Businesses across the UK continue to face uncertainty when preparing paperwork for overseas shipments—particularly when sending free of charge samples. Recent guidance highlights several recurring points of confusion, prompting customs specialists to clarify the correct procedures to ensure compliance and avoid costly errors.

If you are unsure, we offer specialist support in assessing your compliance and valuation for exports and imports please email: international@chamberelancs.co.uk for a visit

Commercial Invoice or Customs Invoice?

According to trade professionals, both terms are acceptable, and in practice most companies simply use a Commercial Invoice. The key requirement is that the document contains the necessary information for customs authorities, regardless of what it is called.

Do Sample Shipments Need an Invoice Number?

The need for an invoice number depends largely on a company’s internal processes.

If samples must be booked out of stock and recorded through the accounts system, then an invoice—and therefore an invoice number—will be required.

HMRC rules state that invoices must be dated and carry a sequential number (from one or more series) that uniquely identifies the document. Even for free of charge goods, a formally recognised document trail is essential.

Is “Sample Water Bottle” a Sufficient Description?

Customs experts confirm that this level of description is generally acceptable. As long as the product can be clearly identified, additional markings or detail are not typically required for sample items.

How Should the Value Be Declared for Samples?

A frequent misunderstanding relates to value declarations. Many businesses use phrases such as “Value for customs purposes only” or “No commercial value”, assuming this is sufficient.

However, specialists recommend using wording such as:

“These goods are free of charge to the customer and are samples for testing purposes only, with a value for customs purposes of £XXX.”

The value declared must be a genuine and supportable figure, reflecting the price at which identical or similar goods are sold. UK legislation requires a true customs value, even when goods are supplied free of charge. Undervaluation can result in both the exporter and the recipient underpaying customs duties—potentially triggering compliance issues.

What Counts as a ‘Commercial Sample’?

Many companies mistakenly believe that any free of charge item qualifies as a commercial sample.

Legally, this is not the case.

A commercial sample must:

• be provided solely to demonstrate a product to a potential customer;
• be unsuitable for resale (e.g., defaced, indelibly marked as a sample, supplied in much smaller quantities than normal);
• or, in the case of footwear, be limited to one shoe, not a pair.

HMRC provides detailed guidance on importing commercial samples, based on World Trade Organisation Valuation Rules, the basis for all customs authorities around the world. Full guidance can be found at: Click here

As international trade processes face increasing scrutiny, businesses are encouraged to review their documentation practices to ensure full compliance—particularly when sending samples, which often fall into grey areas of misunderstanding.