Local VAT, customs charges and import duties

When your order arrives in your country, you will be charged local taxes and duties. These are set and collected by your own government, not by us, and they're payable in addition to what you paid at checkout.

What you can expect to pay:

• Local VAT or sales tax, at your country's rate
• Customs or import duty, depending on the goods and their value
• A carrier handling fee - most couriers charge for processing the customs paperwork, typically somewhere between £10 and £25 or the local equivalent

How charges are calculated. Most countries calculate VAT and duty on the value of the goods plus the shipping cost, not the goods alone. This surprises people - a high shipping cost also increases what you pay at the border.

When and how you'll pay. Your courier will usually contact you by text or email once your order reaches your country, and will hold it until the charges are paid. Parcels aren't released until then, and are eventually returned or destroyed if charges go unpaid, so it's worth watching for that message.

EU customers, please note. Since the UK left the EU, orders arriving from the UK go through full customs clearance. Even small orders are subject to VAT and a handling fee on arrival. There's no minimum threshold below which nothing is charged.

These charges are entirely your responsibility. We have no way of paying them on your behalf, and we can't tell you in advance what they'll come to - rates and thresholds differ in every country. If you want an estimate before ordering, your national customs or tax authority website is the reliable source.

If you refuse to pay the charges and the order is returned to us, you'll be responsible for the return shipping costs and any fees the courier applies. See Refusing or returning an international order.

We can't mark orders as gifts or declare a lower value than you paid. Export documentation must reflect the true value of the goods, and falsifying it is an offence in both countries.