Anything posted or couriered to you goes through customs to check it isn’t banned or restricted and you pay the right tax and ‘duty’ (customs charges) on it.

This includes anything new or used that you:

buy online

buy abroad and send back to the UK

receive as a gift

Your responsibilities

You may have to pay VAT , Customs Duty or Excise Duty on goods sent from outside the European Union ( EU ) before you can collect them.

You must also check that the sender:

pays Excise Duty on any alcohol or tobacco sent from the EU

declares goods correctly if they’re sent from outside the EU