You've just sold a £60 jewellery piece to a customer in Manchester. Do you charge UK VAT at checkout, or does the buyer pay it when the parcel arrives? This exact question trips up more Turkish sellers than almost any other UK customs rule, because the answer depends entirely on whether the shipment is above or below £135.
Here's the short version: for goods worth £135 or less sold to UK consumers, 20% UK VAT is charged at the point of sale by the seller or the marketplace, and no customs duty is due on that shipment. Above £135, the rules flip — import VAT and any duty are collected at the border, usually from the recipient, with the carrier charging a handling fee. Getting this wrong means either overcharging your customer or leaving a nasty surprise for them at delivery.
UK VAT on Parcels Under £135: Who Actually Collects It
If you sell directly through your own store, you are responsible for registering for UK VAT (where required) and charging 20% VAT on the order total at checkout, not after. If you sell through a marketplace like Etsy or Amazon, the marketplace itself is usually the one that collects and remits the VAT — your invoice and shipment paperwork should reflect that the VAT has already been accounted for.
This matters for your commercial invoice. If VAT was already collected at checkout, the invoice value shown to customs should not trigger a second VAT charge on the same goods. Mixing this up is one of the most common reasons UK parcels under £135 get held up, even though the rule is meant to make things faster.
Why the £135 Line Causes So Many Mistakes
- Valuing the parcel incorrectly. The £135 threshold is based on the intrinsic value of the goods, not including shipping or insurance. Sellers who bundle these into the declared value sometimes push a parcel just over the line by mistake.
- Multiple items in one order. If a single order contains several items that together exceed £135, the whole shipment is treated as being above the threshold, even if each item individually would qualify.
- Forgetting the VAT line on the invoice. UK customs expects to see that VAT was either charged at checkout or will be collected at the border — leaving this ambiguous slows clearance.
- Assuming duty-free means paperwork-free. No customs duty under £135 does not mean no commercial invoice. You still need accurate product descriptions, an HS code and a correct value.
You can prepare this documentation, and create the e-Archive invoice that accompanies the shipment, directly while creating your label — see e-Archive invoice with your shipment for how that works.
Shipping Speed: FedEx, PTT and Widect to the UK
Once VAT and paperwork are sorted, delivery speed is the next thing customers ask about. On Kargobaz, the fastest service for FedEx to the UK is estimated at 1-2 business days, PTT at 4-5 business days, and Widect at 3-5 business days. None of these estimates include potential delays from incomplete customs data, so an accurate invoice and value declaration genuinely does affect how fast the parcel clears. You can compare current rates for each in the price table below, or run your own numbers with the international shipping cost calculator.
Above £135: A Different Set of Rules
Once a shipment's value passes £135, VAT and any applicable customs duty are collected at the UK border, typically from the recipient, and the carrier usually adds a handling fee for processing this. If your goods are of Turkish origin, they may qualify for preferential — often zero — duty under the UK–Turkey trade agreement, but only with a valid origin declaration included in your shipment documents. This is worth checking before you assume duty will apply, especially for higher-value B2B shipments.
Product Checks That Have Nothing to Do With VAT
VAT compliance doesn't protect you from other UK import restrictions. Before shipping, confirm your product isn't affected by rules that apply regardless of value:
- Meat, dairy and most plant products are restricted for personal imports into the UK.
- Products sold to UK consumers must meet UK product-safety requirements, which usually means UKCA or CE marking where applicable.
- Knives, offensive weapons and some e-cigarette products are banned or age-restricted, independent of their declared value.
A parcel can be perfectly VAT-compliant and still get stopped at the border for one of these reasons, so check both sides before you ship.
What Changes in 2028
The UK government confirmed in July 2026 that the £135 duty relief will be removed by October 2028 at the latest. After that date, customs duty will apply to low-value parcels too, not just VAT. If you regularly ship items priced close to £135, it's worth tracking this change now rather than scrambling when it takes effect — pricing and checkout VAT logic may need adjusting ahead of the deadline.
A Quick Pre-Shipment Checklist
- Confirm whether your store or the marketplace is responsible for charging UK VAT at checkout.
- Declare the correct intrinsic value — shipping and insurance costs are excluded from the £135 threshold.
- Add all items in a single order together before deciding which VAT rule applies.
- Check the product against UK safety-marking and restricted-goods rules separately from VAT.
- For Turkish-origin goods above £135, include an origin declaration to claim preferential duty under the UK–Turkey agreement.
These customs details were checked in October 2026 and can change, so confirm specifics with your carrier or UK customs for shipments that sit close to the threshold. If you're setting up UK shipping for the first time, the Shipping to the UK guide covers the broader process, and connecting your store through store integrations can help keep order values and VAT status consistent across every shipment you create.
