FOB quote received? Build the rest of the import cost.
Build a cost checklist from the supplier quote to UK delivery, without counting freight twice.
Scope: ordinary commercial imports to Great Britain. Check route-specific rules and specialist treatment separately.
The short answer
The supplier quote is only one input to your import budget. Before comparing it with a delivered quote, identify which movement, insurance, clearance and tax costs are included and which you will pay separately. Read the named place and contract; a three-letter term alone is not a full quote.
Build a quote comparison sheet
Record the goods price and currency first. Ask for the transport route, collection point, departure and arrival charges, insurance, clearance administration and onward delivery separately. Mark each amount included, additional or not yet quoted. Keep the quote date and validity period. Do not fill a missing charge with zero simply to get a total.
Customs value and invoice price are different checks
HMRC Method 1 starts from the transaction value subject to its conditions and adjustments. Relevant transport and insurance to the UK border may belong in the customs value. Identify amounts already inside the supplier price before adding them again. Ask the agent about uncertain additions or deductions rather than treating the Incoterm as a valuation method.
A practical comparison exercise
Suppose your internal quote sheet has goods at £2,000 and separately quoted freight of £300. Before adding any duty or VAT, the known commercial subtotal is £2,300. If a second quote is £2,250 including the same freight scope, entering another £300 would double-count it. These are illustrative commercial prices, not carrier rates or a complete customs valuation.
What to check before ordering
Use consistent currency and saleable quantity. Identify whether the freight quote ends at the port, warehouse or another named point. Ask whether charges can change and record exclusions. Review classification, origin and any additional liabilities separately. Transport scope, tax value and your economic cost are related but are not identical.
Do the next job
Open the landed-cost tool once rates and material charges are established. Keep unresolved amounts in your notes. For repeat imports, retain the quote assumptions and compare the actual freight and broker bill after arrival.
Official sources / what may change
ICC Academy — FCA and FOB explained
Sources reviewed 5 October 2026. Rates, measures and route-specific requirements may change. Verify them for the actual movement; no tariff rate is preselected by this guide.