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Guides / Anti-dumping duty UK · Updated 19 October 2026

Anti-dumping duty UK: a practical guide for importers

Anti-dumping duty in the UK is charged on top of normal customs duty for specific products from specific countries, and sometimes from specific factories. Before you order, check the commodity code, the true country of origin and whether a trade remedies notice applies, because the extra duty can outweigh the standard tariff.

This guide is also available in Polish.

What anti-dumping duty is

HMRC describes anti-dumping duty as a duty on imports that protects UK industry from goods sold in the UK at prices well below their normal value. Each measure covers specified goods from named countries or named exporters, and it is charged on top of the ordinary customs duty, not instead of it. Two related tools work in a similar way:

Together these are called trade remedies. For an importer the practical effect is simple: for certain products from certain origins, the landed cost can be much higher than the standard tariff rate suggests.

Who decides: the Trade Remedies Authority and the Secretary of State

Since leaving the EU, the UK runs its own trade remedies system. The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), a non-departmental public body, investigates whether new measures are needed and makes recommendations. The final decision belongs to the Secretary of State, who publishes a notice when a recommendation is accepted. The legal framework is set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 and the Trade Remedies (Dumping and Subsidisation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. HMRC then collects the duty at the border.

A few points from the TRA's published process are useful for importers:

How to check if anti-dumping duty applies in the UK

Start with the correct 10-digit commodity code. HMRC's guidance points importers to the online UK Trade Tariff to look up commodity codes and duty rates, and to the trade remedies notices published on GOV.UK. In practice:

  1. Find the commodity code for the exact product.
  2. Open the code in the Trade Tariff and check the import measures for the country of origin, not the country the goods were shipped from.
  3. If an anti-dumping or countervailing measure is listed, read the matching trade remedies notice. It sets out the goods covered, the commodity codes, the rates and the conditions.
  4. Check the TRA's live and completed cases for investigations that could affect your product in future.

Additional codes and producer-specific rates

Many measures set different rates for different overseas producers. On a customs declaration in CDS, a measure like this is identified with an additional code declared in data element 6/16, alongside the full commodity code. HMRC's step-by-step tariff guide explains that additional codes flag extra measures that apply to the goods.

A real example shows how this works. Trade remedies notice 2026/09 on ironing boards from China lists six named Chinese exporters with their own additional codes and rates between 18.1% and 39.6%, and a residual rate of 42.3% under additional code A999 for all other exporters. To get a company-specific rate, the importer must present a valid commercial invoice carrying a signed declaration from the exporter. If the invoice or declaration is missing, the residual rate applies. That notice says the duty ceases to apply on 3 October 2029.

Check the invoice before the goods arrive. If your supplier is entitled to a lower individual rate, ask for the exact invoice declaration wording from the relevant notice in advance. Without it, the declaration has to use the residual additional code.

Origin is what counts, not the route

HMRC says trade remedy duties are based on the non-preferential country of origin. Goods originate where they were wholly produced or, where two or more countries were involved, where the processing that gave them their essential characteristics took place. GOV.UK's rules of origin guidance adds that origin means where goods were grown, produced or manufactured, not where they were shipped from, so routing Chinese-made goods through another country does not change their origin.

The guidance also covers circumvention: duties may be extended to goods exported from another country where traders send goods there for processing that does not change their origin. Exporters in that country who are not involved can apply to the TRA for an exemption. If you buy from a trader rather than the factory, ask for evidence of where the goods were actually made.

What happens if origin or codes are declared wrongly

Declaring the wrong origin, commodity code or additional code can leave anti-dumping duty unpaid. HMRC's civil penalties guidance explains that most contraventions first lead to a warning letter, but serious errors can be penalised straight away, and the amount rises where the undeclared duty or import VAT is large. If you discover an underpayment yourself, HMRC asks you to tell its C18 team by letter; a voluntary disclosure can avoid a penalty. Our guide to CDS import declarations explains who signs the entry and who carries the liability.

Reliefs and special procedures

Trade remedies interact with special procedures in ways that matter for planning:

If your goods come from China, Easy Clearance has a separate overview of anti-dumping duty on goods from China. Whatever the product, treat any rate list as a starting point and confirm the current measure in the Trade Tariff and the relevant notice before you order.

Checklist for importers

Related guides

Importing goods from China into the UK?

Easy Clearance is a UK–EU customs clearance agency handling import and export declarations, T1/T2 transit and UK–Poland removals. Its article looks at anti-dumping duty on Chinese-origin goods entering the UK.

Read the anti-dumping article

Sources

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.