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Shipping to United Kingdom (UK): what is not allowed

The UK allows most personal parcels, but there are strict rules on meat and dairy, and VAT applies to almost all imported goods.

Not accepted for United Kingdom (UK)

  • Meat, milk, and dairy products from outside the EU
  • Certain plants, bulbs, and seeds without a phytosanitary certificate
  • Offensive weapons — flick knives, knuckledusters, and self-defence sprays
  • Endangered species products and real fur from protected animals

Allowed, with conditions

  • Medicines — personal quantities with a prescription
  • Commercially packaged and sealed food (no meat/dairy)
  • Alcohol and tobacco — heavily dutiable, usually not accepted by courier
  • Supplements and cosmetics — declare

Up to £135, UK VAT (20%) is normally charged by the seller at checkout; above £135, import VAT and any duty are collected before delivery. Gifts between individuals are free of VAT up to £39.

Since 15 July 2026 the UK–India trade agreement has cut or removed duty on many goods made in India, such as clothing and footwear, where the origin rules are met.

The recipient may need to pay VAT/duty before delivery.

Indian and Kerala food to the UK, item by item

Customs does not care whether food is Indian. It cares about three things: animal origin — meat, fish, dairy, egg; plant and seed material — raw grain, seeds, nuts, fresh produce; and everything else, sealed and commercially packaged, which is broadly fine when it is declared accurately. Almost every Kerala snack sits in the third group. Almost every refusal sits in the first two.

Usually fine, sealed and declared

  • Nendran and banana chips, tapioca chips, jackfruit chips
  • Murukku, achappam, kuzhalappam, mixture, pakkavada
  • Sharkara varatti and jaggery-coated snacks
  • Pappadam
  • Kerala halwa and commercially packaged sweets with no dairy
  • Vegetarian pickles — mango, lemon, garlic, puli inji
  • Chammanthi podi, idli and dosa podi, sambar and curry powders, masala
  • Cardamom, black pepper, cloves and other dry Malabar spices
  • Tea and coffee powder

Send with care

  • Anything homemade, loose-packed or relabelled
  • Payasam, halwa and dessert mixes, which often contain milk powder and are then treated as dairy rather than as a snack
  • Matta rice and any raw grain, pulse, seed or raw nut — this is plant material, not groceries, and it is judged as such
  • Coconut oil and liquid pickles, which are allowed but leak; tell us on the pre-alert so we pack them separately
  • Large quantities of a single item, which read as commercial rather than personal however they are declared

Do not send to the UK

  • Meat and meat products, including beef pickle
  • Milk and dairy — ghee, milk powder and milk-based sweets
  • Fresh fruit, vegetables, plants and seeds

Great Britain does not permit personal imports of meat or dairy from India. Sealed vegetarian snacks, spices, pickles without animal content, tea and coffee are the part of a Kerala food order that travels. Declare contents item by item.

On the the UK route in particular

UK VAT thresholds are low, so declare values accurately — the recipient usually pays VAT before delivery.

Normal transit on this route is 4 to 10 business days from our warehouse in Kerala.

Quick answers: shipping from India to the UK

What can I not send from India to the UK?

The UK does not accept: meat, milk, and dairy products from outside the EU; certain plants, bulbs, and seeds without a phytosanitary certificate; offensive weapons — flick knives, knuckledusters, and self-defence sprays; endangered species products and real fur from protected animals. On every route, we also cannot carry anything with a battery, mobile phones and laptops, real gold, silver or diamond jewellery, or anything flammable or pressurised such as perfume, aerosols and nail polish.

Can I send medicines from India to the UK?

Yes, within limits: medicines — personal quantities with a prescription. Controlled and psychotropic medicines need clearance first, so ask us before you order them.

Can I send Indian food to the UK?

Sealed, commercially packaged food usually goes, declared accurately: nendran and banana chips, tapioca chips, jackfruit chips; murukku, achappam, kuzhalappam, mixture, pakkavada; sharkara varatti and jaggery-coated snacks. Do not send: meat and meat products, including beef pickle; milk and dairy.

How long does a parcel from India to the UK take?

Normal transit on this route is 4 to 10 business days from our warehouse in Kerala.

Will I pay customs duty or tax in the UK?

Up to £135, UK VAT (20%) is normally charged by the seller at checkout; above £135, import VAT and any duty are collected before delivery. Gifts between individuals are free of VAT up to £39. Since 15 July 2026 the UK–India trade agreement has cut or removed duty on many goods made in India, such as clothing and footwear, where the origin rules are met. The recipient may need to pay VAT/duty before delivery.

Never accepted, wherever you are

These are refused by the airlines, by Indian export rules or by us, so they cannot leave our warehouse for any destination.

Prohibited, restricted and dangerous goods, in one line each. Prohibited means it cannot be sent at all. Restricted means it can travel, but only under conditions your country sets, such as a personal quantity, a prescription or a declaration; those are listed under each destination. Dangerous goods are what airlines treat as a hazard on board: anything flammable, corrosive or pressurised. We also cannot ship anything with a battery, or anything that burns, such as agarbatti and camphor.

  • Cash, currency, cheques, bullion, and loose precious stones
  • Narcotics, illegal drugs, and psychotropic substances
  • Firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, and weapons (including replicas)
  • Anything with a battery, including power banks, battery-operated toys and watches
  • Mobile phones and laptops
  • Real gold, silver and diamond jewellery
  • Flammable, corrosive, or pressurised goods — perfumes/deodorant sprays, aerosols, nail polish and remover, paints, thinners, fuel, gas cylinders, lighters, and matches
  • Anything that burns: agarbatti (incense sticks), dhoop, camphor, sambrani and candles
  • Live animals, plants, seeds, soil, and products of endangered species (CITES)
  • Pornographic, obscene, or seditious material
  • Counterfeit goods and pirated media
  • Human remains, biological samples, and infectious substances
  • Radioactive and toxic substances

Medicines and supplements are the one thing to check before you order. They are not banned — almost every destination lets a personal quantity through in its original packaging with a copy of the prescription. What changes from country to country is how much counts as personal, whose name the prescription has to be in, and which ingredients need clearance from that country's health authority first.

The rule for the UK is under Allowed, with conditions above. Controlled and psychotropic medicines are a separate case: several countries want their own health authority to clear the parcel first, so check with us before you order rather than after it arrives with us.

If you are not sure about something, ask on WhatsApp before you order it.

The same list, talked through

Three and a half minutes on what cannot leave India, what your own country will not let in, and the things that travel perfectly well once the paperwork is right.

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What You Can and Can't Ship From India (Full List)

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