How to Ship Clothing Samples From a Portuguese Factory | NovaSupplier
How to Ship Clothing Samples From a Portuguese Factory
Matias Santos, Founder·
A clothing sample is ready in Portugal. Here is who books the courier, what goes on the paperwork, and what customs in the EU, UK and US will ask for before it reaches you.
How do you ship a clothing sample from a Portuguese factory?
The factory packs the sample and supplies origin, weight, dimensions and a commercial invoice; the brand supplies the destination and pays for the courier, either by reimbursing the factory, using its own courier account, or booking through a platform. Inside the EU the parcel moves with no customs formalities. To the UK or the US it needs a customs declaration, and duty, import VAT (UK) or processing fees (US) can apply even to a single garment.
The rest of this guide covers who books and pays, what each side provides, the five steps, how the three main destinations differ, and the mistakes that hold samples at customs.
Who books and pays for sample shipping?
There are three common set-ups. None is wrong; they differ in who controls the label and who carries the risk if the parcel is held.
Option
Who books
Who pays
Best when
Watch for
Factory ships and invoices you
Factory, on its courier account
Brand, added to the sample invoice
You want the least admin
You do not see the service level or the cost until the invoice arrives
Brand's own courier account
Brand, issuing a label or account number to the factory
Brand, billed directly by the courier
You already ship regularly with DHL, UPS or FedEx
You must set the incoterm and the duty billing on the label yourself
Platform booking
Brand, on the platform rate screen
Brand, at checkout
You want to compare rates and keep tracking in one place
Rates and transit are estimates per shipment, not fixed prices
Agree the option in writing before the sample is finished. A sample that sits packed for two days while both sides wait for the other to book is the most common avoidable delay.
What does the factory provide, and what does the brand provide?
Customs and couriers need the same basic data whichever option you choose.
The factory provides:
Origin address and a contact who will be present for collection
Packed weight and box dimensions (couriers bill on the greater of actual and volumetric weight)
A commercial or pro forma invoice listing each item, fibre composition, quantity, value and country of origin (Portugal)
The HS code for each garment if they know it. For example, a cotton knit T-shirt falls under HS 6109 and a cotton knit sweatshirt or hoodie under HS 6110 ().
The brand provides:
The full delivery address, a phone number and an email for customs contact
The importer details for the destination: an EORI number for a UK business, or a tax ID for a US business if the courier asks for one
Confirmation of who pays duties and taxes at destination
If you are still finalising the garment itself, the tech pack guide explains what the factory needs before a sample is even cut.
What are the steps from finished sample to delivery?
Approve the sample photos. Ask for front, back, detail and measurement photos before the box is closed. This can save a shipping round if something is visibly wrong.
Confirm the paperwork. The invoice should describe the garment plainly ("women's knitted cotton T-shirt, 100% cotton, sample") and state a realistic value.
Book the courier. Choose the service, set who pays duties and taxes, and send the label or booking reference to the factory.
Hand over and track. The factory attaches the label and the invoice, the courier collects, and you watch tracking for any customs hold.
Clear customs and receive. For UK and US deliveries the courier usually acts as the customs broker for small parcels and bills any duty or tax to whoever was set as the payer.
How do customs rules differ for the EU, the UK and the US?
Last checked: 26 October 2026. Customs rules change. Check the linked official source before you ship.
Destination
Customs declaration
Duty
Tax at import
Notes
EU country (for example Spain, France, Germany)
None. Portugal and the destination are in the EU customs union
None between EU countries ()
No import VAT. VAT is handled on the factory's invoice
Treated like a domestic parcel for customs purposes
United Kingdom
Required for every parcel since Brexit
Can be zero if the goods meet the UK-EU rules of origin; otherwise the UK tariff applies
Import VAT generally applies ()
Relief exists only for commercial samples of negligible value that are properly prepared ()
United States
What changes for samples going to the UK?
A sample from Portugal to the UK is an import. Duty depends on whether the garment qualifies as EU-origin under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which for clothing turns on where the fabric was made as well as where the garment was sewn. The UK brands after Brexit guide covers origin rules in detail.
HMRC offers relief from duty and VAT for commercial samples of negligible value, but the conditions are narrow. The goods must be prepared so they cannot be sold, for example by marking them "commercial sample" in permanent ink or limiting sizes, and they must be imported to obtain further orders. Relief is refused for goods that could be used for more than sampling (). A wearable fit sample in your size usually does not meet that test, so budget for duty and VAT.
