Jersey import GST on China goods: 5% on top of duty

What a Jersey importer pays, in order

Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and the UK form one customs union, and the Government of Jersey tells traders that the Common Customs Tariff is charged on goods from outside it, with duty rates looked up on the UK Trade Tariff. So the research you would do for a Great Britain import carries over: find the commodity code, read the third-country rate and check the line for anti-dumping duty on Chinese goods.

Jersey GST then sits on top. The Government of Jersey says GST is 5% of the total value of the imported goods, and that the total includes the purchase price, insurance, commission, packing and freight, and all taxes and duties applied before and on arrival. In practice that means the duty is inside the GST base. The £60 de minimis only helps private buyers: the same page says it does not apply to businesses, so a business always pays GST.

What you do not pay is UK import VAT on a consignment cleared in Jersey. HMRC's VAT Notice 700 says there is no VAT in the Channel Islands, so Jersey's own tax replaces it. For the UK side of the same question see VAT on imports from China.

Worked example: duty and GST on one Jersey shipment

Illustrative example, not a quote: 5,000 plastic kitchenware items under commodity code 3924 10 00 90, invoiced at £8,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to Jersey. On 9 October 2026 the UK Trade Tariff showed 6% third-country duty on that line, no anti-dumping duty on Chinese goods and 20% UK VAT. The tariff also lists conditional suspensions for ships and aircraft, which do not apply to kitchenware.

Duty is worked out on the customs value, and Jersey GST on that value plus the duty. The same order into Great Britain would carry UK import VAT of £1,886.80 on the same base, which a VAT-registered importer normally reclaims. In Jersey the £471.70 is recoverable only if you are GST registered, which the next section explains. The import duty and VAT guide shows the Great Britain method step by step.

Registered or not: does the 5% come back?

Whether GST is a cost or only a cash-flow item depends on registration. The Government of Jersey says registration is mandatory for a business with a turnover of £300,000 or more in a 12-month period, and optional below that. A registered business can claim refunds of GST paid on its purchases, expenses and imports.

That reverses the usual intuition. A Great Britain importer pays 20% import VAT and normally gets all of it back, so the cost is timing. A small unregistered Jersey importer pays 5% and keeps none of it, so the 5% of £9,434 in the example is a true cost that belongs in your landed price from the first order.

Voluntary registration is a real decision rather than a trick. Registered businesses must charge 5% GST on what they sell, file quarterly returns and expect regular audits by Revenue Jersey. Jersey also says unregistered businesses must build a positive record of paying GST on imports before they can apply for approved trader status, while registered ones can apply straight away. Take advice from Revenue Jersey or an accountant before choosing.

Who declares, and the routing question to put in writing

Goods from outside the customs union need a customs declaration made electronically on Jersey's CAESAR system, by you or your agent. The charges, meaning customs duty and GST, must be paid to release the goods, and Jersey says the invoice, certificate of origin and any import licence must be available if Customs ask. A Great Britain broker is not automatically the right choice; ask whether they file in CAESAR themselves or hand off to an island agent, and see our guide to brokers, forwarders and agents.

Few shipments sail from China straight to the island. Most land at a Great Britain port and make a second short leg. The tax question is whether the goods are entered to free circulation in Great Britain on the way, because that is what makes UK import VAT arise. A Jersey business with no UK VAT registration may be able to claim it back through HMRC's overseas refund scheme for non-UK businesses, but VAT Notice 723A sets conditions, including that your own jurisdiction allows UK businesses a similar refund, so treat recovery as uncertain rather than automatic.

So before you book, ask your forwarder in writing where the goods will be declared and who files. The same logic covers a supplier's DDP offer: a DDP price to a Great Britain address with the island leg added afterwards is the arrangement most likely to create an unrecoverable VAT charge. Decide the clearance plan before you agree the delivery term, not after.

Producer duties and restricted goods

Product safety in Jersey is set by the Consumer Safety (Jersey) Law 2006, and Trading Standards says you are a producer if you import consumer goods into the island. As a producer you must supply a safe product, give clear, readable, long-lasting warnings and instructions, mark products or batches so they can be traced, sample test, keep a register of safety complaints, tell distributors about risks and tell the Chief Consumer Safety Inspector immediately if you find a product is unsafe. Do not assume a UK conformity mark settles this; ask the factory for the test reports behind any mark and keep them.

Some goods need a licence or permit or are prohibited. Jersey lists endangered animals and goods made from them, weapons and explosives among them, and CITES permits for protected species. Check the list before ordering anything with leather, fur, shell or wood from protected species. If you also plan to sell in Great Britain, build to the stricter of the two rules rather than making the product twice.

Guernsey and the Isle of Man: do not reuse the Jersey figures

The Isle of Man is different: VAT Notice 700 says that for VAT purposes it is treated as part of the UK, and goods moving between Great Britain and the Isle of Man are not imports or exports for VAT. Jersey's 5% GST therefore has no counterpart there.

For Guernsey, the States of Guernsey pages we read say goods from outside the customs union are liable to import duty under the UK Global Tariff and need a full customs declaration. Those pages say nothing about VAT or GST on imports, and we have not found Guernsey tax figures on an official page, so do not assume Jersey's 5% applies. Confirm the tax position with Guernsey's own authorities before you build a price.

Goods going the other way, from Jersey into Great Britain, are imports for VAT purposes under Notice 700, so UK import VAT is due on arrival even though customs duty is not normally charged inside the union. For a first order, a small trial order usually costs more per unit than a mainland one, so price it with the GST and the second handling leg included. The portable sauna guide shows how this plays out for one product.