Two very different situations
"Getting a piano from Japan to London" sounds like one job. It is actually two, and which one you are in changes everything about the cost and the paperwork.
You are moving to the UK and bringing your own belongings. Your possessions travel with you as part of a household move, and you may be able to import them without paying customs duty or import VAT.
You have bought something abroad and want it shipped here. That is a commercial import. Duty and VAT apply, and no relief is available regardless of how personal the purchase feels.
The instrument is the same. The customs treatment is not. Everything below assumes a piano, because it is a useful example of something large, heavy, valuable and sensitive, but the same logic applies to furniture, artwork or an entire household.
Moving to the UK: Transfer of Residence relief
If you are relocating to the UK permanently, HMRC's Transfer of Residence scheme lets you bring personal belongings in without import duty or VAT. Given VAT is 20 per cent, the saving on a household shipment is substantial.
The conditions, all of which must be met:
- You have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months immediately before the move
- Each item has been in your possession and used by you for at least six months before importing
- The goods are for your personal use at your new home, not for sale or business
- Goods are normally imported within 12 months of your arrival
There is also a condition that applies afterwards. For 12 months after import, you cannot sell, lend, hire out or transfer anything that received the relief. Break that and the waived duty and VAT become payable.
Apply using the ToR1 form on GOV.UK, and apply early. Approval can take anywhere from a day to several weeks, and your shipping agent needs the unique reference number to make the import declaration. Without it, you may be billed duty and administration charges on your own furniture.
Two things worth knowing. Alcohol, tobacco and commercial goods are excluded. And HMRC reads "used" literally, so anything still in its original packaging is treated as a new purchase rather than a personal effect.
Buying abroad: what you will actually pay
If the piano is a purchase rather than a possession, expect import VAT on the value including shipping, plus any customs duty at the rate for that commodity code. Musical instruments and antiques carry different rates, and antiques and fine art attract a reduced VAT rate rather than the standard one.
Get the seller to provide a proper invoice with an honest value. Undervaluing an import is fraud, and customs officers see a great many optimistic valuations.
Sea, air, and how long it takes
Sea freight is the normal answer for anything heavy. From Japan to the UK, transit is usually five to eight weeks port to port, plus loading, customs and inland delivery at both ends. Two options within it: a full container to yourself, or shared container space, which is cheaper but slower because the container waits until it is full and is unpacked at a depot on arrival.
Air freight takes days rather than weeks and costs several times more. For a piano it is rarely proportionate. For a single valuable item under tight time pressure, occasionally it is.
Either way, budget for the parts people forget: collection at origin, export packing, port charges at both ends, customs clearance, and delivery from the UK port to your door.
Packing for a sea voyage is not packing for a van
A container crossing the Pacific is a harsher environment than a lorry crossing London. Temperature swings, humidity, condensation inside the container, and weeks of vibration.
For anything valuable, that usually means a purpose built wooden crate rather than blankets, with internal bracing so the item cannot move, and moisture absorbers inside the crate.
One technical point that catches importers out. Wooden packaging used in international trade must comply with ISPM 15, meaning it is heat treated and stamped accordingly. Non compliant timber can be refused entry, treated at your expense, or destroyed. A professional export packer handles this as a matter of course. A seller improvising with scrap timber may not.
Insurance
Household removal insurance does not cover an international sea voyage. That needs marine cargo insurance, arranged separately and usually priced on the declared value.
Declare the real value, keep the purchase invoice or a valuation, and photograph the item before it is crated. Our guide to making a removal inventory covers the evidence side, which matters more when something has passed through four sets of hands.
When it arrives
For a piano specifically, the last stage is the one people rush.
Do not unpack and play it immediately. An instrument that has spent weeks in a shipping container needs to acclimatise to the humidity and temperature of the room before tuning, and most tuners will want it to settle for several weeks. Tuning it on day one simply means tuning it again later.
Position it away from radiators, direct sun and external walls, then arrange the tuning once it has settled. Expect it to need more than one tuning in the first year as it adjusts.
Getting it into the house is its own job. Our guide to moving pianos, safes and other awkward items covers the equipment and access questions, and if the property is not ready, container storage can hold a shipment until it is, though for an instrument it is worth asking about conditions first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay VAT on belongings I bring when moving to the UK? Not if you qualify for Transfer of Residence relief. You must have lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have owned and used the goods for at least six months, be importing them for personal use, and normally bring them in within 12 months of arriving.
How do I apply for Transfer of Residence relief? Through the ToR1 form on GOV.UK, before your goods arrive. Approval can take up to several weeks, and your shipping agent needs the reference number for the import declaration.
Can I sell something I imported under ToR relief? Not within 12 months of import. Selling, lending, hiring out or transferring it in that period makes the waived duty and VAT payable.
How long does sea freight from Japan to the UK take? Typically five to eight weeks port to port, plus collection, customs clearance and inland delivery at both ends. Shared container space is cheaper but slower than a full container.
What is ISPM 15 and why does it matter? An international standard requiring wooden packaging used in trade to be heat treated and stamped. Non compliant crates can be refused entry, treated at your cost or destroyed.
Should a piano be tuned as soon as it arrives? No. Let it acclimatise to the humidity and temperature of its new room for several weeks first, then tune. Expect more than one tuning in the first year.
Talk to us
RMV Storage & Removals has handled international removals alongside house and office removals across London for over fifteen years, with packing and export crating, container storage at either end, and delivery to every area we cover.
If something large is on its way to you from abroad, tell us where it is coming from, what it is and where it has to end up, and get in touch.
Written by Riki Migliori, Director at RMV Storage & Removals. Originally published May 2017. Fully reviewed and updated summer 2026.