Notice

Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS): goods graduation from 19 June 2023

Updated 25 October 2023

1. Introduction

Goods graduation is the suspension of preferential rates of customs duty on certain imports. These imports are competitive without trade preferences.

Suspensions can be applied to goods from countries in the Standard Preferences framework of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS). Currently this is India and Indonesia.

The goods graduation ground has been determined to apply to the goods listed below in accordance with the legislation set out at Section 4 of this notice. The standard preferences rate will be suspended on these standard preferences imports from 12.01am on 19 June 2023 until 11.59pm on 31 December 2025.

The DCTS will replace the UK Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) from 19 June 2023. All previous goods graduation notices published under the GSP will no longer apply.

In this notice you will find out:

  • how long goods are graduated for
  • which goods are graduated

1.1  Who should read this notice

You should read this notice if you are:

  • based in the UK and import goods from a DCTS beneficiary country
  • based in a DCTS beneficiary country and export goods to the UK

2. Graduation period

The goods in this notice will be graduated from 12:01am on 19 June 2023 until 11:59pm on 31 December 2025. This can be extended by a further notice.

3. Graduated goods

The standard preferences rate will be suspended on standard preferences imports in the following chapters.

3.1  Goods originating from India

Chapter Description of chapter
11 Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten
15 Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes
28 Inorganic chemicals: organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, of rare-earth metals, of radioactive elements or of isotopes
29 Organic chemicals
41 Raw hides and skins (other than furskins) and leather
42 Articles of leather; saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and similar containers; articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm gut)
50 Silk
51 Wool, fine or coarse animal hair; horsehair yarn and woven fabric
52 Cotton
53 Other vegetable textile fibres; paper yarn and woven fabrics of paper yarn
54 Sewing thread of man-made filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale
55 Man-made staple fibres
56 Wadding, felt and nonwovens; special yarns; twine, cordage, ropes and cables and articles thereof
57 Carpets and other textile floor coverings
58 Special woven fabrics; tufted textile fabrics; lace; tapestries; trimmings; embroidery
63 Other made up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles; rags
71 Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin
73 Articles of iron or steel
88 Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof

3.2 Goods originating from Indonesia

Chapter Description of chapter
15 Lacs; gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts (animal or veg oils)
92 Musical instruments; parts and accessories for such

4. Legislation

The legal basis for goods graduation is set out in regulation 18(1) and Schedule 3 of the Trade Preference Scheme (Developing Countries Trading Scheme) Regulations 2023; in particular, paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 which relates to the first goods graduation notice published under the DCTS.