471 30) and games consoles (9504 50) are all duty-free. So are printed books (4901 99), printed matter including comics and trading cards (4911 99), vinyl records (8523 80 90), CDs (8523 49 20), and collectors' coins (9705 31).

One classification wrinkle worth knowing: printed trading cards sit at 4911 99 (0%), but 'playing cards' as a heading of their own (9504 40) carry 2%. The same wrinkle exists in the EU tariff. For a graded Pokémon card the printed-matter reading is the one customs practice supports — but if a courier classifies your cards under 9504 40, that is where the 2% comes from.

Zero duty does not mean zero cost: import VAT at 20% still applies above the threshold (books are VAT-free in the UK at any value), and the courier's clearance fee is charged on top.

Watches: a flat 20 pence per watch — not a percentage

This is the single most misquoted rate we found, and the reason this guide exists. The UK tariff does not charge a percentage on wrist-watches: it charges 0.20 GBP per item, flat, whatever the watch costs. We checked every wrist-watch line — battery-powered (9102 11), automatic (9102 21), others (9102 19), and even precious-metal cases (9101 11): all 0.20 GBP per item. On a 2,000 GBP watch, tables that borrow the EU's 4.5% rate invent roughly 90 GBP of duty that does not exist. The real customs duty is twenty pence — the 20% import VAT on the value is the charge that actually matters.

The rates that do bite: shoes, clothing, TVs, toys, jewellery

Footwear with textile uppers — which covers most modern sneakers — pays 16% (6404 19 90). Leather-upper footwear pays 8% (6403 91 96): half the rate, purely on what the shoe is made of. Clothing is 12% across the common lines we read (cotton t-shirts 6109 10, wool jumpers 6110 11).

Televisions pay 14% (8528 72 40 for LCD screens, 8528 72 80 for others) — the same rate as the EU charges, but read from the UK schedule, not assumed from it. Jewellery in precious metal pays 2% (silver, 7113 11); costume jewellery pays 4% (7117 90).

Toys are a genuinely mixed chapter, and honest tables should say so. The common lines pay 4%: stuffed toys (9503 00 41), dolls (9503 00 21), toy sets (9503 00 70), plastic toys (9503 00 75) and die-cast models (9503 00 85). But tricycles and scooters (9503 00 10), electric train sets (9503 00 30) and non-stuffed toy animals (9503 00 49) are duty-free. Crossave estimates the toys category at 4% — the rate the common lines pay — which for the duty-free lines errs on the cautious side.

• Sneakers and textile-upper shoes: 16% (6404 19 90)
• Leather-upper shoes: 8% (6403 91 96, 6403 59 95/99)
• Televisions: 14% (8528 72)
• Clothing: 12% (6109 10, 6109 90, 6110 11)
• Toys, common lines (plush, dolls, sets, plastic, die-cast): 4% — but trikes, train sets and non-stuffed animals are 0%
• Precious-metal jewellery: 2% (7113 11); costume jewellery: 4% (7117 90)
• Watches: 0.20 GBP per item, flat (9102 11)
• Phones, laptops, consoles, books, comics, trading cards, vinyl, CDs, collectors' coins: 0%

What this page deliberately does not cover

Health products, supplements and general merchandise have no single duty rate — the figure depends on the exact commodity line, and quoting an average would be inventing a number. We did not read those lines, so they are not here. The courier's customs clearance fee (typically 15–30 GBP per parcel) is a private charge, not a tax, and comes on top of everything above. And if your goods qualify for a preferential rate under a UK trade agreement, the rates here are the ceiling, not the floor — preference must be claimed, it is not automatic.