Measurement units
- What are measurement units?
- Measurement unit codes and abbreviations
- Measurement unit qualifiers
- Entity-relationship diagram for measurement units
- A note on monetary units
- Validation rules
What are measurement units?
Duty rates and measure conditions often vary based on a measurement of a commodity (e.g. a duty rate of 33 GBP per 100kg).
Measurement units define the units of measurement used in such circumstances, as well as setting the appropriate units of measurement to be used in goods declarations.
For example, when a trader declares goods for import, they usually have to declare the weight of their goods in kilograms (KGM), but goods may also be measured in other units including (but not limited to):
- number of items for livestock
- volume in litres for liquid items
- number of pairs for socks
Measurement units are similarly used in quota definitions.
Measurement unit codes and abbreviations
Measurements are defined by a three letter code, as detailed in the table below. These codes are consistent across government services. Human readable abbreviations are often also used, these are also shown in the table, although they may differ across government services.
| Code | Unit | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| GRT | Gross tonnage | |
| TJO | Terajoule (gross calorific value) | TJ |
| NAR | Number of items | p/st |
| MWH | 1000 kilowatt hours | 1,000 kWh |
| MIL | 1000 items | 1,000 p/st |
| KAC | Kilogram net of acesulfame potassium | |
| KGM | Kilogram | kg |
| MTR | Metre | m |
| TNE | Tonne | 1,000 kg |
| KNI | Kilogram of nitrogen | kg N |
| GFI | Gram of fissile isotopes | gi F/S |
| KMA | Kilogram of methylamines | kg met.am. |
| LPA | Litre pure (100%) alcohol | l alc. 100% |
| MTK | Square metre | m2 |
| HLT | Hectolitre | hl |
| KUR | Kilogram of uranium | kg U |
| MPR | 1000 pairs (used for statistical surveillance) | |
| NCL | Number of cells | ce/el |
| KLT | 1000 litres | 1,000 l |
| NPR | Number of pairs | pa |
| KPO | Kilogram of potassium oxide | kg K2O |
| WAT | Number of Watt | |
| KMT | Kilometre | |
| EUR | Euro (used for statistical surveillance) | |
| DAP | Decatonne, corrected according to polarisation | 10,000 kg/polar |
| KCC | Kilogram of choline chloride | |
| KPH | Kilogram of potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) | kg KOH |
| KSD | Kilogram of substance 90 % dry | kg 90 % sdt |
| HMT | Hectometre | 100 m |
| DHS | Kilogram of dihydrostreptomycin | |
| CEN | Hundred items | 100 p/st |
| KCL | Tonne of potassium chloride | |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | 100 kg |
| GRM | Gram | g |
| CTM | Carats (one metric carat = 2 x 10$-4kg) | c/k |
| CCT | Carrying capacity in metric tonnes | ct/l |
| KPP | Kilogram of diphosphorus pentaoxide | kg P2O5 |
| MTQ | Cubic meter | m3 |
| ASV | %vol | % vol |
| KNS | Kilogram of hydrogen peroxide | kg H2O2 |
| KSH | Kilogram of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) | kg NaOH |
| LTR | Litre | l |
| MGM | Milligram | |
| MCG | Microgram | |
| MLT | Millilitre | |
| MCL | Microlitre | |
| Last updated 18 Apr 2024 | ||
See the SQL query that generated this tableThis table was automatically generated from the open SQLite database providing the UK Tariff. The following query was used to generate the table: SELECT code AS "Code",
description AS "Unit",
abbreviation AS "Abbreviation"
FROM measure_measurements_units
INNER JOIN common_version_groups
ON measure_measurements_units.trackedmodel_ptr_id = common_version_groups.current_version_id
|
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Measurement unit qualifiers
Measurement unit qualifiers can only be applied to some measurement units.
