Shipping From India To UK: The Complete Guide

If your relative lives in the UK, you may want to send them gifts. Or, if you are doing a business, you must know how to ship goods from India to the UK.

For that, follow the below article.

What Is The Shipping Process From India To UK

If you want to ship goods from India to the UK, you need to gather some necessary documents first.

You need an export license, HS code, invoice, certification of origin, fumigation certification, packing list, value, and description of goods.

You also need to present your contact information as the supplier or sender, destination of the products, and the recipient.

After that, follow the below steps.

Verify Your Products If Any Prohibited Items

 You can ship restricted or prohibited goods but only with a license. You can hire third-party companies like CIS to inspect the goods on your behalf. Read here more about CIS.

You can’t send any flamboyant objects, medicine, alcohol or drugs, weapons etc. without license.

Know The Amount For Taxes And Duties

 Know the amount of money you will pay for duties, taxes, customs clearance, shipping agents, and delivery.

You can take the help of HS code in classifying products and determining classification numbers.

To know about classification number, read this guide on export control classification number.

Choose Shipping Carrier

Choose a shipping carrier to ship your products. You need to choose carefully.

Some carriers can take a long time, some can take so much money, and some don’t care about your products well.

So, choose a reputed shipping carrier company that doesn’t charge you much.

Custom Clearance

You’ll need to have an export license if your product is not under Free On Board (FOB).

The export license contains information about the supplier, the cargo, its value, the buyer, and the preferred mode of transportation.

You can get a license from the Ministry of Commerce.

How To Pack Your Goods When Ship From India To The UK

 You need to pack your products very correctly.

Because in international shipping, the chance of getting damage of the product is high if not packed correctly.

Different types of products need different kinds of packaging depending on size, weight, material, and if it’s fragile or not.

You should separate the items by separately wrapping them because if they are packed together, they can be damaged by bumping on each other.

Wrap your products with a cushiony material and then seal them. Use tapes, which are made for shipping to seal.

If you want to send a fragile product, double pack it by packing it in a box and then place the package onto another box and pack it.

Always label outside of the package and inside the package as well.

What Is The Costing Of Shipping From India To UK

 Shipping cost from India to the UK depends on the package weight and shipping carrier.

Courier charges:

• For a package of 1 kg is almost 1800 rs.
• For a package of 5kg is almost 4000 rs.
• For a package of 10 kg is almost 5400 rs.
• For a package of 20 kg is almost 500rs. Per kg

There will be a Good and Service Tax (GST) of 18% on the total bill.

There are also custom charges on some products. The customer or person whom you are sending products to has to pay customs charges of about £2.75 per heading. 

Factors That Decide The Cost Of Shipping From India To UK

 There are several factors that are considered before determining the actual cost of shipping a package from India to UK. Broadly, some of these factors include:

• Total weight of the package or shipment
• Volume and size of the package or shipment
• Preferred mode of shipping – air or ocean
• Distance of transportation
• Type of service selected – door to door, port to port, door to port, or port to door

Remember, if you are using ocean freight, then they will not consider packages that are less than 35 kg.

Do You Need Insurance To Ship From India To UK

 International shipping has risks. It can get lost, hijacked or get damaged by any natural disaster.

For that, you need to have good insurance. So, if something unexpected happens, you will get compensation.

Types of insurance-

• Export Credit Insurance– The most popular export insurance is credit insurance or trade credit insurance. Credit insurance will give you financial support when needed.

If your buyer is unable to pay due to any serious situation, credit insurance can give you an 80-90 percent money back.

For that, you will know that if something happens to your foreign purchaser, your business won’t get into trouble.

• Marine Insurance- Marine Insurance should be considered by exporters. The insurance will give you financial support in case your goods get lost or damaged by any natural disaster.

But common carriers do not have any marine insurance as the cover is restricted. Exporters also need to check if the policyholder can claim the cover globally.

• Product Liability Insurance- Product liability insurance will provide you support in case your shipped products don’t meet the legal criteria.

The insurance will give you compensation if something happens like this.

But it will only help you if you followed the guidelines and provided all the information, but some error happened, or unknowingly you shipped any damaging or illegal goods.

