Tax and Duty Free Allowances

Arriving from EU Countries

If you are traveling into the UK from an EU country you are allowed to bring an unlimited amount of most goods.

There are no restrictions on excise goods such as alcohol or tobacco; however you must adhere to the following conditions:

1. You have transported the goods yourself
2. The goods are for you to use or as a gift whereby the recipient does not pay for the goods
3. The duty and tax are paid in the EU country where the items were acquired

If you do not meet the conditions above then the items could be seized.

As identified above, there are no limits to the amount of alcohol or tobacco you can bring in to the UK from EU countries however customs are more likely to ask questions if you bring in more than the following:

Arriving from non EU Countries

The allowances below do not cover the full list but do cover the most common items you can bring back into the UK duty / tax-free from non EU countries.

Alcohol allowance

You can bring EITHER of the following, but NOT BOTH:

• 1 litre of any Spirits or strong Liqueurs which are over 22% volume
• 2 litres of Fortified Wine (e.g. Port or Sherry), Sparkling Wine or any other alcoholic beverage that is less than 22% volume

Or you could combine the above allowances.

An example of this would be to bring in just one litre of Fortified Wine and half a litre of Spirits. Bringing in half of each would make up your full allowance.

In addition to the alcohol limit you are also allowed to bring back both of the following items:

• 16 litres of Beer
• 4 litres of still Wine

Tobacco allowances

You are allowed to bring in just one item from the list below:

• 200 Cigarettes
• 50 Cigars
• 100 Cigarillos
• 250g of Tobacco

You are also allowed to combine these allowances.

An example of this would be to bring in just 25 Cigars and also to bring in 125g of Tobacco. Bringing in half of each would make up your full allowance.

However, you can not combine your alcohol and tobacco allowance.

Other Goods

You are allowed to bring in other goods that are worth up to £390 without having to pay tax/ duty.

However, if you are arriving in the UK by private plane or private boat for reasons of pleasure then you can only bring in goods worth up to £270 tax/duty free.

If you were to bring back any item worth more than the allowance you must pay duty and/or tax.

Banned goods which you can not bring in to the UK

The following listed goods are completely banned.

It does not matter from which country you are travelling from.

• Illegal Drugs
• Stun Guns
• Flick / Gravity Knives
• Pirated / Counterfeit Goods
• Pepper and CS gas sprays
• Indecent and Obscene materials

The following items are also banned from being bought in to the UK, but in certain cases may be allowed if you have the relevant license or permit:

• Firearms and Ammunition
• Explosives
• Imitation Firearms
• Rough Diamonds
• Offensive Weapons including Swords
• Certain fur skins
• Some Endangered Animals or Plants
• Certain Radio transmitters

The following are also banned from being bought in to UK unless in some cases where they are not for commercial use:

• Fur skin of harp / hooded seal pups including products made from such fur
• Cat / dog fur and the fur product from these animals
• Complete and finished goods of some fur skins for personal and only private use

Once again, please note that this is not a complete list but does cover the majority of the more popular items.

If you require more help and advice about bringing goods in to the UK click on the following link:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/index.htm

This will provide you with more detailed information.