The majority of goods can be imported into the United Kingdom without the need to apply for an import licence.
There are controls on imports including firearms, plants and animals, foods, medicines, textiles and chemicals. Whether you need a licence can also depend on where the goods are coming from.
Currently ILB issues import licences for a small number of goods mainly to implement:

BIS’ trade policy measures (these measures may be in the form of quantitive quotas where the volume will be restricted, or freely issued prior surveillance licences so that volumes imported may be monitored)

• certain textiles from Belarus, North Korea and Uzbekistan
• iron & steel

For safety reasons (these imports are generally issued only to those with domestic authority to possess)

• firearms and ammunition

Imports – Firearms
Importers must be registered firearms dealers and have the appropriate licence from BIS to accompany firearms and ammunition.Find more information on the Import Licensing Branch page on the BIS website – Opens in a new window.

Imports – animals
Imports of animals and captive birds (excluding pet birds, poultry and birds destined for approved institutes and zoos) are controlled by the issuing of animal health certificates and post-import veterinary inspections. Captive birds arriving into England are also required to be taken to an approved quarantine centre for assessment and testing. Additional controls apply to endangered birds and animals. Read about importing animals and birds on the Defra website – Opens in a new window.

Imports of food are also controlled and must comply with regulations such as food safety, packaging, labelling and additives.
Imports of organic food may also need authorisation before they can be marketed as organic. Read about imports of organic food on the Defra website – Opens in a new window.

Imports – Medicial products
Imports of medicinal products are subject to licensing. Download guidance for wholesale dealers from the MHRA website (PDF, 273K) – Opens in a new window.

Read about importing unlicensed medicines on the MHRA website – Opens in a new window.

Anyone wishing to import controlled drugs will generally require licensing from the Home Office Drugs Branch. Read about import licences on the Drugs.gov.uk website – Opens in a new window.

Imports – Plants
Imports of plants are controlled by the issuing of phytosanitary certificates. Further controls apply to some endangered plants. Download a guide to plant passports from the Fera website (PDF, 1.6MB) – Opens in a new window.

Imports of wood and wood packaging material are controlled. Read about imports of wood and wood packaging on the Forestry Commission website – Opens in a new window.

Imports Chemicals
Importers of dangerous chemicals must identify the hazards, provide information about them and package the product safely. Under Registration, Evaluation, and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation, importers or manufacturers of more than one tonne of chemicals a year must register with the European Chemicals Agency. Read about REACH legislation on the HSE website – Opens in a new window.

Read about the Notification of New Substances Regulations on the HSE website – Opens in a new window.
Imports of some dangerous products such as asbestos are prohibited or require special authorisation. For advice, call the HSE Infoline on Tel 0845 345 0055.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs also controls trade in ozone-depleting substances (ODS). To import ODS, you must have a licence from the European Commission under Council Regulation (EEC) 2037/2000. You can request a licence from the European Commission using their online ODS-database on the Europa website – Opens in a new window.

Imports – Vehicles
You do not generally need a licence to import an ordinary vehicle. However, the vehicle must be registered and have a valid vehicle licence (tax disc) before being used or kept on public roads. Read about importing a vehicle on the Directgov website – Opens in a new window.

Other controls may apply to the goods you are importing. For example, imports of food are controlled and food products must also comply with regulations such as food safety, labelling and additives.
Imports of organic food may also need authorisation before they can be marketed as organic. Read about imports of organic food on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) website – Opens in a new window.

Imports and exports of radioactive substances are subject to additional controls. Read guidance on radioactive substances on the Environment Agency website – Opens in a new window.

For more information, call the HMRC National Advice Service Enquiry Line on Tel 0845 010 9000.

Further Information

Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive or RoHS was adopted in February 2003 by the European Union. The RoHS directive took effect on 1 July 2006, and is required to be enforced and become law in each member state. This directive restricts the use of six hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic e-waste.

Manufacturers need to understand the requirements of the RoHS Directive to ensure that their products, and their components, comply.

