Import VAT exposure
Separate import VAT from supplier price so customs value, duty and incidental costs do not collapse into one headline number.
Insights
Sourcing intelligence for Plinth&Co buyers.
Practical sourcing intelligence for UK industrial buyers checking supplier claims, RFQs, deposits, freight and landed-cost assumptions before commitments harden.
01 / Guides
China sourcing guide chapters
Operating chapters for buyers ordering proven components from China. Use them before supplier selection, RFQ or sampling.
Guide 01
Why Source from China — and When Not To
Use this guide before searching for suppliers: test whether China has the right volume, cost gap, capability, lead-time tolerance...
Guide 02
Finding Suppliers Beyond Alibaba — the Discovery Stack
Use this guide to build a supplier discovery stack beyond platform listings, then verify candidates against Chinese registry, tra...
Guide 03
Factory vs Trading Company — Five Public-Record Checks
Before treating a supplier as a factory, check registration scope, address evidence, production proof, export footprint and quota...
Guide 04
The RFQ for Industrial Goods — What UK Buyers Should Ask
Use this RFQ guide to make supplier quotes comparable before price review: define specification, tolerances, MOQ, Incoterms, samp...
Guide 05
Reading the First Quote — What CIF and FOB Hide
Break the first CIF or FOB quote into cost claims before comparing suppliers, so freight, duty, VAT, packaging and payment assump...
Guide 06
Negotiation and Payment Terms — T/T 30/70 vs L/C vs Trade Assurance
Set payment terms against supplier evidence and order risk, not habit: compare T/T, letters of credit and Trade Assurance before...
Guide 07
Samples and the Factory Audit — When the £600 Audit Pays Back
Use samples and factory audits as evidence gates: decide what the sample proves, when a paid audit is worth it and what still rem...
Guide 08
Pre-Shipment Inspection — SGS, TUV, or Self-Organised
Turn pre-shipment inspection into a batch-release control before final payment, with AQL, scope, photos and rework terms agreed i...
Guide 09
Incoterms Decision Tree — DDP vs FOB vs CIF for UK industrial buyers
Choose DDP, FOB or CIF by control and evidence, not by the neatest quote, then model who owns freight, customs, VAT and delay risk.
Guide 10
Freight Booking and Forwarder Selection
Before booking freight, compare forwarders on route, cut-off dates, FCL/LCL economics, documentation discipline and escalation pa...
Guide 11
UK customs clearance and PVA: the £9,000 field your forwarder may miss
Use PVA as a written customs-instruction control, then verify the forwarder used the right CDS treatment before cash leaves the b...
Guide 12
Postponed VAT accounting: the forwarder evidence check
Separate quote facts from supplier assumptions in the landed-cost stack, so CIF, duty, VAT, port fees and delivery lines can be c...
Guide 13
Post-Arrival QC, Dispute Path, and Repeat Orders
After arrival, preserve evidence quickly: inspect the batch, document defects, protect the dispute path and change the repeat-ord...
Guide 14
EU environmental and carbon evidence for China sourcing
Before EU market entry, check whether environmental, carbon or product-entry evidence is missing from the China supplier file and...
02 / Latest
Latest briefings by buyer-side risk
Latest is a decision index. Each article explains what changed, which buyer decision it touches and what should be checked before relying on an assumption.
4 briefings
Trade remedies and investigations
Anti-dumping, safeguard, TRA investigation and product-scope signals that can change the cost line before shipment release.
2 briefings
Customs and VAT evidence
C79, PVA, NI duty reimbursement, declaration and evidence-chain checks that affect landed-cost reconciliation.
3 briefings
Reliefs, quotas and suspensions
Duty suspension, tariff quota and reference-document updates that should stay provisional until evidence supports the lower duty line.
1 briefing
Market and supply signals
Policy or sector signals that affect RFQ timing, supplier alternatives, cost sensitivity or evidence requirements.
