London Deliveries From China: Getting the Most From the £135 Rule

How is a parcel from China taxed in the UK?

The number that matters is the value of the goods in one consignment — for an agent haul, everything packed in one parcel. Shipping and insurance aren't part of the £135 test, but VAT is charged on them.

Source: GOV.UK, reforming customs rules for low value imports.

A worked example with our landed-cost estimator: £120 of goods plus £30 shipping pays no duty and £30 VAT, for a landed total of £180 — £45 per item across four items. Put £160 of goods in the same parcel and it crosses the limit, so duty is assessed on the goods and a courier may add its own handling charge before delivering.

Verdict: Keep each parcel's goods at or just under £135. Two parcels under the limit usually beat one parcel over it.

What happens when the £135 relief ends?

GOV.UK has published plans to reform customs rules for low-value imports, and the relief is expected to be repealed by October 2028 at the latest. Until then the current rules apply in full. When it goes, parcels under £135 are likely to face customs duty as well as VAT, which will push London buyers towards fewer, larger parcels — the same shift EU buyers made after the €3 rule arrived in July 2026. It's worth checking this page's date and the GOV.UK notice before planning a large haul in 2027 or 2028.

Which couriers deliver agent parcels in London?

Agent lines to the UK usually fly parcels in and hand them to a domestic carrier — commonly Royal Mail, Evri, DPD or Yodel — or use an international courier door to door. A few practical points for London addresses:

• Flats and shared entrances: add your flat number and a phone number so the driver can reach you; many London failed deliveries are simply a buzzer nobody answered.
• VAT-included lines: look for this wording in the line description. It means the 20% was collected with your shipping, so a sub-£135 parcel shouldn't generate a bill at the door.
• Fee-to-pay cards: if a carrier asks for customs charges, pay only on the carrier's own website or app, reached by typing its address — not via a link in a text message, a common scam.

Timing: rep.tools lists typical agent delivery windows of 7–16 days to the UK, the quickest of the major Western markets.

Two checks before sending a parcel to London

Sizes

Chinese sizes usually run about one size small: a Chinese L often fits like a UK M. For trainers, Weidian listings use EU sizes — an EU 42 is roughly a UK 7.5 on common sneaker charts. Our size decoder translates labels like 175/92A. Compare centimetres with a garment you own before you choose.

What Border Force can hold

Border Force can detain goods that infringe a registered trademark, whatever their value, and paying VAT doesn't change that. Unbranded and small-label pieces aren't affected.

Which agents are best for London buyers?

All the working agents we track ship to the UK, and most offer at least one VAT-included line. The biggest difference between them for London is shipping price and speed, so compare two quotes for the same parcel before paying.

Sources: the agents' own pages where they publish fees, rep.tools profiles, and Trustpilot (fetched Sept 26–28, 2026). 'Score withdrawn' means Trustpilot removed the rating after guideline breaches. A dash means no primary source confirmed it.