The Treasury and the Department for Business and Trade have made the Customs (Tariff and Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 4) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1289), laid before the House of Commons on 10 December 2025 and in force from 1 January 2026. The instrument updates core elements of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), revises product‑specific rules of origin for textiles and clothing, graduates Vanuatu from Least Developed Country (LDC) treatment, and refreshes several tariff and reference documents used across UK customs administration.
The instrument aligns definitions by importing “EP country” and “SP country” into the 2023 DCTS origin regulations, ensuring the same terminology is used across the DCTS preference rules and the origin framework. In the DCTS Preference Regulations 2023, “EP” denotes the Enhanced Preferences framework and “SP” denotes Standard Preferences; these frameworks sit alongside Comprehensive Preferences for LDCs.
For origin, the changes focus on Chapters 61 and 62. Assembly from pre‑cut or pre‑made pieces is explicitly recognised as sufficient processing for certain knitted goods, crocheting is added wherever knitting previously appeared, dyeing alternatives are clarified, and man‑made staple fibres are aligned with the spinning option. A new Part 4 sets out “important stage of manufacture” conditions for EP countries, while selected rows in Part 3 are marked “SP countries only” so the stricter conditions bite only where intended. These amendments build on the structure of the 2023 DCTS origin regulations, which set the baseline “important stage of manufacture” tests in Schedules by chapter and heading.
In practice, apparel importers should reassess supplier declarations where goods are knitted or crocheted to shape. The explicit recognition of sewing/assembly from multiple pieces, and of crochet alongside knitting, reduces ambiguity when determining whether processing in an LDC, SP country or EP country counts as an “important stage of manufacture”. This should streamline claims and reduce post‑clearance queries, provided evidence of processing is retained to the existing standards under the DCTS origin regulations.
The instrument also restructures intra‑regional cumulation under the DCTS origin regulations by consolidating two existing groups into one expanded group and creating a new group. For traders, the immediate action is to reconfirm which neighbouring countries can contribute originating materials or processing to a claim in 2026 and to update supplier statements accordingly. The legal evidential rules are unchanged but group membership shifts can alter whether a mixed‑country supply chain continues to qualify.
On market access, the definition of an “economically vulnerable country” for EP eligibility is broadened. In addition to the concentration test already in law, a country can now qualify where its share of global goods exports by value is under 0.85% on a mean average over the most recent import review period. This widens the pathway into EP for smaller exporters, potentially expanding use of tariff cuts and more flexible origin rules for a limited set of product lines.
Vanuatu is graduated from the UK’s LDC list in Schedule 3 to the Taxation (Cross‑border Trade) Act 2018 and added to the “other eligible developing countries” list. The Explanatory Note confirms Vanuatu is also added to the DCTS EP list, meaning goods from Vanuatu move from Comprehensive Preferences to Enhanced Preferences from 1 January 2026. The move reflects the country’s UN graduation from the LDC category on 4 December 2020, which the UK is required to consider when adjusting its lists. Importers should expect preference continuity, but with EP‑specific conditions on product coverage and origin.
Several cross‑referenced operational documents are updated to versions dated 26 November 2025, including the Tariff of the United Kingdom, the Authorised Use documents, the Tariff Quotas table and the Tariff Suspension document. Where version numbers look non‑sequential, HM Treasury notes this can arise because section 32A of the 2018 Act allows these documents to be modified by public notice between SIs. Traders should therefore rely on the latest version/date shown on GOV.UK for the operative text and commodity mappings.
On quotas, the Quota Table move to version 4.4 incorporates an increase to the autonomous tariff quota for sugar (order 05.7713) effective from the start of the 2026 quota year. Any licences or allocation practices should be checked against the new table once published; businesses should also ensure their internal quota forecasting reflects the larger in‑quota volume from 1 January 2026.
For preferential arrangements, updated reference documents are given effect for multiple agreements. These include Australia, Central America, CPTPP, the Faroe Islands, Lebanon, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States. The updates adjust quota volumes and administration in line with committee decisions, correct commodity codes and tidy drafting. For the US, the United States Preferential Tariff document reflects implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal framework announced in June 2025. Traders using preference rates should download the latest preferential tariff and origin reference files for each agreement before making January declarations.
The Eastern and Southern Africa States origin reference document is updated to implement Decision No. 1/2025 of the ESA‑UK Customs Cooperation Committee, renewing a derogation from rules of origin for preserved tuna and tuna loins for 2026–2030 within annual quotas of 10,000 tonnes and 340 tonnes respectively. Importers of preserved tuna should quote the derogation wording on proofs of origin and monitor quota balances during the year.
Operationally, three practical checks will ease the 1 January transition. First, confirm whether a product line sourced from LDCs, EP or SP countries now sits under Part 2, 3 or 4 in the DCTS origin schedule and whether any “SP countries only” notes apply. Second, refresh supplier declarations and processing evidence where sewing, knitting or crochet to shape is relied upon. Third, for any claims under preferential agreements or special procedures, ensure internal systems reference the 26 November 2025 versions of the tariff, authorised use, quota and suspension documents before lodging January entries.