Department for Business and Trade (DBT): UK Apparel Import Authority Guide
How the United Kingdom department that owns trade policy sets the rules that decide what a Philippine garment shipment pays and how it clears. This guide covers the department remit, the 2026 move to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, the UK Global Tariff, the Developing Countries Trading Scheme preference, rules of origin for garments, the 2026 UK and Philippines trade committee outcomes, and the HMRC steps that release your goods.
- DBT / BIST
- Trade and investment department
- UKGT
- UK Global Tariff
- DCTS
- Preference for 65 countries
- HMRC
- Customs and VAT collection
- TRA
- Trade remedies investigations
- Authority
- Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
- Formed
- February 2023, replacing the Department for International Trade
- Current name
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST)
- Headquarters
- Old Admiralty Building, London SW1A 2DY
What the department does, and what it does not do
The Department for Business and Trade is the ministerial department that owns UK trade policy, the tariff schedule, preferential trading schemes, trade agreements, export support and inward investment. Customs collection, product safety and trade remedies sit with other bodies it works alongside. For an apparel importer, knowing which body owns which decision is the difference between a two day release and a two week hold.
| Body | What it owns | When you deal with it |
|---|---|---|
| DBT / BIST | Trade policy, trade agreements, the UK Global Tariff, preferential schemes, export and investment support | Choosing a tariff route, checking a preference, reading a trade agreement |
| HMRC | Customs duty and import VAT collection, EORI registration, the Customs Declaration Service | Registering for a GB EORI, filing the declaration, paying duty and VAT |
| Trade Remedies Authority | Investigations into dumped and subsidised imports, and recommendations on measures | Only if your product line is under a remedy measure |
| UK Export Finance | Export credit, guarantees and buyer financing | Financing a buyer or a project, not a routine import |
| Office for Product Safety and Standards | Product safety rules and marking, including UKCA | Marking and labelling compliance for the goods themselves |
Also inside the department: the Export Control Joint Unit, the Office for Investment, the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, the Office for Responsible Business Conduct, and UK Defence and Security Exports. None of these changes the route for ordinary apparel, but they explain why a large or unusual order can pull in a different team.
From DIT to DBT to BIST: the department short history
The name on the department changed twice in four years. Both names are still in circulation, and the GOV.UK page for the Department for Business and Trade continues to point readers to the newer organisation.
- 2023
The Department for Business and Trade is created
In February 2023 the trade functions of the former Department for International Trade were folded into a single department for business and trade, sitting alongside a separate energy and net zero brief.
- 2023 to 2025
DBT runs the tariff and trade agenda
The department administers the UK Global Tariff inherited from the EU exit settlement, negotiates and maintains the UK trade agreements, runs the Developing Countries Trading Scheme alongside the development brief, and promotes exports through the business.gov.uk service.
- 2026
The department becomes BIST
The department now operates as the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), widening its remit to cover science, innovation and investment alongside trade. The Department for Business and Trade page on GOV.UK carries a notice that the organisation is now called BIST, while the trade and tariff functions remain the same. Current ministers as of September 2026 include the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, who is also President of the Board of Trade, and a Minister of State for Trade.
The four levers the department controls
Four things decide what a garment shipment pays on entry to the United Kingdom, and the department owns three of them outright. The fourth, the actual collection, belongs to HMRC.
UK Global Tariff
The default UK tariff schedule. Every product line carries a commodity code, and that code sets the rate when no preference or agreement applies. Look up the payable rate with the official UK Trade Tariff before pricing an order.
Developing Countries Trading Scheme
The DCTS cuts tariffs for 65 developing countries, including the Philippines. It replaced the UK Generalised Scheme of Preferences on 19 June 2023 and is administered by the department together with the development brief. See our UK DCTS apparel import guide for the full preference mechanics.
Rules of origin
Preference is only granted when the goods meet the origin rule for their chapter. For apparel in HS chapters 61 and 62, the DCTS rules were liberalised and, from 1 January 2026, stay the same when a country moves from Comprehensive to Enhanced Preferences, so a graduating supplier does not lose its garment preference overnight.
Trade agreements
The United Kingdom has signed 40 trade agreements with 74 countries and territories plus the European Union, and they are in force for 73 partners. Where a buyer routes goods through a partner with an agreement, the agreement rate can sit below the UK Global Tariff. The department maintains the list.
What the 2026 UK and Philippines trade committee changed
On 22 September 2026 the United Kingdom and the Philippines held the second Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in Metro Manila. It was led by the UK Minister of State for Trade and the Philippines Undersecretary of Trade. The outcomes matter to garment exporters because they touched preference use and rules of origin directly.
- £3.1bn
- Total UK and Philippines trade in goods and services, four quarters to the end of Q1 2026
- 68%
- Philippine utilisation of the DCTS preference in 2025, with an agreed push to improve it
- £5bn
- UK Export Finance capacity available for eligible Philippine projects
- 2nd
- JETCO ministerial meeting, convened in Metro Manila on 22 September 2026
- Access
More support to use the preference
The two sides agreed to launch initiatives that support greater use of the DCTS and strengthen Philippine exporters readiness for the UK market, through trade promotion, business matchmaking and technical exchanges on market access requirements.
- Origin
More liberal rules of origin for garments
Both sides recognised the potential of improving the 2025 DCTS utilisation rate of 68 percent and the introduction of more liberal rules of origin for garments, the single most useful change for apparel exporters.
- Finance
A financing framework for Philippine projects
A Financing Framework was signed on 23 September 2026, enabling UK Export Finance support to be considered for priority Philippine government infrastructure projects. It is a project finance signal rather than a change to routine apparel import duty.
