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

How it works: Step 1
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.
How it works: Step 2
How it works: Step 3
03

Get your refund

We prepare and submit the paperwork and your money goes straight into your account — usually in about 4 weeks1.
Time savings image

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.

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.

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.
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?
Woman unboxing international parcel - 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.