Coffee and tea duty into Great Britain 0%–8%
Under the standard tariff, coffee and tea imported into Great Britain carry customs duty of between 0% and 8%, with most items at 2%, with no import VAT, effective 1 January 2021. Preferential rates can apply when origin requirements are met. In Great Britain, consignments at or under £135.00 are relieved of duty, but VAT treatment must be checked separately, including tax collected at checkout.
175 origins qualify for a preferential rate below the 7% standard, ranging from 0% to 2.8%. None of them changes the worked example: at £38.00 that consignment is already under the £135.00 relief threshold, so no duty is charged whatever the origin. Preference starts to matter above it. Claiming a preferential rate requires proof of origin at customs; without acceptable proof the standard rate applies.
- Route
- Any origin → Great Britain
- Standard customs duty
- 0%–8%, median 2%
- Import VAT
- 0% in the stored category rates
- Duty assessed on
- Goods value plus freight and insurance (CIF)
- Low-value treatment
- Consignments at or under £135.00 are relieved of duty, but VAT treatment must be checked separately, including tax collected at checkout
- Typical clearance fee
- £8.00, charged by the carrier
- Commodity codes covered
- 7
- Source record date
- 23 August 2026
Rates by commodity code
| HS code | Description | Duty | In force since | Instrument |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0901.11 | Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion, coffee, not roasted | 0% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0901.12 | Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion | 8% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0901.21 | Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion, coffee, roasted | 6% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0901.22 | Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion | 8% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0902.10 | Tea, whether or not flavoured | 2% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0902.30 | Tea, whether or not flavoured | 0% | S.I. 2020/1430 | |
| 0902.40 | Tea, whether or not flavoured | 0% | S.I. 2020/1430 |
A worked example
A £38.00 order of tea, whether or not flavoured (HS 0902.10) with £8.00 shipping, imported into Great Britain, has a modelled total of £46.00. This includes £0.00 in estimated duty, VAT and carrier fees.
| Goods value | £38.00 |
|---|---|
| Shipping and insurance | £8.00 |
| Customs duty · No duty — below the relief threshold | £0.00 |
| Estimated taxes and fees | £0.00 |
| Total landed cost | £46.00 |
The model assumes import tax has not already been paid at checkout. It uses the standard tariff before preferential origin relief. This is not a prediction of the amount collected at delivery. Order value is an assumed figure converted from euros at an illustrative rate, for the sake of a realistic example. Use the calculator for your actual numbers.
Origins with a preferential rate
| Agreement | Preferential rate | vs standard | Saving on the example |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARIFORUM14 countriesAntigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Central America6 countriesCosta Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Channel Islands2 countriesGuernsey, Jersey | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| CPTPP All Members excluding Canada10 countriesAustralia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) - Comprehensive Preferences43 countriesAfghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) - Enhanced Preferences17 countriesAlgeria, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, Kyrgyzstan, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States4 countriesMadagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| European Union28 countriesAustria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories)11 countriesAnguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| SADC EPA5 countriesBotswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) - Standard Preferences1 countryIndonesia | 2.8% | -4.2pp | Relieved |
| Best rate comes from different agreements by commodity code1 countryIndia | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
| Named individually in the tariff33 countriesAlbania, Cameroon, Canada, Ceuta, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, Georgia, Ghana, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Melilla, Moldova, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Palestinian Territories, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine | 0% | -7.0pp | Relieved |
The worked example falls under the £135.00 duty relief threshold, so no duty is charged whatever the origin. These rates apply above it.
Where Northern Ireland charges differently
Northern Ireland applies the EU Common External Tariff rather than the UK Global Tariff. On 4 of the 7 commodity codes compared here the two differ; on the rest they are identical.
| Commodity code | This page | Northern Ireland | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 090112Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion | 8% | 8.3% | +0.3pp |
| 090121Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion, coffee, roasted | 6% | 7.5% | +1.5pp |
| 090122Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion | 8% | 9% | +1.0pp |
| 090210Tea, whether or not flavoured | 2% | 3.2% | +1.2pp |
Duty rates only. Northern Ireland follows EU customs rules on low-value consignments and UK rules on VAT, so the total charge on a parcel is not simply this page’s figure with the rate swapped. Goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland are a separate regime again.
Check your own order
One goods type, ordinary tariff and destination currency. No trade-agreement relief, trade-remedy duties, excise, gifts, returns or deductions for tax paid at checkout. Enter prices before tax; we do not convert currencies.
Common questions
How much is customs duty on coffee and tea imported into Great Britain?
Standard tariff before any preferential origin relief: Between 0% and 8% depending on the exact commodity code, with a median of 2%, effective 1 January 2021.
Is there a threshold below which I pay nothing on a parcel to Great Britain?
Consignments at or under £135.00 are relieved of duty, but VAT treatment must be checked separately, including tax collected at checkout.
What does the worked example estimate?
A £38.00 order with £8.00 shipping gives £0.00 in estimated duty, VAT and carrier fees, for a modelled total of £46.00. The model assumes import tax has not already been paid at checkout. It uses the standard tariff before preferential origin relief. This is not a prediction of the amount collected at delivery.
Classification notes
For coffee, establish whether the beans are green (unroasted) or roasted and whether they are decaffeinated. For tea, identify the type and immediate packing size. Those distinctions appear in the chapter 9 nomenclature.
Do not select a bean or leaf code for an instant preparation, supplement or ready-to-drink product without checking its ingredients and description. Use the dated rate table for current rates; the linked nomenclature reference does not give a complete tax quote.
VAT on coffee and tea in Great Britain: ordinary coffee and tea bought as groceries for home use are normally zero-rated. Customs duty is a separate check. Hot takeaway drinks, catering, medicinal or supplement products and gift packs with other goods can need different VAT treatment. See HMRC’s food VAT guidance before applying the grocery rule to a different product.
21 further sanctions and trade-control notices apply to these commodity codes. They govern whether the goods may be traded, not what they cost, and are listed at the source rather than repeated here.
HMRC Trade Tariff — Heading 0901, coffee · HMRC Trade Tariff — Heading 0902, tea · HMRC — Food products, VAT Notice 701/14
Sources
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
- S.I. 2020/1430 — effective
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