The measurement units that are commonly used are Number of Articles (NAR), which are also referred to as:
- ‘p/s’ for items in French or German, or
- ‘heads’ in reference to livestock
The following table is used to identify which qualifiers can be used alongside which measurement codes. Combinations of unit and qualifier not specified in the measurements table are not permitted. What combinations are permitted is defined in the “Measurements” table in the data
| Unit Code | Unit Description | Unit Qualifier Code | Unit Qualifier Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASV | %vol | X | Hectolitre |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | E | net of drained weight |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | F | of common wheat |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | G | Gross |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | L | of live weight |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | M | net of dry matter |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | N | Net |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | R | of the standard quality |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | S | of sugar with a yield in white sugar of 92% |
| DTN | Hectokilogram | Z | per 1% by weight of sucrose |
| KGM | Kilogram | A | Total alcohol |
| KGM | Kilogram | E | net of drained weight |
| KGM | Kilogram | G | Gross |
| KGM | Kilogram | N | Net |
| KGM | Kilogram | P | of lactic matter |
| KGM | Kilogram | S | of sugar with a yield in white sugar of 92% |
| KGM | Kilogram | T | of dry lactic matter |
| LTR | Litre | A | Total alcohol |
| MTQ | Cubic meter | C | 1 000 |
| NAR | Number of items | B | per flask |
| TNE | Tonne | E | net of drained weight |
| TNE | Tonne | G | Gross |
| TNE | Tonne | I | of biodiesel content |
| TNE | Tonne | J | of fuel content (usually in form of tallow, stearin, paraffin wax or other waxes, including the wick) |
| TNE | Tonne | K | of bioethanol content |
| TNE | Tonne | M | net of dry matter |
| TNE | Tonne | N | Net |
| TNE | Tonne | R | of the standard quality |
| TNE | Tonne | Z | per 1% by weight of sucrose |
| Last updated 18 Apr 2024 | |||
See the SQL query that generated this tableThis table was automatically generated from the open SQLite database providing the UK Tariff. The following query was used to generate the table: SELECT measure_measurements_units.code AS "Unit Code",
measure_measurements_units.description AS "Unit Description",
measure_measurement_qualifiers.code AS "Unit Qualifier Code",
measure_measurement_qualifiers.description AS "Unit Qualifier Description"
FROM measure_measurements
INNER JOIN common_tracked_models AS ctm1
ON measure_measurements.measurement_unit_id = ctm1.id
INNER JOIN common_version_groups AS cvg1
ON ctm1.version_group_id = cvg1.id
INNER JOIN measure_measurements_units
ON cvg1.current_version_id = measure_measurements_units.trackedmodel_ptr_id
INNER JOIN common_tracked_models AS ctm2
ON measure_measurements.measurement_unit_qualifier_id= ctm2.id
INNER JOIN common_version_groups AS cvg2
ON ctm2.version_group_id = cvg2.id
INNER JOIN measure_measurement_qualifiers
ON cvg2.current_version_id = measure_measurement_qualifiers .trackedmodel_ptr_id
ORDER BY measure_measurements_units.code, measure_measurement_qualifiers.code
|
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Entity-relationship diagram for measurement units
A note on monetary units
Many measures, quotas and duty expressions include monetary units (e.g. in a duty rate of 33 GBP per 100kg, the monetary unit is GBP). Post-2021 all monetary units (where used) in the UK tariff are in Great British Pounds (GBP). However, there is historic data that uses Euros (and variations thereof), and these currencies are listed in the monetary units entity. As these only relate to historical data we do not go into them in detail here.
Validation rules
There are no validity rules that apply to measurement units independently of measures, however the following are applicable when measurement units are used within measures.
Measurement Units in Measure Components
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| ME46 | If the flag “monetary unit” on duty expression is “mandatory” then a monetary unit must be specified. If the flag is set “not permitted” then no monetary unit may be entered. |
| ME47 | If the flag “measurement unit” on duty expression is “mandatory” then a measurement unit must be specified. If the flag is set “not permitted” then no measurement unit may be entered. |
| ME48 | Mandatory subrecord rule that a referenced monetary unit must exist. |
| ME49 | Validity contained that the validity period of a referenced monetary unit must span the validity period of the measure. |
| ME50 | Mandatory subrecord rule that the combination of measurement unit and measurement unit qualifier referenced in a measure must exist. |
| ME51 | Validity contained rule requiring measurement unit validity to encompass the validity of measures they are referenced in. |
| ME52 | Validity contained rule requiring measurement unit qualifier validity to encompass the validity of measures they are referenced in. |
Measurement Units in Measure Conditions
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| ME60 | Mandatory subrecord rule that a referenced monetary unit must exist. |
| ME61 | Validity contained that the validity period of a referenced monetary unit must span the validity period of the measure. |
| ME62 | Mandatory subrecord rule that the combination of measurement unit and measurement unit qualifier referenced in a measure must exist. |
| ME63 | Validity contained rule requiring measurement unit validity to encompass the validity of measures they are referenced in. |
| ME64 | Validity contained rule requiring measurement unit qualifier validity to encompass the validity of measures they are referenced in. |
| ME110 | If the flag ‘monetary unit’ on duty expression is ‘mandatory’ then a monetary unit must be specified. If the flag is set ‘not permitted’ then no monetary unit may be entered. |
| ME111 | If the flag ‘measurement unit’ on duty expression is ‘mandatory’ then a measurement unit must be specified. If the flag is set to ‘not permitted’ then no measurement unit may be entered. |