China to UK Sea Freight (Duty Unpaid, DPD)

China → United Kingdom DPD Sea Self-Tax/Deferred

Sea freight from China to United Kingdom, quoted per CBM or per KG, whichever bills higher. This is a commercial freight service for cargo moving in volume, not a parcel channel — the rate card below starts where courier pricing stops making sense.

Cargo on this service moves through Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway. The rate covers the leg to the discharge port; inland delivery beyond the quay is costed against the delivery address, not the country. Expect 2–4 days of dwell at destination before release.

This channel is quoted duty paid, which means the figure below already carries import duty and tax for United Kingdom — you are not asked for a second payment at the border. For reference, the underlying regime is: VAT 20%; duty 0–12% by commodity code. Duty-paid pricing is worth comparing carefully against a duty-unpaid quote, because the cheaper headline number is frequently the one that excludes the tax.

Space on this lane tightens through Sep–Nov, which is peak season for United Kingdom. Rates published outside that window are not a reliable guide to what you will pay inside it, so if your order lands in peak, book earlier rather than budgeting from an off-peak figure.

Current Rate Card

• 15-45 — USD 6.79 per KG
• 46+ — USD 5.27 per KG
• 101+ — USD 4.77 per KG
• 250+ — USD 4.77 per KG

Last refreshed 2026-08-06.

What This Rate Covers — and What It Does Not

LCL cargo on this lane bills on the greater of weight and volume, so a dense pallet and a light bulky one of the same size do not cost the same. Past roughly 15 CBM it is worth asking us for an FCL comparison — a full container usually undercuts consolidation at that point, and it removes the co-loading risk that comes with sharing a box.

• General commercial cargo. Battery, magnetic, liquid and powder content must be declared at booking, not on arrival
• Rates are quoted against the current sailing or departure; peak-season surcharges apply where the carrier levies them
• Routing on this lane is via Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway — inland delivery beyond that point is quoted against the delivery address
• Clearance at destination is handled by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
• United Kingdom de-minimis: GBP 135 — commercial consignments sit above it and are dutiable in full
• Destination conformity: UKCA/CE marking for regulated goods

On the duty side, the applicable regime is: VAT 20%; duty 0–12% by commodity code. Those are planning references rather than a ruling: the rate that binds is the one assessed against your declared HS code at the moment of entry, and classification is where most landed-cost surprises actually originate. Duty and tax are settled in GBP at destination.

Every shipment needs a commercial invoice and a packing list that agree with each other, plus destination certification where the commodity requires it. The most common cause of delay we see is not the freight at all — it is a declared value or a goods description that does not match what is in the cartons, which turns a routine clearance into an inspection.