UK importer duties after stopping trading
Confirm with the relevant product safety authority what product-record retention periods apply after you stop trading. Keep batch records accessible, maintain a safety contact route and plan for remaining stock and recalls. Ask your insurer what cover applies after closure. Factory records can be gathered by Cambridge China Bridge.
Keep records accessible after the business stops
Confirm with the relevant product safety authority which record-retention rules apply and whether the relevant period runs from when goods were placed on the market or another date. Use our compliance file guide to help identify the documents and retention periods to confirm. This guide focuses on keeping that archive usable after trading stops and covers non-food consumer goods.
Before cancelling business accounts, export product files, batch identifiers, supplier details, shipment records and customer dispatch records. Preserve the connection between each batch and its released specification. Name an archive holder and deputy, arrange secure access and test retrieval without your shop, marketplace or factory portal. If you intend to dissolve a company, ask your adviser to review these arrangements before formal closure.
Leave a working route for safety complaints
Keep a monitored email address and a practical route for correspondence about products already supplied. Test whether messages still arrive after cancelling your website or business software. Give the person monitoring complaints access to batch records and an escalation contact. An automatic reply should explain how to report a safety concern, rather than merely announce that trading has stopped.
Keep a dated complaint log linking the reported problem to the model, batch and buyer where known. Arrange cover when the named contact is unavailable. Before closing a marketplace account, ask how later safety messages and buyer records can be accessed. Treat this contact arrangement as a practical way to keep safety work functioning, rather than assuming an inactive shop will forward messages.
Decide what happens to remaining stock
Products should only be sold once compliance with product safety regulations has been demonstrated appropriately. A clearance sale is still a sale. Before disposing of stock through another seller, review its safety status and evidence. Do not sell goods you know, or should have known, are unsafe.
Prepare a closing stock ledger covering your premises, fulfilment warehouses, returns and goods held by other sellers. Record the intended destination of each batch and preserve handover records. Tell warehouse operators who can authorise dispatch and who can block it. Separate suspect stock while its safety is assessed, and agree a suitable disposal route with competent advisers where needed.
Keep a recall arrangement ready
For goods covered by the Great Britain conformity-marking guidance, corrective action can include bringing supplied goods into conformity, withdrawal or recall. Stopping new orders is therefore not a substitute for addressing a problem with goods already supplied. Use our imported product recall guide for the notification, customer notice and recovery process.
Before trading stops, name who will lead a safety response, retrieve sales records, contact customers and arrange returns. Agree access to warehouse stock and a way to fund the response. If a problem arises, contact the relevant authority to confirm any notification requirements and explain the closure arrangements. Keep factory investigation and cost recovery separate from protective action.
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Ask the insurer before cancelling cover
Tell your insurer or broker what you imported, where it was sold, what remains in stock and how you intend to close. Ask in writing whether claims involving previously supplied goods remain covered after cancellation, expiry or closure, and whether cover after trading stops is available. Ask which event triggers cover and how to report a complaint that might become a claim.
Ask separately about recall expenses, customer communications, collection, storage and disposal. Have the insurer identify exclusions and notification conditions in the policy wording. Keep the policy, schedule and written answers with the product archive. Our product liability insurance guide and product recall insurance guide help frame those separate discussions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I delete importer records when I stop trading?
Confirm with the relevant product safety authority the retention period under each applicable product rule and how your final trading date affects it. Export records before cancelling accounts and name someone who can retrieve them.
Should I keep an email address after closing my shop?
Keep a monitored route for safety complaints about supplied goods. Test it after account cancellations and give the contact access to batch records and an escalation route.
Can I sell leftover imported stock in a clearance sale?
Only sell stock whose compliance has been demonstrated appropriately. Do not sell goods you know, or should have known, are unsafe. Preserve batch and handover records.
Will product liability insurance cover me after closure?
Ask your insurer for a written answer based on your policy and closure plans. Check cover for previously supplied goods, notification conditions and recall expenses separately.