UPS has established specific weight and size limits for parcels that you send with all UPS services. The restrictions below only pertain to individual packages. There are no limits to the total weight of your shipment or the total number of packages in your shipment.

• Packages can be up to 70kg
• Parcels can be up to 419 cm in length and girth combined (girth is 2 x parcel height + parcel width)
• Packages can be up to 274 cm in length
• Specific weight and size limits apply when dropped off at a UPS location (UPS Access Point) – The maximum weight (actual weight) per parcel is 20 kg and the maximum length per parcel is 97 cm. The maximum size per parcel is 300 cm in length and girth combined.

You have an option to print a shipping label on the shipping confirmation page, once you complete your shipping information and have completed the payment. Also, you will receive a shipping label to your email, so you can print it later.

Prohibited items are those you are not allowed to ship due to additional restrictions such as certain customs clearance procedures, compliance requirements imposed by government agencies, claims risk, or other regulatory restrictions.

The following items are normally prohibited from shipment to all countries served by UPS:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Animal skins (non-domesticated)
• Articles of exceptional value (e.g. works of art, antiques, precious stones, gold and silver)
• Dangerous goods/Hazardous materials (following IATA and ADR regulations)
• Firearms
• Furs
• Ivory and ivory products
• Live animals
• Money and negotiable items and pre-paid cards
• Perishable goods (such as fish or meat)
• Personal effects (include jewelry, appliances, tools, furniture, clothing, chinaware, silver, coin collections etc. By definition, these are used items)
• Plants
• Pornographic materials
• Seeds
• Tobacco and tobacco products
• Unaccompanied baggage (means that you do not carry the baggage with you during your travel, but instead you ship it with a carrier)
• Jewellery and watches (other than costume jewellery and costume watches) exceeding the value of ₤400 (or 500 USD equivalent) per parcel

 Certain goods may be accepted to be transported under special conditions and will require a contract with UPS:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Dangerous goods/Hazardous materials
• Perishable goods (fish and meat)
• Plants
• Seeds
• Tobacco and tobacco products
• Biological Substances, Category B, Exempt Animal Specimens, Exempt Human Specimens
• Special Exceptions

Commercial invoice is a must-have customs document, used as a customs declaration provided by the person or company that is exporting an item across international borders. It is used for all non-document shipments and clearly describes the goods being sold. Note that you need three printed copies of the commercial invoice: one attached to your parcel (for customs), one inside (for your customer) and one for your own records. As you go through the shipping process and enter shipment details, you will be able to download a prepopulated commercial invoice on the shipping confirmation page. Our guide to completing a commercial invoice on your own is always available for download as well.

A shipper is usually the one who pays shipping costs while a receiver pays duties and taxes. All parcels sent through this website will not have the duties and taxes prepaid. This means that the receiver of the parcel is liable to pay any applicable Duty or Taxes associated with it. Note that there are differences whether you send a parcel to a customer in a member state of the EU or outside of the EU.

Outside of the EU: If the value of your goods stays below the thresholds of the destination country De minimis, your customer won’t have to pay customs charges. This is important to check and also to inform your customer that there won’t be any customs fees. De minimis refers to a value below which goods can be shipped into a country before duties and taxes apply. For example, currently de minimis to ship duty-free parcels into US is $800

If you are shipping to a customer based in the EU, you need to be aware that from 1 July 2021, there are significant changes to the European Union’s Value Added Tax rules applying to the shipment of goods into the EU. While these reforms primarily target B2C e-commerce imports, impacting both businesses and online shoppers, they may also impact B2B imports.

Whether and how the new EU VAT reform impacts your business depends on the value of the goods you sell, whether you sell to businesses or consumers and whether you use online marketplaces. You can refer to our EU VAT Reform Guide for detailed information.

Customs clearance involves the preparation and submission of documentations required for export or import into the country, customs examination, assessment and payment of any duties and taxes to deliver your shipment. What is good to know is that you might entirely avoid the usual customs clearance and paperwork if the value of your goods falls below the de minimis value. Otherwise, you should make sure you have all required documentation in place and along with your parcel.

