United kingdom Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in united kingdom, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Customs Regulations
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UK custom regulations are established by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). HMRC is the UK’s tax, payments, and customs authority, and it collects money that pays for the UK’s public services. The HMRC lays out all of its general information for importers and exporters in the document titled ‘UK Trade Tariff: Volume 1’, published on January 1, 2009 and periodically updated.

Value Added Tax, or VAT, is applicable on goods imported into (and exported out of) the UK, and is governed by the Value Added Tax Act 1994 (an act of Parliament (Westminster)), particularly Section 15 to Section 17 of this statute, which details the charge to the tax applicable in the case of ‘Imported Goods from Outside Member States’ (i.e., outside the EU). The VAT is charged as though it is a custom duty, and provisions in the Community Customs Code (from the European Economic Community) and the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 apply while appropriating VAT in relation to imported goods.

The liability of VAT on goods is ascertained by assigning them ‘commodity codes’, which are again detailed in the ‘UK Trade Tariff: Volume 1’ from the HMRC.

On exportation, however, VAT is generally not applied, i.e., nil rate applied on VAT. Merely providing proof of export is enough for an export to be cleared. The rate of the VAT may increase or decrease, and Section 2(2) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 grants Her Majesty’s Treasury (HM Treasury, or Treasury) the authority to decrease or increase the rate of VAT by 25% for a period of one year. See the HMRC’s guidance on VAT rates for further information.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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