Britain accelerates plan to end low value parcel tariff loophole

The UK finance ministry has brought forward changes to low-value imports by six months to October 2028, closing a tax loophole benefiting online retailers like China's Shein.

Britain's finance ‌ministry will bring ​forward changes to low value imports by six ‌months to October 2028, it said on Tuesday, closing a tax loophole that benefits online players like ‌China's Shein.

UK retailers have been squeezed by ‌rapidly growing ultra-low-cost platforms like Shein, Temu, AliExpress and more recently Amazon Haul, which send packages directly from factories in ⁠China ​to ⁠shoppers' doorsteps, benefiting from a customs waiver on parcels worth ⁠less than £135 ($178). Last November, the UK government said it ​would scrap the relief.

However, the timeline of March ⁠2029 "at the latest" was criticised by UK retailers as ⁠too ​slow, saying it risked making the UK an international outlier. "The government has since ⁠listened to industry and chosen to accelerate delivery of the ⁠reforms ⁠by six months to October 2028," the finance ministry said. ($1 = 0.7574 pounds)