The UK RoHS regulations apply to those businesses defined as producers that:

• manufacture or assemble electrical or electronic equipment in the UK
• import electrical or electronic equipment from outside Europe
• re-badge electronic products as their own.

The RoHS Directive applies to products placed on the European market and each member state has its own legislation.

For further information see  RoHS or download pdf

The CE marking (also known as CE mark) is a mandatory conformity mark on many products placed on the single market in the European Economic Area (EEA). The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements.

If you don’t use the CE mark when required to, you may be instructed to remove your products from sale until they’re properly marked. If there are safety concerns, you could be fined or even imprisoned.
When applying for a CE mark you need to establish first which, if any, of the New Approach Directives or older Global Approach Directives applies to your product. CE marking only applies to products within the scope of these Directives. It should not be applied to products if they are outside the scope of the Directives.

As a Notified Body for 17 Directives, BSI Product Services offers one of the most comprehensive certification services in the world.

• ATEX
  Equipment in Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX) – 94/9/EC
• Boiler efficiency
  Efficiency of Liquid or Gaseous Fuelled Hot Water Boilers – 92/42/EEC
• Construction
  Construction Products (CPD) – 89/106/EEC
• EMC
  Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) – 89/336/EEC
• Gas Appliances
  Gas Appliances – 90/396/EEC
• Lifts
  Lifts – 95/16/EC
• Low Voltage Directive
  Low Voltage Equipment (LVD) – 2006/95/EC
• Machinery
  Machinery – 98/37/EC
• Marine
  Marine Equipment (MED) – 96/98/EC
• Medical Devices
  Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMD) – 90/385/EEC
  Medical Devices (MDD) – 93/42/EEC
• Noise Emission
  Noise Emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors – 2000/14/EC
• Non Automatic Weighing Instruments
  Non-automatic Weighing Instruments – 90/384/EEC
• Personal Protective Equipment
  Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – 89/686/EEC
• Pressure Equipment
  Pressure Equipment (PED) – 97/23/EC
• Radio and Telecommunications
  Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment – 1999/5/EC
• Transportable Pressure Equipment
  Transportable Pressure Equipment Directive – 99/36/EC

BSI can also offer Notified Body Services for the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Directive – 98/79/EC, through a partner.

Other European directives, which BSI is not a Notified Body for:

• Cableway Installations for Passengers – 2000/9/EC
• Energy Efficiency: Household Refrigerators & Freezers – 96/57/EC
• Explosives for Civil Uses – 93/15/EEC
• Packaging and Packaging Waster – 94/62/EC
• Recreational Craft – 94/25/EC
• Simple Pressure Vessels – 87/404/EEC
• Toys – 88/378/EEC

For further information about EU directives, please Contact BSI.

If you are looking to importing from China and CE Certification does apply to the item you will require the manufacture to provide you with the CE Certification certificate.

Some agents of manufactures will claim to have the CE mark but this CE mark could just sand for China Export, which is not conforming to European specifications. The two letters are close together, not spaced as in the European conformance mark.

If your product requires CE Certification and your manufacture can not supply you with the Certification then the BSI, have a team of experts who understand precisely what each Directive requires for each product.

They can help take you through the CE marking (CE mark) process in these simple steps:

BSI CE MARKING

1. Identify the Directive(s) that are applicable to your product.
You can download these directives free of charge from the European Union website

2. Identify the conformity assessment procedure that must be taken.
This could be self-declaration, involve testing, inspection or quality system assessment from a Notified Body or a combination of these. The conformity assessment procedure will differ depending on your product and the Directive in respect of which you will be CE marking (CE mark). If you are unsure about which procedure to take, please contact them for advice.

3. Determine the dates by which you must take action.
This will be the date that the Directive comes into force. The majority of directives are already in force. In these cases, it is an offence to place a product on the market without CE marking because it indicates a presumption of conformity with all relevant Legislation.

