VAT-free imports from the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom took place for a few years during the early 21st century as a result of low-value consignment relief (LVCR). This is a tax relief that applies to low-valued imports to the European Union, exempting them from value-added tax (VAT). Although the UK was a part of the EU from 1973 until Brexit in 2020, the Channel Islands (two Crown Dependencies) were not and, unlike the UK, they did not charge VAT on purchases. The UK government applied LVCR to imports from the Channel Islands, resulting in the construction of distribution centres on the islands and the export of many low-valued goods from there to the UK. The practice was unilaterally brought to an end in April 2012 by HM Treasury, the finance department of the UK government.