• Political Risk Insurance- Political Risk insurance will cover any situation like political uncertainty, war, protests, foreign discrimination, etc.

Because of any political or governmental situation, if you have to face any loss, this policy will give you compensation.

Which Mode Of Transport You Can Choose While Shipping From India To UK

You have two choices of transportation mode when you want to ship your goods from India to the UK, by the ocean or by the air.

Ocean freight shipping takes longer than air freight shipping, and air freight shipping costs are more than sea freight shipping.

The difference in the delivery times is because of the speed at which the freight travels.

An aircraft moves at an average speed of 970 km/h, whereas cargo vessels move at an average speed of 35 km/h.

Air Freight – Although a tad bit expensive, air freight is a wise choice, especially when you have deadlines to meet.

There are businesses that need to have their products delivered to their clients.

Or there may be an expensive gift that you wish to send to your loved one for a certain occasion.

Then air freight is a great option.

Some advantages of air freight include:

• Fulfills urgent consignment or orders on time
• Refutes the problem of delays
• Saves perishable goods
• Easy to send high-value goods safely
• Insurance of air freight is lower

Delivering a package from India to UK on an average may be anywhere between 3 to 9 days.  It depends on the air route taken and the delivery destination.

Ocean Freight – There are two types of consignments that ocean freight from India to UK carries:

• LCL or Less than Container Load where your consignment is placed in a container on sharing basis because your consignment is small.
• FCL or Full Container Load where your consignment is an entire container. You just need to pay a single flat rate for it and you get to use it exclusively.

The consignment is carried in either 20 ft or 40 ft containers. You are also asked whether you would require a container with ventilation or refrigeration.

Delivering goods from India to UK through ocean freight may take anywhere between 21 and 41 days.

It depends on the trade lane taken, the port of dispatch and the port of arrival.

Some advantages of ocean freight include:

• Ocean freight is advantageous when you need to ship heavy goods and equipment
• If your cargo or package is not time-sensitive, then ocean freight is the perfect way to have your goods delivered to UK – cheap, safe and the best
• Large volumes of products or packages can be shipped at a go when using ocean freight
• Ocean freight is cheaper than air freight

Choosing the best carrier option will benefit you in your business. Both air and ocean freight are available to deliver goods and packages from India to UK.

You can choose one that is favorable for your requirement.

Legal Paper Works You Have To Do For Shipping Goods From India To UK

 You need to do some documentation for shipping goods from India to UK. These are the following.

• You need to provide a Packing Slip to show the details of the goods to the customer. It will help the customer to know the exact order.
• You need to provide a Bill of Lading to show goods information.
• You need to provide a Certificate of Origin to show where the products are from.
• You need to provide the Commercial Invoice to show the value of the goods.
• You may need to include health and safety Certificates.
• Your customer needs to sign on the Bill of Lading (BOL) as a Proof of Delivery (POD).

 To know in detail about BOL and POD, check out this cross border shipping guide page.

Are There Any Restrictions In Shipping From India To UK

 Some products are prohibited, and some are restricted for shipping.

Prohibited items are those which are banned and cannot be shipped at any cost. However, restricted items are not totally banned.

You can ship them with a few restrictions. You may either need a license or they might have a limitation.

To know more about export license, read this Tj chinafreight export licence page.

Prohibited Items:

•  Live animals
• Any animal parts, like- ivory, the skin of any animal e.t.c. or any animal products that are prohibited by the CITES Convention or local law
• Cash
• Bullion
• Human ashes and remains
• Loose precious stones
• Illegal goods such as narcotics
• Complete firearms or explosive devices

Restricted Items:

•  Flammable liquids
• Flammable solids
• Flammable gas
• Spontaneously Combustible flammable solids
• Dangerous when wet flammable solids
• Non-flammable and non-toxic gas
• Biological agents, etiological agents
• Hosts and vectors of human disease
• Class 9 miscellaneous
• Class 8 corrosive
• Oxidizers
• Organic peroxides
• Toxic substances
• Gems
• Medical devices
• Household goods
• Precious metals
• Art work
• Retail tobacco products
• Radioactive materials

How Much Time It Takes To Ship Goods From India To UK

 In the case of regular shipping, by sea, from India to UK, it takes almost 20 days to 40 days. The time may vary based on traffic.

