- Returned Goods Relief (RGR) lets you re-import previously exported UK goods free of customs duty and import VAT.
- Conditions: re-imported normally within 3 years, in an unaltered state, with evidence linking them to the original export.
- Ideal for international customer returns and unsold stock coming back to the UK.
- Different from outward processing (goods deliberately sent to be processed; relief only on value added).
- For VAT relief, goods generally must be returned by the same person who exported them.
What is Returned Goods Relief?
Returned Goods Relief (RGR) is a UK customs relief that lets you re-import goods you previously exported from the UK without paying customs duty or import VAT again. The logic is simple: you already owned these goods in the UK, so bringing them back, unchanged, should not trigger a fresh tax charge.
It is the relief that stops you being taxed twice on your own goods when, for example, an international customer returns an order or unsold stock comes home from an overseas warehouse.
The conditions for RGR
To qualify, the goods must generally meet all of these:
- Time limit: re-imported within 3 years of being exported (extended only in limited circumstances).
- Unaltered state: they must return in essentially the same condition, not processed, upgraded or enhanced abroad. Necessary maintenance or repair to keep them in working order may be allowed, but improvement is not.
- Evidence of the original export: you must be able to prove the goods are the same ones that left the UK (next section).
- Same person (for VAT relief): import VAT relief generally requires the goods to be re-imported by the same person who exported them.
If goods were deliberately sent abroad to be processed or improved, that is outward processing, not RGR.
Why RGR matters for ecommerce
Two very common situations make RGR valuable:
- International customer returns. You ship an order to an overseas customer, they return it, and it comes back into the UK. Without RGR, that re-import could attract duty and import VAT, on goods you already sold from UK stock. RGR avoids that.
- Unsold stock coming home. You sent stock to an overseas warehouse or marketplace, it did not sell, and you bring it back. RGR lets it return duty and VAT free.
Handling returns volume across borders without RGR quietly inflates your costs. A specialist accountant or customs broker ensures returns are declared correctly to claim it.
The evidence you need
The relief hinges on proving the re-imported goods are the ones you exported. Useful evidence:
- The original export declaration (and reference numbers).
- Commercial invoices from the original export.
- Serial numbers, batch numbers or other identifiers matching outbound and inbound.
- For returns, the link between the original outbound shipment and the customer's return.
Keep this documentation organised, customs can ask you to substantiate an RGR claim. Your customs broker declares the re-import under RGR using this evidence.
RGR vs outward processing relief
| Returned Goods Relief | Outward Processing Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Goods returning unchanged (returns, unsold stock) | Goods deliberately sent abroad to be processed/repaired |
| Relief | Full relief from duty and import VAT on re-import | Duty only on the value added abroad |
| State on return | Unaltered (maintenance OK, improvement not) | Processed/repaired/improved |
If nothing was done to the goods abroad, it is RGR. If they were processed or repaired by design, it is OPR.