- Deeper work
Regulatory and market access cooperation
The two countries committed to continue cooperation on market access requirements, regulatory reform and consumer protection, and the Philippines acknowledged the United Kingdom interest in modernising the double taxation agreement.
Step by step: clearing Philippine apparel into the United Kingdom
Six steps take a garment consignment from a Philippine loading bay to a UK warehouse. The department sets the tariff and the preference, while HMRC takes the declaration and the payment.
-
Classify the goods
Find the commodity code for the garment in the UK Trade Tariff. The code determines the duty rate and whether a licence applies. Ordinary apparel lines need no import licence, but the code still has to be right because it drives everything downstream.
-
Register for a GB EORI
An importer established in Great Britain needs an EORI number that starts with GB. A number that does not start with GB will not work for imports into England, Scotland or Wales. The EORI is used in every declaration and in the Customs Declaration Service.
-
Appoint a customs agent
Most importers use a freight forwarder or customs broker to make the declaration. The agent needs your EORI number, the commodity code and the commercial documents. You can declare yourself, but the agent route is the norm.
-
Claim the preference
If the goods meet the DCTS origin rule, the declaration claims preference and the duty is reduced or removed. Keep the origin evidence with the shipment records, because a preference claim without proof can be unwound later.
-
File the declaration and pay
The declaration is filed in the Customs Declaration Service. Duty is payable at the tariff or agreement rate, and import VAT is charged at the standard 20 percent rate on the customs value plus duty. A lower tariff rate also lowers the VAT base.
-
Release and reclaim
Once duty and VAT are paid the goods are released. A VAT registered importer recovers the import VAT as input tax using the Import VAT Certificate (C79), and keeps the commercial invoice and customs paperwork on file.
Who owns which step: the department you are reading about owns the tariff and the preference in steps 1 and 4. HMRC owns the registration, the declaration and the payment in steps 2, 5 and 6. Your customs agent carries the paperwork across both.
Trade remedies, and when they touch an import
The Trade Remedies Authority is an executive body sponsored by the department. It investigates dumped and subsidised imports that injure UK producers and recommends measures to the Secretary of State. For most apparel lines it never comes up, but it is worth knowing where it sits.
Investigates unfair import practices
The authority examines whether goods are dumped below fair value or subsidised, whether UK producers are injured, and whether a measure is in the economic interest. It then recommends a duty to the Secretary of State.
Through the commodity code
Where a measure is in force, it appears against the commodity code in the UK Trade Tariff. Most apparel lines carry no remedy measure, so no additional remedy duty applies on top of the tariff or the preference.
Check live cases
The authority publishes live and completed cases and an import trends monitor. For a large or repeat order in a sensitive product line, check the case list before committing, and let your broker confirm the code treatment.
Department for Business and Trade FAQ
Practical answers on the department, its split from HMRC, and what a Philippine apparel shipment into the United Kingdom actually needs.
What is the Department for Business and Trade?
The Department for Business and Trade, known as DBT, is the United Kingdom ministerial department that owns trade policy, trade agreements, the tariff schedule, preferential trading schemes, export support and inward investment. It was created in February 2023 from the trade functions of the former Department for International Trade and the business brief, and it is the department that sets the rules an apparel shipment lands under.
Is it still called the Department for Business and Trade?
As of 2026 the department operates as the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), widening its remit to cover science, innovation and investment alongside trade. The Department for Business and Trade name and its GOV.UK page remain online and point readers to the newer organisation. For importers, the practical functions that matter, the tariff and the preference, are unchanged.
Does the department collect customs duty?
No. The Department for Business and Trade sets the tariff and the preferential rates, but HMRC collects the customs duty and the import VAT and runs the Customs Declaration Service. If your question is about which rate applies, that is the trade department. If it is about a payment, a declaration or an EORI number, that is HMRC.
Does a Philippine garment shipment need an import licence for the United Kingdom?
Ordinary apparel does not need an import licence. The UK import licence and certificate list covers categories such as animals, plants, medicines, weapons and chemicals, not standard textiles and garments. What the shipment does need is the correct commodity code, a GB EORI for the importer, a customs declaration, and payment of any duty plus import VAT. Specialised protective clothing can still pull in product marking duties under UKCA.
Can Philippine garments enter the United Kingdom duty free?
They can qualify for reduced or zero duty under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, which cuts tariffs for 65 developing countries including the Philippines. The goods must meet the DCTS rules of origin for their chapter, and the declaration must claim the preference with supporting origin evidence. The 2026 UK and Philippines trade committee specifically welcomed more liberal rules of origin for garments and a push to lift the 2025 utilisation rate above 68 percent.
What is the difference between the department and the Trade Remedies Authority?
The Trade Remedies Authority is an executive body sponsored by the department. It investigates dumped and subsidised imports that injure UK producers and recommends measures, while the department owns the wider trade policy and the tariff. Where a remedy measure is in force it appears against the commodity code, and HMRC applies it at the border. Most apparel lines carry no remedy measure.
Who do I contact about a UK tariff or preference question?
Start with the UK Trade Tariff lookup for the commodity code and the payable rate, then work with your customs agent on the preference claim. The department publishes trade agreements and preferential scheme guidance, and HMRC handles registration, declarations and payments. On our side, the PHShirt export desk helps assemble the commercial invoice, packing list and origin paperwork before the container leaves the Philippines.
Contact Our Export and UK Trade Desk
Talk to our international trade team about United Kingdom commodity codes, DCTS preference readiness, UKCA marking questions and apparel orders bound for the United Kingdom.
Sourcing the goods in the Philippines
Apparel for the United Kingdom is produced and consolidated in the Philippines, with export containers moving through the Davao International Container Terminal (DICT) in Davao del Norte, then on to Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway or an air cargo hub. We coordinate the order, the labels and the export documents from one desk.