Do you have to pay duty on goods returning from the United Kingdom to Poland?

Not always. If Union goods come back in an unchanged state, as a rule within three years of export, returned goods relief can apply and duty can be avoided. The condition is documented proof of the original export. Without evidence of the export, the return is treated as an ordinary import, with all the consequences that brings.

Which documents should be kept to use returned goods relief?

Above all the full set of documents from the original export: the export declaration with confirmation, the invoice and the transport documents. Add a return document, for example a corrective invoice or a note describing the reason for the return, plus data that ties the returning items to what left. The better the export is documented, the smoother the return clearance.

What if only part of the shipment comes back from the United Kingdom?

A partial return is possible, but it demands precision: the returning items must be tied to specific items of the original export declaration, with quantities and values. The basis is a return document stating exactly what is coming back and why. The more precise the data, the lower the risk of questions from the customs authorities and of the truck standing at the border.

Returning goods from the UK to Poland: customs guide

From a customs point of view, returning goods from the United Kingdom to Poland is an import into the EU. If Union goods come back unchanged, as a rule within three years of export, returned goods relief allows them to re-enter without duty. The condition is documented proof of the original export.

When goods come back from the United Kingdom

Complaints and rejected deliveries: the consignee sends back a faulty batch or one that does not match the order.
Unsold goods: end of season, end of contract, stock returning to a warehouse in Poland.
E-commerce returns: parcels and pallets coming back from customers or from a returns warehouse.
Returns from trade fairs: the stand and equipment come home after the event. For fair trips it is worth considering an ATA Carnet from the start, which simplifies temporary export and the way back.

The common denominator: every such return is formally an import into the European Union and passes through customs, just like buying goods in the UK. The difference is that for returning Union goods the law provides a separate, favourable path.

Returned goods: how to come back without duty

Returned goods relief: an institution of the Union Customs Code under which Union goods exported outside the EU and coming back in an unchanged state, as a rule within three years of export, can be relieved from import duty. The condition is showing that exactly the goods which left are the goods coming back.

In practice three things count. First, the goods must be the same Union goods that left the EU. Second, they must return unchanged: not processed and not upgraded in the United Kingdom. Third, the export must be documented, which means the full set of papers from the original export: the export declaration with confirmation, the invoice and the transport documents. This third point causes the most trouble, because export documents tend to be treated as waste paper once delivery is done. They are not: they decide whether the return passes without duty or is treated as an ordinary import with full charges.

Returning the whole shipment or part of it

It is simplest when the whole shipment comes back: the items of the return declaration match the export items one to one. More often, though, only part returns, for example two pallets out of ten. Then the returning items must be precisely tied to the items of the original export declaration, with quantities and values, so the customs authority can see this is a subset of what left. The basis is a return document: a corrective invoice or a note describing what is coming back and why. The more precisely the return is described, the fewer questions at the border.

How the return clearance works in practice

An import declaration into the EU stating that it concerns returned goods.
The documents of the original export as proof that the goods left the Union.
A return document: a corrective invoice, a note or a protocol describing the reason for the return.
On the British side an export from the UK, on the Union side an import: transport and the crossing look the same as for any import from the United Kingdom.

We describe clearance on entry into the Union in more detail in import from the UK to Poland, and the whole border process in customs clearance after Brexit. We run returns the same way as outbound shipments: transport, customs on both sides and documents in one order.

Do you have goods to bring back from the United Kingdom and you are not sure the documents are enough for returned goods relief? Describe the case in the contact form and we will check the set before the truck goes to collect.