1 briefing
Product compliance and environmental entry
CBAM, product evidence and environmental-entry checks that should be resolved before RFQ, shipment or EU market-entry assumptions harden.
Latest / Trade remedies
Trade remedies and investigations
Use these notes before accepting a quote where anti-dumping, safeguard, TRA scope or exporter-code assumptions can change the landed-cost stack.
B-2026-02
Welded tubes expiry review: UK importer checks before shipment
Before releasing welded tube or pipe shipments, check product scope, origin, exporter treatment and the proposed anti-dumping dut...
B-2026-05
Chinese tin mill anti-dumping duty: importer checks before shipment
Before releasing Chinese tin mill products, check product scope, exporter code, invoice declaration and whether the anti-dumping...
B-2026-65
TRA proposes South Korean hot rolled steel measure: checks before shipment
Before committing to hot rolled steel plate supply, check South Korean scope, width, origin evidence and the knock-on effect on s...
B-2026-69
Rutile titanium dioxide from China: import-registration checks for UK buyers
For rutile titanium dioxide exposure, confirm material scope, commodity codes and additional code 8A60 before accepting the China...
Latest / Customs and VAT
Customs and VAT evidence
Use these notes where the buyer needs to reconcile import VAT, duty treatment, Northern Ireland routing or declaration evidence before the next commitment.
B-2026-08
Import VAT certificate C79: the landed-cost check for China RFQs
Use the C79 certificate as the evidence anchor between a China RFQ landed-cost model and the import VAT actually paid through def...
B-2026-77
Northern Ireland duty reimbursement: the China sourcing evidence trail
For China-origin goods routed through Northern Ireland, reimbursement depends on duty status, at-risk treatment, exemption use an...
Latest / Reliefs and quotas
Reliefs, quotas and suspensions
Use these notes where the apparent saving depends on a quota, suspension, relief or reference-document treatment that must be checked against live shipment facts.
B-2026-09
Duty suspensions are not supplier discounts: check the lower tariff line
Keep a lower duty line provisional until the commodity code, suspension scope, import date and declaration evidence all support t...
B-2026-15
Tariff suspensions changed again: check before trusting a lower duty line
Do not reuse an old suspension rate in a new RFQ until the goods, code, import date and current reference document still match.
B-2026-30
The tariff question behind a "cheaper" China quote
Treat a cheaper China quote as provisional when tariff-quota access is assumed; check the official record before the saving enter...
Latest / Market signals
Market and supply signals
Use these notes where policy movement changes supplier confidence, RFQ wording, lead-time risk or alternative-origin comparison.
03 / Formula References
Reusable landed-cost calculation frames
Formula references keep calculations visible without pretending a single spreadsheet can replace commercial judgement, customs advice or live freight quotes.
Defect recovery cost
Keep replacement, rework, freight, delay and claim evidence visible when a lower unit price relies on untested quality assumptions.
Delay cost
Translate late shipment or clearance delay into dated operating cost before accepting supplier timelines at face value.
04 / Case Notes
Buyer-side scenarios for component sourcing
Case notes turn common sourcing situations into concrete control points: what the buyer knew, what was missing, which evidence mattered and what should change before repeat orders.
Factory claim versus operating reality
Read supplier statements against public records, sample behaviour, quote detail and production communication.
Cheap quote with hidden exposure
Identify when tooling, packaging, freight, duties, inspection or defect recovery makes the apparent saving fragile.
Post-arrival evidence gaps
Capture lessons from defects, delays, missing documents or supplier responses while recovery evidence is still usable.
How this series fits Plinth&Co
Use the series as buyer preparation. If an article changes the decision, Plinth&Co can help turn it into RFQ scope, evidence checks or a landed-cost review.
Before RFQ
Use guides to clarify whether the requirement, supplier category and evidence threshold are ready.
Before deposit
Use briefings and case notes to check whether supplier claims and landed-cost assumptions survive scrutiny.
Before repeat order
Use defect notes, shipment records and supplier responses to decide what must change before the next run.