4. Identify if there are any Harmonised European Standards applicable to your product. These are not always mandatory for manufacturers although there is a presumption that conformity to these standards will give conformity with the relevant part of the Directive. Whenever possible or appropriate, manufacturers should follow harmonised standards.

5. Ensure the product complies with all the essential requirements of the Directive(s).
Take appropriate measures to comply or identify existing data and test reports.

6. Identify whether independent assessment of your conformity to the Directive, or some aspects of it, is required from a Notified Body.
This will be stated in the directive and is dependent upon the product you are CE marking. You must not affix CE marking to your product until all necessary certifications have been obtained from the Notified Body.

7. Maintain Technical Documentation required by the Directive(s).
Your technical documentation should support your compliance with the requirements of the Directive. It is essential to retain this documentation.

8. Prepare the Declaration of Conformity and the required supporting evidence.
The Declaration of Conformity along with the Technical Documentation should be available to Competent Authorities (EU Members) upon request.

9. Check that no other purely national requirements exist in the countries where the product will be sold.
These may include national standards, labelling or packaging requirements.

10. Affix CE marking on your product and/or its packaging and accompanying literature as stated in the directive.

Note if your item requires a CE mark that cannot be provided by the manufacture it maybe best to speak to the BSI first before any money is spent. The cost of acquiring CE Certification could run into the thousands. For example a resistor in a electrical item such as a laptop has about 5 components and each of those would have to be checked.

A Certificate of Origin (often abbreviated to CO or COO) is a document used in international trade. It traditionally states from what country the shipped goods originate, but “originate” in a CO does not mean the country the goods are shipped from, but the country where their goods are actually made.

The CO is primarily important for classifying the goods in the customs regulations of the importing country, thus defining how much duty shall be paid. But it may also be important for import quota purposes and for statistical purposes, and especially for food shipments, it may also be important for health regulations.

From Importing from China the Certificate of Origin should be forward to you by the shipper (e.g. manufacture, agent) of your goods.

A bill of lading (sometimes referred to as a BOL,or B/L) is a document issued by a carrier to a shipper, acknowledging that specified goods have been received on board as cargo for conveyance to a named place for delivery to the consignee who is usually identified. A through bill of lading involves the use of at least two different modes of transport from road, rail, air, and sea. The term derives from the verb “to lade” which means to load a cargo onto a ship or other form of transport.

A bill of lading can be used as a traded object. The standard short form bill of lading is evidence of the contract of carriage of goods and it serves a number of purposes:

• It is evidence that a valid contract of carriage, or a chartering contract, exists, and it may incorporate the full terms of the contract between the consignor and the carrier by reference (i.e. the short form simply refers to the main contract as an existing document, whereas the long form of a bill of lading (connaissement intégral) issued by the carrier sets out all the terms of the contract of carriage);

• It is a receipt signed by the carrier confirming whether goods matching the contract description have been received in good condition (a bill will be described as clean if the goods have been received on board in apparent good condition and stowed ready for transport); and

• It is also a document of transfer, being freely transferable but not a negotiable instrument in the legal sense, i.e. it governs all the legal aspects of physical carriage, and, like a cheque or other negotiable instrument, it may be endorsed affecting ownership of the goods actually being carried. This matches everyday experience in that the contract a person might make with a commercial carrier like FedEx for mostly airway parcels, is separate from any contract for the sale of the goods to be carried, however it binds the carrier to its terms, irrespectively of who the actual holder of the B/L, and owner of the goods, may be at a specific moment.

From Importing from China the Bill of lading should be forward to you by the shipper (e.g. manufacture, agent) of your goods once they have been loaded on board the ship.

The Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) Scheme was introduced on 1 July 2009.
It is a European Union initiative that helps traders communicate with customs officials when they are importing and exporting goods.

Traders wishing to register, or who are already registered as an Authorised Economic Operators, also need an EORI number.

This PDF explains how the EORI scheme works, who will qualify for an EORI number and how to apply.