UK shipping policy template for imported orders

A standard shipping template often says the customer pays all customs charges. That sentence can be wrong for the way you actually sell. VAT may already be collected at checkout, the goods may already be in the UK, or a marketplace may be responsible for collection. Start with the location of your stock at the moment of sale. This article focuses on ordinary physical goods sold to consumers in Great Britain and the policy differences created by overseas dispatch.

Which orders need an import section in your policy? #

Separate goods dispatched across the border for an individual customer from goods that have already entered your UK stock. A shop address, website currency or British-looking domain does not establish the physical starting point. Check the actual product variant and fulfilment location. If different products leave different locations, give the relevant information for each group rather than describing the entire shop as domestic.

HMRC’s guidance for direct overseas sales distinguishes goods outside the UK at sale from goods already there. For ordinary qualifying consignments of £135 or less sold directly into Great Britain, UK supply VAT is charged at the point of sale. The threshold concerns the total consignment. An overseas seller owning goods already in the UK generally has to register and account for VAT on direct sales, with specific exceptions such as exclusively zero-rated supplies.

These distinctions should determine your wording. Do not publish taxes collected at checkout unless your tax setup and paperwork actually do that for the order. Do not publish import charges payable on delivery for goods simply moving from your existing UK stock to a UK customer. Write the policy from the transaction, then check that your invoice, label and fulfilment instructions describe the same goods movement.

Does the £135 test include delivery and every item? #

HMRC uses intrinsic value for this low-value consignment test. Separately shown transport and insurance are excluded, as are identifiable taxes and charges. Transport embedded in the selling price without separate identification is treated differently. Goods travelling in one consignment are added together. This is why a policy based only on the price of each product can misdescribe an order containing several items.

Check the intended consignment. A basket is not automatically one shipment, and separate parcels are not necessarily separate consignments for every tax purpose. Record the genuine fulfilment arrangement and confirm uncertain treatment with your tax adviser or customs provider. The declarations must match the actual goods movement.

There is another distinction: intrinsic value is not a universal customs-value formula. HMRC’s delivery-cost guidance explains transport costs included in customs valuation. Avoid using the low-value exclusion as a general promise that shipping never affects import calculations. For your customer, the useful explanation is which charges are included in payment and which verified charges can still arise.

What can you put in the actual policy template? #

Use these original fill-in sections after checking your fulfilment and tax setup. Replace every bracket with a real answer. The import paragraph must be selected for the actual transaction; it is not a choice between whichever sentence sounds more reassuring. Keep your terminology consistent with the checkout. If the checkout says taxes included, the policy should not suggest that every tax will necessarily be collected again.

Dispatch and delivery: Orders for [product group] are dispatched from [actual origin]. We offer [verified delivery options] to [supported destinations]. Before payment, you can see the delivery charge and the delivery information for your chosen products. Preparation starts at [agreed event]. Orders containing [different fulfilment groups] may have separate deliveries, identified in our order messages.

Taxes collected with your order: For [verified order category], [identify the applicable VAT or tax] is collected at checkout and shown in [order document]. [Specify any remaining verified import or carrier charges, or the arrangement that covers them]. If you receive a payment request that appears inconsistent with your order, contact [shop support] with the order number and the request.

Orders with charges payable on import: For [verified order category], [identified charges] are not included in your checkout payment. They may be collected by [relevant customs or carrier process]. We explain the applicable arrangement before you order. Contact [shop support] for questions about the delivery or an unexpected request; our return and cancellation terms are at [link].

Add a local-stock section only if you really fulfil from local stock. Say which product group it covers and where the customer-facing dispatch begins. Keep that section separate from overseas replenishment of your stock. Your own bulk import may have customs obligations, but it is a different movement from the later delivery to the buyer. Do not make the customer infer that distinction from the parcel’s return address.

What changes when a marketplace collects VAT? #

HMRC has separate guidance for online marketplace sales. For relevant low-value overseas consignments, the marketplace can be responsible for VAT. Check the actual channel and its transaction record. A product sold through your own website and the same product sold through an eligible marketplace can require different collection instructions. The stock itself does not tell you which checkout collected the tax.

Give your fulfilment provider the channel-specific paperwork it needs. Keep a record of what the customer paid and what information was passed with the parcel. An unexpected charge can be investigated more efficiently when you can compare the order invoice with the dispatch documentation. Avoid telling the buyer simply to pay again or to ignore every request: first establish whether the request concerns a tax, a clearance service or something already paid.

For the public page, identify which policy applies to purchases from your own store. Where a marketplace controls its checkout and buyer terms, do not suggest that your general website paragraph overrides that transaction. Your support process should still be able to find the order. Separate the channel-specific calculation from the practical question of who helps a customer whose shipment has stopped.

How do local packing costs affect the delivery promise? #

AirPost’s recommended sender fee for the parcel format is €3.00, plus €0.85 per shipment for the platform. The combined preparation and platform basis is €3.85, excluding carrier labels and materials. These euro-denominated constants were read on 14 October 2026; no conversion into sterling is assumed. Your agreement with the sender sets the actual preparation fee.

With AirPost fulfilment, you place your own stock with a sender who packs and hands over orders. Moving stock closer to a customer can change the physical dispatch route, but it does not remove the tax work involved in stocking another country. Confirm that a sender and a suitable service are actually available before promising local dispatch. The broader UK-to-EU shipping guide explains a different border direction.

Use the cost example to assess your delivery offer, not to set a customs threshold or a compulsory customer fee. Preparation cost, carrier charge and VAT serve different purposes. If you absorb shipping into the product price, keep your tax treatment and invoice presentation correct. If you charge delivery separately, the policy should describe that charge in the same way the checkout presents it.

What should you check before publishing the template? #

The government’s distance-selling guidance requires pre-purchase delivery arrangements, costs and timing, and a copy of the contract the customer can save no later than delivery. It also states delivery within 30 days unless another period was agreed. An import section therefore belongs alongside a real delivery agreement. It is not a reason to leave timing blank or replace it with an unlimited customs-delay clause.

1. 1

   Map the goods movement

   For each fulfilment group, record the stock location at sale, dispatch origin and customer destination. Identify direct-store and marketplace orders separately.

2. 2

   Confirm the collection method

   Check the relevant VAT treatment and any charges not included in checkout. Compare the invoice with the instructions your shipping provider receives.

3. 3

   Read a qualifying order journey

   Follow product, basket, policy and confirmation without changing the destination midway. Look for contradictory statements about tax and dispatch origin.

4. 4

   Prepare the support record

   Keep the policy version, order details and dispatch documents together. Specify the contact route for a customer who receives an unexpected charge.

HMRC requires full sales records, including VAT invoices, for 6 years under the cited overseas-sales guidance. Keep the order policy with those records. If a consignment’s value changes to exceed £135, HMRC says import VAT and duty may become due and the VAT already accounted for at sale needs adjustment. Recheck the paperwork after an order change; the first checkout calculation may no longer describe the dispatched goods.