Customs duty and VAT on clothes sent to the UAE

What the official sources say

• Customs duty: the UAE government portal u.ae says a 5 per cent customs duty is imposed on goods imported from abroad.
• VAT: the UAE Ministry of Finance explains that VAT applies to imports of goods, at the standard rate of 5 per cent.
• Dubai e-commerce threshold: Dubai Customs announced in Customs Circular 16/2026 that it had raised the customs duty exemption threshold for e-commerce shipments, measured on CIF value.

What CIF value means

CIF stands for cost, insurance and freight. It is the value of the goods plus the cost of insuring and shipping them to the destination, and it is a common basis for working out customs charges. In plain terms, the shipping cost counts as well as the price of the clothes.

The value of a made-to-measure outfit depends on the fabric, the work and the number of pieces, and the shipping cost depends on the parcel, so the charges on two orders can differ even when they look similar. That is one reason we work them out for each quote rather than publishing a flat figure.

Dubai’s announcement covers customs duty on e-commerce shipments. Whether VAT applies to shipments below that threshold is not something we have found confirmed officially, so we do not state it. Our quotes simply include whatever applies to your parcel.

Why the quote includes everything

Being asked for money at the door is one of the most common frustrations with ordering from abroad. To avoid it, we build delivery and any import charges into the written total you approve, whichever emirate you live in, from Dubai to Fujairah. If a courier ever contacts you asking for payment on delivery, get in touch with us before paying anything.

Our guide to what your written quote includes shows where to find the delivery line, and our page on worldwide delivery explains how shipping fits around the 5 to 7 working days of making.

Stitching Only: the first shipment is different

With Stitching Only, your fabric travels from the UAE to us in Pakistan before anything is made. That first parcel is one you arrange yourself, unless your quote says otherwise, so follow the courier’s instructions for the customs declaration and describe the contents honestly. We confirm the fabric and the sending arrangements before you post anything. The finished outfit then comes back to you with delivery and UAE import charges included, as with any order.

If you would rather avoid that first shipment, Fabric + Stitching for the UAE means we supply the agreed fabric in Pakistan.

Ordering with no surprises

Request a quote on the UAE quote form, choosing US dollars, euros or pounds sterling. The total you approve covers the outfit, delivery and import charges, and you pay it in full before we start. Our UAE page links the same official sources quoted here.