Importing natural stone into the UK: a buyer's guide.

What UK merchants, wholesalers and landscapers need to know before buying stone by the container from a producer overseas: how much fits in a box, who pays duty and VAT, how long it takes, how to approve the stone you are buying, and what happens when it reaches your yard. It is written from our side of the trade: we import marble, travertine, limestone, sandstone, basalt and porcelain on our own account and deliver them duty-paid to UK yards.

1. Stone is bought by the container, and containers fill by weight.

A 20 ft container carries about 25–28 tonnes. Stone reaches that weight long before the box is full, so the thickness of what you order decides how many square metres you receive. A 40 ft container holds little more weight than a 20 ft, so for dense stone it rarely pays; it is used for lighter loads such as thin porcelain.

Setts and walling are sold by the tonne for the same reason: a 100 mm sett covers about 119 m² per container, a 50 mm cobble about 283 m². When comparing quotations, compare the price per m² at the same thickness. A cheap 20 mm price is not a cheap 30 mm price.

2. Delivered duty-paid, or clear it yourself.

There are two ways to buy. On delivered duty-paid (DDP) terms the importer handles ocean freight, insurance, UK customs, duty, import VAT and haulage, and you receive the stone and one invoice in pounds. On FOB, CFR or CIF terms you, or your forwarder, take over at the overseas port or the UK port, and you import on your own EORI number. DDP suits most yards; the port terms suit buyers who already run their own freight. Our standard is DDP, and we also sell on port terms — see trade terms & Incoterms.

3. Duty and VAT.

Worked and natural building stone (tariff headings 6802 and 2516) carries 0% UK import duty, so no preferential origin proof is needed to avoid duty. Import VAT at 20% is due on the value at import. A VAT-registered importer can account for it through postponed VAT accounting on its VAT return rather than paying it at the border. On a DDP purchase this is the supplier's side; you pay VAT on the invoice as with any UK supplier.

4. Approve the stone you are actually buying.

Natural stone varies from block to block, so a catalogue photograph is a guide, not a specification. A sound order runs in three steps: a sample to agree colour and finish; a slab or crate list for the lot allocated to you (numbers, sizes and m²); and photographs of the actual production before it is loaded. For slabs, ask for sequential slabs from one block wherever colour continuity matters.

5. Lead times.

From order to your yard, stock items take about 3–4 weeks, cut-to-order work 5–6 weeks, and bespoke production 6–10 weeks, depending on block availability. The sea passage from Türkiye to the UK is about two weeks; the rest is production, booking, customs clearance and inland haulage.

6. Packing, delivery and offload.

Tiles and cut stone travel in seaworthy wooden crates, slabs in A-frame bundles, setts and walling in bulk bags on pallets or in crates. All of it is built for mechanical offload: a forklift of suitable capacity is the standard assumption. Where there is none on site, a truck-mounted forklift or a crane offload can be arranged, but it has to be planned in advance, so flag access constraints when you enquire. Slab bundles always need a forklift or crane.

7. Test data and standards.

Specifications usually name the relevant standard: BS EN 1341 for paving slabs, BS EN 1342 for setts, BS EN 1469 for cladding, BS EN 12371 for frost resistance and a pendulum (PTV) value for slip. Test data belongs to a specific stone and finish, so it is supplied per order for the material you buy rather than as a generic sheet. CE-marked construction products remain recognised in Great Britain.

8. Paying for an imported order.

Producers and importers normally take an advance to cut and load, with the balance when the goods are shipped. Our terms are 60% with the order and 40% against shipping documents within 3 banking days, or 100% against proforma.

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