What changes for samples going to the US?
Since 29 August 2025 the US has not applied the $800 de minimis exemption to any country, and a CBP interim final rule effective 24 June 2026 extended that suspension indefinitely for courier and other non-postal shipments (). In practice every sample is entered and can attract duty.
Shipments valued at $2,500 or less can usually clear as an informal entry (), which the courier handles. The duty rate comes from the garment's HTS code: 16.5% for a cotton knit T-shirt (6109.10.00) or cotton hoodie (6110.20.20), 32% for a man-made fibre T-shirt (6109.90.10), per the on 26 October 2026. Since 24 July 2026, EU goods whose normal rate is below 10% are topped up to 10% under Section 301; goods already at 10% or more pay nothing extra ().
The HTS has narrow sample provisions, such as 9811.00.60 for samples worth not over $1 each or marked or torn so they are unusable except as samples. A garment you plan to fit and approve rarely qualifies. Our US import duties guide covers the full cost stack.
How does NovaSupplier Logistics handle sample shipping?
NovaSupplier is a marketplace of 73 active clothing manufacturers, all in Portugal. It is completely free for brands. Manufacturers pay a 3.5% commission on every order placed through the platform, including reorders.
NovaSupplier Logistics keeps the sample payment and the shipment in the same place:
The factory creates a sample payment and you pay it on the platform.
When the sample is ready, the factory enters the origin, weight and dimensions. You enter the destination.
The platform shows rates from EnviaJa and Eurosender. You pick one and pay for it.
The factory receives the label, and the platform provides tracking.
You see the rate and the estimated delivery window before you pay, and neither side has to share courier account details. Transit time depends on the service you choose. For reference, Eurosender's public route page for Portugal to the UK listed 1 to 5 business days for its Priority Express service and 2 to 6 business days for Priority on 26 October 2026 (). Treat any estimate as a planning range, not a guarantee, and allow extra days for customs on UK and US routes.
Several factories on NovaSupplier already export to both the UK and the US and report a one-week sample lead time on their profiles, including Abilheira & Cunha, Carmafil and Miguel Sousa Confecções.
What mistakes hold clothing samples at customs?
Writing "gift" or "no commercial value". A sample has a value and a commercial purpose. Labelling it otherwise does not remove duty on its own and can trigger a hold or a penalty for misdescription.
Declaring an unrealistically low value. Declare what you paid for the sample or a reasonable cost-based value. If customs disputes it, the parcel waits while you prove it.
Vague descriptions. "Clothes" or "textile sample" invites questions. State the garment type, knit or woven, gender, and fibre content.
No importer details. UK parcels without an EORI number for a business importer, and US parcels without a contact who can answer the broker, sit in the depot.
Leaving the duty payer unset. If the label does not say who pays duties and taxes, the courier will usually bill the receiver and hold the parcel until payment.
Shipping each revision separately. If two styles finish within a few days of each other, one box is usually cheaper than two and creates one customs entry instead of two.
Most sample problems are not shipping problems. They come from an unclear brief, which is why a clear comparison of sample and bulk standards matters before the sample ships.
How does shipping fit into the wider sampling process?
Shipping is the last step of each sampling round, and on UK or US routes it can add several days per round. If you expect two or three rounds, that time compounds. Our guide to clothing samples in Portugal covers sample types, lead times reported by factories on NovaSupplier, and how to reduce the number of rounds.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Send the factory a prepaid label or your account number, and set the duty and tax payer on the booking yourself. You keep the account rates, but you also take on the admin of creating each label correctly.
It depends on the destination and the service level. EU deliveries do not stop at customs. UK and US deliveries add customs clearance. On NovaSupplier Logistics the rate screen shows the estimated delivery window for each option before you pay.
The real value: what you paid for the sample, or a reasonable cost-based figure if it was free. Customs authorities can ask for proof, and undervaluing a parcel is a common reason for holds.
Not on its own. In the UK, relief is limited to commercial samples of negligible value that are physically prepared so they cannot be sold. In the US, the de minimis exemption is suspended, so most samples are dutiable. The words on the label do not change the legal treatment of the goods.
Whoever is named as the duty and tax payer on the booking pays the charges. Storage fees and delays usually fall on the receiver unless you agreed otherwise. Settle this before shipping, not after the hold notice.
Yes, and it is usually worth it. One parcel means one label, one customs entry and one set of fees. List each garment separately on the invoice with its own description, quantity and value.
