Useful Customs Clearance Information

Basic requirements for Importing and Exporting is that you need to be EORI registered (Economic Operator Registration and Identification) if it’s a commercial transaction. Only goods that are for personal use are exempt from this requirement. The process is fairly straight forward and usually only takes a few days to set up. For imports please keep in mind that if your goods arrive and you have not completed this process that the clock is ticking and you could be faced with a considerable storage bill. For exports potentially your goods might not be able to be shipped leaving you with possible cancelled orders and unhappy clients.,

EORI Number information

Import/Export goods Information

International trade information

HMRC information

For importing we recommend using FOB terms (see Inco Terms Page) putting you in control of costs from the port of departure and leaving your supplier with the potentially unpredictable costs for things like export licensing, storage and Customs inspections. There any many services offering free freight which seems like a great idea until the goods arrive and you then face higher UK costs as a result, paying a fair amount of freight will ensure your UK costs are kept to a minimum. Your supplier will look to ship your goods by the cheapest method possible to them and in some cases can be offered a rebate for using a particular service – ultimately you will pay for this.

For exporting we recommend CIF terms (see Inco Terms Page) which means you pay up to the port of arrival leaving your client with the potentially unpredictable costs for things like Customs clearance delays, licensing requirements, storage and Customs inspections. Clear Fr8 Limited works with its network of trusted partners to give our clients an insight into any potential additional costs or requirements if shipping to the door.