Must my shop or market stall charge for bags?
Charge customers when the bags you supply fall within the rules for your UK nation. In England, the minimum is 10p for qualifying single-use bags, including at small retailers. Check bag scope, exemptions and record duties before ordering. You can brief suppliers through Cambridge China Bridge.
Start with the nation where you trade
England, Scotland and Wales have compulsory minimum charges for single-use carrier bags. England’s minimum is 10p and applies to retailers of all sizes. In Northern Ireland, the levy is 25p for bags of all materials with a retail price of £5 or less, subject to exemptions.
Before selecting bags, check the current national guidance against your trading address and proposed use. Ask the relevant council, or Northern Ireland’s carrier-bag levy team, to clarify uncertain cases. For permission to trade at the venue, use our separate market-stall and pop-up guide.
| Nation | What to check |
|---|---|
| England | Use the government’s retailer guidance to check bag construction, exemptions and whether your business counts as a large retailer. |
| Scotland | Confirm the current minimum charge, covered materials, reuse conditions and employee test for record keeping. |
| Wales | Confirm the current minimum charge, covered materials, exemptions and any record or publication duties. |
| Northern Ireland | Check the bag’s retail price, exemption conditions and the declaration and payment arrangements with the levy team. |
Specify construction and use to the supplier
Ask for the material composition, including coatings and laminates, film thickness, finished dimensions, gusset dimensions, handle construction and closure. Describe whether the bag will carry purchases away, hold loose goods or protect a delivery. Put these details into your written product specification.
Request samples and agree how thickness, dimensions, seams, handles and carrying performance will be checked. Ask what the supplier means by ‘paper’, ‘reusable’, ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’, and request supporting information. Compare the actual construction with national guidance before approving an exemption claim. Require your approval before any material or construction change.
Check exemptions against the actual transaction
Northern Ireland explicitly exempts no retailers, although some bag types are exempt. Treat the business and the bag as separate checks. Send the authority photographs, dimensions, composition and a description of exactly what customers will put inside. Ask for the relevant exemption wording and confirmation that your proposed use meets it.
Build an exemption checklist around your goods. Ask about loose food, packaged raw food, plants, prescription items, delivery packaging and replacement reusable bags where relevant. Check whether the exemption depends on contents, dimensions, closure or replacement arrangements. Also ask what happens when other purchases are added. Give staff a clear instruction for each approved use.
Resolve records before setting up the till
In England, only large retailers must record and report the number of single-use carrier bags they sell. Check the official employee calculation before deciding your status. If Scottish carrier-bag record duties apply to you, records must be retained for a 3-year period. For Wales and Northern Ireland, confirm the applicable recording, reporting, publication and payment arrangements separately.
Ask which information to capture, which bags to count, how proceeds are calculated, when submissions or payments fall due and how long records must be retained. As a practical control, keep bag purchases, stock movements, chargeable sales, exempt uses and the explanation for each exemption together. Ask your accountant to confirm the VAT treatment before configuring the till.
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Approve the purchasing file before ordering
Keep the national guidance checked, any written clarification, approved sample, supplier specification and staff charging instructions in the purchasing file. Record unresolved questions and settle them before committing to production. For a stall that moves between nations, prepare instructions for each trading location.
Review our packaging producer-responsibility guide and Plastic Packaging Tax guide alongside this bag-charging check. Send Cambridge China Bridge the approved bag specification and intended trading locations. Our staff in China can use them when discussing materials, samples and production checks with factories.
Frequently asked questions
Does a small market stall have to charge for bags?
In England, retailers of all sizes must charge at least 10p for qualifying single-use bags. Check the bag and its use against the rules for the nation where your stall trades.
Can I give paper carrier bags away?
Check the material and construction against your nation’s guidance before ordering. Ask for a specific answer for your proposed bag rather than treating the supplier’s ‘paper’ description as an exemption.
Does a small shop need carrier-bag records?
England requires carrier-bag recording and reporting only from large retailers. Check your status using the official calculation, and check the separate rules for other UK nations.
What should I ask a Chinese bag supplier for?
Request composition, thickness, dimensions, gussets, handles, closure details and samples. Describe the contents and intended use, agree inspection checks and approve changes before production.