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Trade preference guide

UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS)

DCTS can reduce tariffs for qualifying goods from eligible developing countries, but country eligibility alone does not guarantee a zero rate.

Why BorderMath does not hard-code a “0% DCTS” list

Preference depends on the country, commodity, date, origin rules and any conditions attached to the tariff measure. A static country list can become misleading when schemes or graduations change. BorderMath therefore uses the live origin-filtered tariff measures. If HMRC returns one simple preferential percentage rate, BorderMath can use that rate as an explicit eligibility-dependent estimate; conditional or ambiguous treatments are not silently applied.

What to check

  • the exporting country is currently eligible for the relevant DCTS tier;
  • the commodity receives a preference under that tier;
  • the goods satisfy the rules of origin;
  • you hold the required origin evidence;
  • no overriding measure applies.

Check a commodity and origin