If you need to ship your goods urgently by air, then shipping can be reduced by one week, for an extra charge.

Is There Any Custom Duties/Tax

In the UK, you have to pay customs duty or VAT on gifts or other goods if they are more than a certain value.

The customer or the receiver of the goods or gifts has to pay the customs  within 3 weeks.

• If your goods are under £135, you don’t need to pay any customs duty.
• If your gifts are above £135 but below £630, you need to pay 2.5% customs duty.
• Gifts above £630 and goods above £135 have a custom duty, depending on the type of the goods and gifts.

Use HS Code to know the exact rate of the customs duty on particular goods or gifts.

Are There Any Hidden Fees?

 There can be hidden fees in some cases in shipping from India to UK. The reason can be various.

You may need to give extra charge if the destination is in remote areas.

Or you may need to give an extra charge as a delivery fee if the destination is residential. Same rule is applied if the goods get delivered on weekends.

How To Track Your Goods?

 Tracking your goods or gifts in international shipping is almost the same as domestic shipping. Your shipping carrier will provide you a tracking ID.

Ocean Freight – In order to track your cargo, you must have the exact container number/Bill of lading/booking number and shipping line. You can use either of these references to track your container.

There are tracking systems installed on containers that help in tracking their real-time status, including important data such as tamper reports and temperature of the container.

Some sites that will help track your container:

Track Trace

Searates

Container Tracking

Air Freight – Like ocean freight, you are given a tracking id when you ship your package or cargo using air freight. Some sites that will help track your air freight:

Alltrack

Track Trace

The above sites are one-stop solutions and will help you track air or ocean freight for almost all types of companies. However, you may individually track your cargo or package through the company website which you have sent your package through to UK. 

Is There Any Return Policy In Shipping From India To UK

Yes, there is a return policy. You can get goods returned in case of damaged goods or if the recipient country denies.

Or if the goods went to the wrong destination, or if the address of the delivery didn’t match.

But not every product is eligible for return policy, some are and some aren’t. Also, you can apply for a certain number of days to accept returned products.

What If You Provide Wrong Information Accidentally

 If you provide wrong information accidentally, your goods can get lost, or it can get shipped to another address.

You need to pay an extra charge to fix the error and also your shipment gets delayed.

So, make sure that you provide correct information; otherwise you have to face disadvantages.

Things You Should Consider Before Shipping From India To UK

 There are some things you need to consider.

1. Know allowed, restricted, and prohibited items in UK.
2. Consider the transit time and work accordingly.
3. Don’t miss any paperwork. Without them, you can’t ship your products.
4. Choose the right shipping partner. By choosing the right shipping partner, you will be profited.
5. Pack your products well. Otherwise, your products can get damaged.
6. Know the Custom Duty of UK. Use HS Code.

Some Best Reviewed Carrier Partners

 These are some carrier partners who will ship your goods or gifts from India to the UK on your behalf.

• FedEx
• DHL
• DTDC
• Delhivery
• Aramex
• Ecom Express
• An all in one solution- Shiprocket
• E com shipping solutions Pvt Ltd
• TNT India
• India post
• Bombino express

How To Choose The Best Shipping Carrier Partner

  When you ship any goods or gifts from India to the UK, you need to consider the following things for choosing the best carrier partner.

• Check their reviews
• Check how many complaints of missing products are there against the carrier partner
• Check if any complaints of hidden charges are there against that Carrier Partner.
• Look for affordability. If the shipping charge is too high, don’t go for it. Because excess shipping charges can hamper your business
• Know how much time the shipping carrier partner usually takes to ship products from India to the UK.
• Fast and safe delivery will impress your customers and it will help your business to grow.
• Check how many compliments are there against the shipping carrier partner of product damage
• Check the shipping carrier partner’s popularity

Choosing a good shipping carrier partner when you are shipping internationally is very important. It can change your experience, good or bad.

Your experience in shipping from India to the UK can depend on you to some extent.

Your research about the best courier services, your packing style, your seriousness in providing information will make your experience good.

For all freight forwarding services, contact us now.