Say goodbye to
HMRC-hassle and hello to Duty Refunds.
Returned an item abroad? Let us help you reclaim your customs duty - without the stress.
Easy, simple, Duty Refunds.
Initiate your refund
Purchase details
Let us know details about the item
Claim authorisation
Confirm your details
Supporting documents
Supply documents as proof
Refund tracker
Track where you are in the process
How it works
01
Answer a few questions
We’ll ask you for some basic information about your international item return,
like how much it cost and what courier you used.
02
Meet your claim handler
We’ll pair you with a real person who will do all the heavy lifting with HMRC.
They’ll ask you to sign a letter giving Duty Refunds permission
to work on your behalf.
03
Get your refund
We prepare and submit the paperwork and your money goes straight into your
account — usually in about 4 weeks1.
Time-saving for international shoppers
UK shoppers come to us because they want to avoid the hassle
of filling out endless forms and chasing customs invoices.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve returned motorcycle boots to Malta or an oil painting to Panama. You’ve paid the customs duty, and you should get a refund on that duty. Let us handle HMRC.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve returned motorcycle boots to Malta or an oil painting to Panama. You’ve paid the customs duty, and you should get a refund on that duty. Let us handle HMRC.
How much does it cost?
We charge a flat 15% service fee on the total amount of your refund.
There are no hidden costs
and you only pay when we’re successful in reclaiming your customs duty.
and you only pay when we’re successful in reclaiming your customs duty.
01
You buy a sofa from France
02
You pay £500 for the sofa and £100 in customs duty to HMRC
03
You return the sofa and receive a £500 refund
04
You contact Duty Refunds and we reclaim your customs duty from HMRC on your behalf
05
You receive £85 straight into your account, which is £100 minus our 15% fee
Get your customs duty refunded,
stress-free.
Time and taxes back to you.
Questions?
Got any questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
You can get in touch with us by email on
contact@dutyrefunds.co.uk
or via our
live chat.
Can I get my customs duty refunded?
If you’ve returned an item to a retailer abroad worth over £135, then most likely yes! There are a few caveats though. Certain items like alcohol and tobacco aren’t eligible.
And there are time limits too.
If you returned the item because it was damaged or defective, it can’t have first entered the UK more than 365 days ago. And if you returned the item because you didn’t want it anymore, it can’t have entered the UK more than 90 days ago.
And there are time limits too.
If you returned the item because it was damaged or defective, it can’t have first entered the UK more than 365 days ago. And if you returned the item because you didn’t want it anymore, it can’t have entered the UK more than 90 days ago.
How long does it take to get my refund?
How much will I get back?
Who will handle my claim?
What is a letter of authorisation?
Who are Duty Refunds?
Are you a retailer?
We’re building a cross-border solution for online retailers who want to integrate UK
customs duty processes into their sales journeys.
1Most claims take 4 weeks to process from customer submission of proof of return to refund granted by HMRC. Average time is based on all Duty Refunds claims from December 2021 to July 2022. Any delay in the customer submitting valid documentation may elongate this timeline. Delays from HMRC are possible. Customers will be kept up to date on the expected timeline throughout the claims process.