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How the government monitors imports into the UK.
The Trade Policy Group of the Department for International Trade (DIT) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) advise and deal with a range of trade policy, regimes, procedural issues governing imports into the UK
Import licensing
An import licence is not needed to import the majority of industrial goods into the United Kingdom or EU.
However, some industrial goods need import licences, issued by the Import Licensing Branch ( ILB), as a result of controls imposed at national, EU or UN level. ILB publicises these restrictions by issuing Notices to Importers.
Import controls
The UK is part of the EU Single Market and the European Commission has sole responsibility for the EU’s commercial policy. With limited exceptions (for example, on security or health grounds), the UK is unable to introduce national import controls.