▶Estimate your landed cost in a minuteWatch (about 1 min)

Import duty lookup

What duty will you pay on Ceylon goods?

Pick a product and a destination. We read the published tariff from the importing country’s own service and show you two numbers: the rate anyone pays, and the rate goods from Sri Lanka pay. The United Kingdom and the United States are covered today.

This is the published tariff, read from the importing country's own service, not advice and not a landed cost. Duty is charged on the customs value, and VAT, sales tax and clearance charges sit on top of it. Your importer of record confirms the commodity code that applies to your goods, and a preference rate applies only if the goods meet that scheme's rules of origin and you hold a valid proof of origin. Ask us for the documents; we supply the commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of origin.

Why there are two numbers

Most countries publish a standard rate that applies to imports from anywhere, and lower rates for goods from countries they have an agreement or a preference scheme with. Sri Lanka qualifies for some of those schemes and not others, and it differs by product and by destination, which is why a single figure would be misleading.

The standard rate

Called the third country rate in the UK and the general rate in the US. It is what is charged when nothing else applies. Plan on this one until the preference is confirmed.

The preference rate

Lower, and conditional. It applies only if the goods meet that scheme’s rules of origin and the importer holds a valid proof of origin for them.

What this is not

It is not a landed cost. Duty is charged on the customs value of the goods, and import VAT or sales tax, clearance fees and inland delivery sit on top of it. It is not advice, and it is not a ruling: your importer of record confirms which commodity code applies to your goods, and that decision is theirs to make and defend. Where we can help is the paperwork behind a preference claim, because that part comes from our side. We supply the commercial invoice, the packing list and the certificate of origin with every shipment.

Where the numbers come from

The UK figures are read from the UK Trade Tariff, the service HMRC publishes for declarations, and each answer links to the exact commodity line it came from. The US figures are read from the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule. We read them at most once a day and show you the date. Neither government charges for this, and neither of them knows anything about your shipment, so treat the result as the published rate for that line and nothing more.

Next