For further explanation about Incoterms, click here.
If you deliver delivery duty paid (DDP), you are formally considered to be the importer in the UK and must pay any import duties. This means that you must register with HM Revenue and Customs and pay VAT in the UK. Our advice:
Ask your client if the delivery conditions can be adjusted. At least change to delivered at place (DAP), so that the buyer is the formal importer and takes care of the payment of import duties. If necessary, you can include that you arrange the entire import declaration and pay in advance, as long as the formal importer is only the UK buyer.
If this is not possible, you will have to act as the importer in the UK and ask your carrier to organize this for you. SGS can also assist you with this. We have built a customs solution for the UK with which we can handle your declaration using our own declaration software and our own customs brokers. It is also possible to make a UK import declaration from your Dutch export declaration, saving you time and money and allowing you to offer your clients in the UK the best possible service.
If you’d like to find out more about how SGS can help you with declarations in the UK, read the FAQs about importing into the UK.