Ship boxes from India to United Kingdom
1 to 10 boxes, collected from your door in India and delivered to the door in United Kingdom. Price up front, customs paperwork prepared for you.
- Typical transit
- 4–7 business days
- Duty-free up to
- Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty
India → United Kingdom
Enter a weight to see your price.
Who ships on this route
- Students heading to or home from university
- Expats and people relocating for work
Student and professional arrivals.
Leaving India
Sending boxes out of India
Sending your own belongings out of India by express courier is routine once you complete KYC with the courier. The courier files a courier shipping bill for you, and personal gifts up to INR 25,000 (about $260) per consignment use the simplified gift form. Antiquities and e-cigarettes can't leave, and anything that looks old should travel with an ASI non-antiquity certificate.
Documents
- Sender's KYC document: Aadhaar, passport, PAN card, or voter ID
- Itemized packing list with values, plus a declaration of contents and total value on each package
- Non-antiquity certificate from the Archaeological Survey of India for old-looking statues, paintings, brassware, or manuscripts
- Importer Exporter Code (IEC) for anything commercial
Can't leave India
- Antiquities (objects in existence 100 years or more, and valuable manuscripts or records 75 years or more) may be exported only by the central government or its authorized agencies. Illegal export can mean 6 months to 3 years in prison and a fine.
- E-cigarettes and their parts cannot be exported
- Commercial goods paid for from abroad go on a different courier shipping bill and need an IEC
- Couriers will not carry cash or negotiable instruments
Arriving in United Kingdom
United Kingdom customs, in short
- Duty-free threshold
- Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty. There is no general tax-free limit: other goods, including your own used things sent without Transfer of Residence relief, pay VAT from the first pound. Customs duty is not charged on goods worth £135 (about $183) or less in total, except alcohol and tobacco, which pay duty at any value. The government plans to remove this £135 duty relief on a date still to be set, by October 2028 at the latest.
- Import tax
- VAT at 20% (standard rate). Some goods pay 5% or 0%; children's clothes, for example, are zero-rated. VAT is charged on the value of the goods plus postage, packaging, insurance, and any duty. Above £135, customs duty is charged on the goods plus postage, packaging, and insurance, at a rate that depends on the type of goods and where they came from (listed in the UK Trade Tariff). Alcohol and tobacco also pay excise duty.
- Who pays
- Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
- Moving there?
- Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief lets you bring in your personal and household belongings free of duty and VAT if you have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have had the goods for at least 6 months before moving, will use them the same way here, and import them within 12 months of moving. It covers moves to Great Britain from anywhere, including the EU, and moves to Northern Ireland from outside the EU. You must get approval first: apply online with form ToR1 before the boxes ship, then give the courier your unique reference number. For 12 months after you move, you can't lend, hire out, transfer, or use relieved goods as security. Alcohol and tobacco are never covered, and goods from a second or holiday home don't qualify. Full-time students and people moving to marry have their own reliefs that don't need ToR1. The marriage relief also covers wedding presents worth up to £900 (about $1,220) each from people who live outside the UK.
Not allowed into United Kingdom
- Aerosols, spray cans, and compressed gas cylinders
- Flammable liquids and solids: fuel, lighter fluid, paint, nail polish, matches
- Loose or spare lithium batteries and power banks not installed in a device
- Cash, gift cards, checks, and other negotiable items
- Firearms, ammunition, replicas, and weapon parts
- Perishable food, and meat, dairy, or fresh produce
- Cannabis, CBD, and THC products, even where they are legal at origin
- Controlled drugs, including prescription medicines that contain them (they can't be posted to the UK)
India to United Kingdom: questions
How long does it take to ship boxes from India to United Kingdom?
Typically 4 to 7 business days door to door after pickup, plus any time customs in United Kingdom takes to clear the shipment.
Do I pay duty on used belongings sent to United Kingdom?
Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty. There is no general tax-free limit: other goods, including your own used things sent without Transfer of Residence relief, pay VAT from the first pound. Customs duty is not charged on goods worth £135 (about $183) or less in total, except alcohol and tobacco, which pay duty at any value. The government plans to remove this £135 duty relief on a date still to be set, by October 2028 at the latest. Shipments are sent DAP. The receiver pays any duties and taxes before or on delivery. The courier may add a clearance or disbursement fee.
What paperwork do I need to send boxes from India?
A commercial invoice listing what's in each box and what it's worth today. Onvoyo prepares it from your contents list for you to review and approve. Sending your own belongings out of India by express courier is routine once you complete KYC with the courier. The courier files a courier shipping bill for you, and personal gifts up to INR 25,000 (about $260) per consignment use the simplified gift form. Antiquities and e-cigarettes can't leave, and anything that looks old should travel with an ASI non-antiquity certificate.
Do I pay tax on a gift sent to the UK?
Not if it's worth £39 (about $53) or less and sent from one individual to another for an occasion such as a birthday. Above £39, the receiver pays VAT, usually 20%. Above £135 (about $183), customs duty may apply too. Several gifts in one box each get the £39 allowance if they're for different people, listed separately, and wrapped individually. Alcohol and tobacco always pay excise duty.
How do I bring my belongings into the UK tax-free when I move?
Apply for Transfer of Residence relief online with form ToR1 before your boxes ship. You qualify if you've lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have had the goods for at least 6 months, and import them within 12 months of moving. Give the courier your unique reference number so it goes on the customs declaration.
Do boxes from the EU go through UK customs?
Yes, if they're going to England, Scotland, or Wales. EU boxes are imports like any others, with the same £39 gift limit, VAT, and relocation relief. Northern Ireland is different: boxes from the EU don't go through customs there, while boxes from outside the UK and EU pay VAT and may pay EU duty rates, including a flat €3 (about $3.50) per item on goods up to £135 (about $183) that the courier treats as 'at risk' of moving into the EU.
Official sources
Export rules for India and import rules for United Kingdom, checked against these official pages. Customs makes the final decision on every shipment.
- 1.Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) · Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010 (last updated 30 June 2022) (opens in a new tab)
- 2.Chennai Customs Zone, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs · FAQ: Import of Gifts and Personal Imports through Courier (opens in a new tab)
- 3.Archaeological Survey of India · The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (National Tobacco Control Programme) · The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Act, 2019 (opens in a new tab)
- 5.HM Revenue & Customs · Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad (opens in a new tab)
- 6.HM Revenue & Customs · VAT rates (opens in a new tab)
- 7.HM Revenue & Customs · Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the UK (opens in a new tab)
- 8.HM Revenue & Customs · Transfer of residence to the UK (opens in a new tab)
- 9.HM Revenue & Customs · Application for transfer of residence relief (ToR1) (opens in a new tab)
- 10.Border Force and HM Revenue & Customs · Bringing goods into the UK for personal use (opens in a new tab)
- 11.Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Animal and Plant Health Agency, and Border Force · Bringing food into Great Britain (opens in a new tab)
- 12.Home Office · Travelling with medicine containing controlled drugs (opens in a new tab)
- 13.HM Revenue & Customs (UK Integrated Online Tariff) · September 2026 HMRC currency exchange monthly rates (opens in a new tab)
Going the other way? Ship boxes from United Kingdom to India