‘De minimis’. It’s not every day that international traders have to use Latin, but ‘de minimis’ is a phrase you may have heard a lot about in the past couple of years.
It refers to the minimum value below which imported goods can enter a country without incurring customs duties or taxes.
De minimis changes were at the forefront of the trade news cycle last August when US President Donald Trump removed the US$800 de minimis threshold for commercial shipments.
The EU is now following a similar path and is due to eliminate its €150 de minimis threshold, with temporary measures to begin as early as 2026. Full implementation is likely to be aligned with the launch of the EU Customs Data Hub, currently expected in 2028, having been particularly impacted by influxes of low-value parcels from non-EU countries such as China.
The UK’s position
The UK government has been considering what its own policy should be.
At the Autumn Budget 2025, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the current £135 de minimis threshold will be scrapped, with changes taking effect from March 2029 at the latest. There has been some pushback over the timing, particularly given the US and the EU are so on top of this.
Indeed, in a paper which we commissioned last year from the Social Market Foundation – in our role as chair of the E-Commerce Trade Commission – we considered the issue of de minimis.
The paper said that asymmetry between the UK and other trading partners could damage UK SMEs by “leaving the UK’s domestic economy more open to SME imports relative to those overseas markets where UK SMEs are exporting to”.
Low Value Imports Consultation – Have your say
To that end, the Treasury and HMRC are consulting on ‘Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK’.
Dan Tomlinson, exchequer secretary to the Treasury, lays out in his introduction that stakeholders have “made it clear that the existing low value import arrangements need to change”.
He said:
“Our reforms will make imports declared under £135 subject to tariffs and greater control, just as goods imported in bulk by high street retailers are.
“These new customs arrangements will be designed to collect improved data and balance the tariff treatment of this trade, exercising appropriate control while ensuring that goods will continue to flow at the border.”
Considerations in the consultation include the following areas:
- What data to collect
- How the tariff should be applied
- Whether to apply an additional fee on low value imports to fund administration
- Potential changes to VAT collection to reflect the new arrangements
I asked Caroline Rowden, the Chartered Institute’s Customs Practice Lead, why it is important for trading businesses to feed their views through to the Treasury.
She said: “As the government moves to overhaul the UK’s low‑value import rules, it is essential that trading businesses share their views. These reforms will directly shape how goods are imported, processed and priced, and only businesses involved in day‑to‑day trading can explain the real‑world impact.
“By speaking up now, traders can help ensure the new system is practical and avoids unnecessary burdens, particularly for SMEs that are most exposed to rising costs and compliance pressures.”
How to respond
You can respond to the consultation here before the 6 March deadline.
The Chartered Institute is also responding to this consultation and is keen to hear views both from our members and the wider trade network. Our feedback is stronger together!
If you would like to feed through your views, please email us at: publicaffairs@export.org.uk.
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