The moment you send your goods outside of your domestic market, you are considered an exporter, making an international shipment. Since the UK has left the European Union officially at the beginning of 2021, a shipment to a member state of the EU is handled the same way as a shipment to any other international destination, meaning that it has to clear customs, a commercial invoice needs to be provided, and additional fees and duties may apply. In addition, you have to be in possession of an EORI number which is used as a unique ID to track and register customs information in the EU. You can refer to our EORI registration guide for more information.

From 1 July 2021, there are significant changes to the European Union’s Value Added Tax rules applying to the shipment of goods into the EU. While these reforms primarily target B2C e-commerce imports, impacting both businesses and online shoppers, they may also impact B2B imports.

Whether and how the new EU VAT reform impacts your business depends on the value of the goods you sell, whether you sell to businesses or consumers and whether you use online marketplaces. You can refer to our EU VAT Reform Guide for detailed information.

The moment you send your goods outside of your home market, you are making an international shipment. Among the most important documents, you should complete a commercial invoice for an international shipment. It is one document needed no matter what product you ship. You can download a commercial invoice on the shipping confirmation page and it will already be prepopulated based on your shipping details. It will also be sent to you email address along with your shipping label. Note that you need three printed copies of the commercial invoice: one attached to your parcel (for customs), one inside (for your customer) and one for your own records.

Countries part of the EU are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Since the beginning of 2021, shipments to a EU member state are treated the same way as any other worldwide shipment, meaning they have to clear customs, require additional documentation (such as a commercial invoice), and may be subject to additional fees and duties.

Depending on the delivery destination, an international express shipment to major destinations can take anywhere between one to three  business days, and four to six business days with the more economical services. Browse out international shipping content centre for more information.

From 1 July 2021, there will be significant changes to the European Union’s Value Added Tax rules applying to the shipment of goods into the EU. While these reforms primarily target B2C e-commerce imports, impacting both businesses and online shoppers, they may also impact B2B imports.

Whether and how the new EU VAT reform impacts your business depends on the value of the goods you sell, whether you sell to businesses or consumers and whether you use online marketplaces.

• For goods valued up to €22: Goods with a value up to €22 will no longer be exempt from VAT. These goods will now require formal customs clearance and they are subject to VAT. You should keep this in mind as you price your products.
• For goods valued up to €150: If you’re selling directly to EU consumers, you have two options to pay VAT:
  • Charge consumers VAT at the point of sale and declare it to the EU (for example via the IOSS platform)
  • UPS declares VAT at point of import and charges your business
• For goods valued above €150: The EU VAT reform only impacts goods valued up to €150. For goods valued above this threshold, you can continue to charge, declare and pay EU VAT as you do today.

You can refer to our EU VAT Reform Guide for detailed information.

You will receive your invoice to your address by post. We are working on making it available to you immediately upon completing a shipment. In the meantime, you can download a receipt immediately after creating a shipment.

Offer flexibility and convenience to your customers by sending your parcels to a local collection point in select destinations. Our UPS Access Point network includes local businesses in the neighbourhood where you and your customers can drop off and collect parcels whenever it is convenient.

To schedule a collection, use our shipping application. Simply select the parcel size and select ‘collect the parcel from me’ – you then have the option to select a time window on the same day or following days.

Once you have reviewed your return shipment, you can pay via your Payment account. Should you have more than one payment account associated with your UPS account, you have the option to select the correct account to be billed.

You can choose to have all shipping documents sent to you or directly forwarded to your customer free of charge. By forwarding it to your customer, the shipping label and customs invoice (if it’s an international shipment) will be sent to your customer via email and you can download a receipt for the shipment. Note that you will not receive a copy of the shipping label or customs invoice.

If your return is an international shipment, the original information of the export shipment is maintained. In case your customers is returning only part of the shipment, changes need to be made to the custom declaration in order to reflect the content of the parcel. While you don’t need to pay duties and taxes for this return shipment, two commercial invoices need to be placed inside the box by your customer: that of the initial shipment, and that of the return shipment (modified to match the content of the parcel that is being returned).