Shipping furniture from China to the UK: costs, VAT, duty and delivery

Shipping furniture from China to the UK usually takes about two months door-to-door. Forwarders advertised door-to-door rates from RMB 1,230 per m³ in mid-2026, while a London buyer paid RMB 23,000 for 9 m³ with checks, crating, clearance and assembly. On top of freight, expect import VAT of 20% at the time of writing plus any customs duty set by the commodity code — confirm both with your customs broker. Upholstered pieces supplied in the UK also need to meet British fire-safety rules.

How much does it cost to ship furniture from China to the UK?

Adverts start around RMB 1,230 per cubic metre door-to-door; real invoices for a full service can be about double that. A Guangdong logistics company advertised oversized furniture to the UK at RMB 1,230 per m³ in June 2026, promising no surcharges for long items, remote postcodes or unloading, free storage in an 8,000 m² warehouse, and duties included. Other forwarders in the same search advertised similar per-metre prices.

A London buyer’s bill, posted in May 2026, shows what a full service costs. She shipped more than 30 pieces — a sofa, sideboards, a dining table, storage units — bought for under RMB 60,000, totalling 9 m³. Freight was RMB 23,000, or roughly RMB 2,500 per m³, and her whole-home cost came to under RMB 100,000. For that, the forwarder’s warehouse checked each piece, built crates for glass, solid wood and sintered stone, refused a delivery with the wrong colour, cleared customs and delivered with unpacking and assembly. Her post names its forwarder and reads partly like a promotion, so treat it as indicative; still, the gap between advert and invoice is mostly service, not freight. For a comparison of lanes, see the guide complet de l'expédition de meubles depuis la Chine.

What VAT and duty do you pay to import furniture from China to the UK?

Import VAT at 20% at the time of writing, plus any customs duty set by the commodity code — confirm both with your customs broker. VAT is normally calculated on the value of the goods plus freight, insurance and duty, so it is often the largest single cost after the furniture itself. The duty rate depends on how each item is classified; most furniture sits in Chapter 94, and our guide des codes SH pour le mobilier explains how classification works. Importers generally need a GB EORI number.

Two cautions. First, a “duties included” advert means the forwarder is making the declaration and paying on your behalf; ask how the goods are valued and in whose name they are declared. Second, relief for people moving to the UK (transfer of residence) generally covers belongings you owned and used before the move, not new furniture bought to furnish a UK home. Declaring new goods as personal effects is a risk to you, not to the forwarder.

How long does shipping furniture from China to the UK take?

Allow about two months from warehouse to door, and three to four months from order. The London buyer’s shipment took about two months door-to-door, which she compares favourably with the 4–12 weeks London shops quoted for custom pieces. A Sichuan design-and-build firm that sells custom cabinetry to UK clients gives 45–90 days for production and shipping together; treat the lower end as optimistic for anything custom. Production over Chinese New Year adds several weeks.

Qu'apportent les commentaires ?

The comment sections under UK adverts are mostly enquiries, but the questions show what UK buyers worry about.

• Installation is the first question. Under a design firm’s UK advert, one reader’s first comment was whether they would have to install everything themselves.
• Guarantees are discussed privately. Under the RMB 1,230 advert, a reader asked what protection was offered; the answer, as for almost every question, was sent by private message — ask for terms in writing.
• Custom demand is real. UK-based readers asked about under-stair shoe cabinets, garden rooms and a child’s room designed to last from age 11 into adulthood.

Which UK port, and how does delivery work?

Most containers from South China arrive at one of the big deep-sea ports in southern England, and the last mile decides how smooth the day is. Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway handle most Asia traffic. From there, goods travel by lorry to your address or to a forwarder’s UK depot. Check three things: whether delivery is to the kerb or into the room, whether a large lorry can reach your street, and whether unpacking and packaging removal are included. Terraced streets and flats with narrow stairs are where oversized sofas get stuck; measure doors, stair turns and lifts before you order.

What rules apply to upholstered furniture in the UK?

Upholstered furniture supplied in the UK must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations, and that is a specification point, not a shipping one. The regulations cover fillings, covers and labelling for items such as sofas, upholstered beds and cushions. They apply when furniture is supplied in the course of business — including to tenants in furnished lets and to hotel or restaurant clients. If you are buying for a project, write the requirement into the factory order and ask for evidence before production; our check-list des documents de commande shows where it belongs. Confirm what applies to your case with a trading-standards adviser.

Buyers heading elsewhere face different rules: New Zealand’s focus is biosecurity on timber, covered in shipping furniture to New Zealand, while Canada charges GST at the border.

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