To import wine from France can save you a lot of money on wine. France is renowned for its vineyards and wonderful wine. There are a number of beautiful wine regions to explore and a lot of wine to taste. Bringing the wine back into the UK, either for resale or for personal consumption, can seem like a complicated process. Here are some tips to make it easier to enjoy French wine back at home.
1. Excise Duty for Resale
When you are importing wine from France, there is no customs clearance payable, nor any taxes. This is because of the EU agreement on the free movement of goods.
If you are importing the wine for commercial purposes, there is however an Excise Tax that is payable on the wines. This is a special tax that is placed on the import or certain items into the UK (such as alcohol and tobacco).
The amount of Excise tax you will need to pay depends on a number of factors, including the alcohol percentage of the wine, the type of wine (sparkling has a higher Excise duty) as well as other factors. It is important to check the Excise duty payable on the HMRC website before you decide to import wine from France, as the costs can be quite significant.
2. Purchasing for Yourself
If you want to import wine from france into the UK from France for personal consumption, then you do not have to pay an Excise duty. This is only for the first 90 litres of wine that you bring into the UK. If you want to import more wine for personal consumption, you need to provide a form of proof. It is then up to the UK customs who will determine whether there is an Excise duty payable on the wine.
The type of wine you import may also effect the amount you are able to bring in Excise duty free. For example, you can only bring in 60 litres of sparkling wine. This is important to check before bringing the wine into the UK so that you avoid unexpected costs later.
3. Mode of Travel
There are a few things you should organise before organising the transport to get your wine from France to the UK. Most importantly, you should decide how much wine you want to bring back.
The best method by far for transporting wine is to put it on pallets and have it transported by truck. This is because the wine is secured, not moving around a lot and is not being manhandled. This prevents potential damage and is the most secure way to transport the bottles. France is also just across the English Channel from the UK so transit times tend to be quick.
A half pallet of wine typically can carry 200 bottles and a full pallet can carry 600. If you are importing the wine for personal consumption, or do not want to import that number of bottles yourself, it is advisable to share the pallet with friends. In this way you can all still stay until the 90 litre Excise duty limit for personal consumption, but also ensure that your wine is transported safely. It is important that the wine is purchased separately though so each person’s import amounts are clearly definable.
Search on Transporteca to find shipment for your pallets of wine from France. On our portal we have trusted trucking companies that will be able to handle and transport your shipment. You can compare the transit times, as well as prices to pick the option that best suits you.