Duty and exise allowances.
United Kingdom residents are allowed to bring a certain amount of duty free goods into the country after foreign travel. Below are listed allowances from both E.U and non E.U countries.
Flouting of exise allowances can result in your goods being confiscated or duty owed rendered payable.
To avoid these penalties do keep within your minimum allowances.
ALLOWANCES FROM E.U COUNTRIES.
European countries, territories and states which ARE part of the EU are:
Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Crete, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Inner Hebrides, Irish Republic, Isles of Scilly, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Orkney Islands, Outer Hebrides, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Sardinia, Scotland, Shetland Islands, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Wales.
European overseas territories which are not geographically part of Europe, but ARE part of the EU are:
The French overseas regions of : French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Reunion.
TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
800 cigarettes.
400 cigarellos.
200 cigars
3 kg of pipe or rolling tobacco.
ALCOHOL PRODUCTS.
10 litres of spirits.
20 litres of fortified wine. ( port, sherry )
90 litres of wine.
110 litres of beer / lager.
SOUVENIRS
There are no allowance restrictions within the EU on perfumes, cosmetics, photographic equipment, electrical goods, clothing, fashion accessories or jewellry.
MONEY
There are no allowance restrictions on cash, bankers drafts, personal cheques or travellers cheques, when travelling within the E.U.
ALLOWANCES FROM NON E.U COUNTRIES.
European countries, territories and states which are NOT part of the EU are:
Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canary Islands, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Isle of Man, Kaliningrad, Lichtenstein, Lofoton Islands, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, San Marino, Svalbard, Switzerland, Turkish Occupied Northern Cyprus and the Vatican City.
Eurasian countries which are NOT part of the EU are:
Russia, Turkey and the Ukraine.
European overseas territories which are NOT part of the EU are:
The British overseas territories of :
Anguilla, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Monserrat, Pitcairn, St Helena, Ascension & Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The French overseas territories of :
French Polynesia, French Southern Antarctic Lands, New Caledonia, Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy and Wallis & Fortuna.
The Danish Overseas Territory of : Greenland.
The Netherlands overseas territories of :
Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles, which include the islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten.
TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
200 cigarettes.
100 cigarellos.
50 cigars.
250 grams of pipe or rolling tobacco.
ALCOHOL PRODUCTS.
4 litres of wine.
1 litre of spirits.
2 litres of fortified wine ( port, sherry )
16 litres of beer / lager.
SOUVENIRS.
Souvenirs mean items such as perfume, clothing, electrical goods, photographic equipment or jewellry, but not general tourist trinkets.
Goods to the value of £390.00 are allowed if arriving by a regular charter flight, cruise ship or ferry.
Goods to the value of £270.00 are allowed if arriving by private jet, boat or yacht.
MONEY.
Cash equivalents of 10,000 Euros or more must be declared if entering the UK from outside the European Union or leaving the UK to a destination not in the European Union. Cash in the form of notes and coins in any currency along with bankers drafts, personal cheques or travellers cheques, of more than 10,000 Euros or any other currency equivalent, must all be declared. Failure to do so can result in the money being confiscated by customs officials.
CERTAIN CONCESSIONS ON GOODS FROM THE U.S.A.
! kg of non meat or milk derived food.
2 kg of fresh fruit or vegetables, not including potatoes.
Cut flowers.
5 packets of seeds, not including seed potato.
GOODS BANNED FROM ENTERING THE U.K
This includes ALL counties worldwide, including E.U member states.
Ammunition.
Animal products.
Certain plants.
Child pornography.
Counterfeit / pirated goods.
Eggs and egg products.
Endangered plant species.
Explosives.
Firearms.
Live animals.
Meat.
Milk.
Meat / milk derived products.
Offensive weapons.
Pornographic material.
Potatoes.
Radio transmitters.
Shellfish.
Unlicensed drugs.
Untanned animal hides or pelts.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more detailed information about what is and isn't allowed into the UK and what certification is needed to be allowed to bring certain goods into the U.K, please visit the DEFRA (Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs) website at - www.defra.gov.uk or ring the DEFRA Helpline on - 08459 335 577, from the U.K or - +44 207 238 6951, from outside the U.K.
For more excise duty advice, you can also visit the U.K customs website at - www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/tax-and-duty.
Other countries have their own laws and excise allowances on items entering or leaving their countries.To find out what you can take in or out of another country, please ring the embassy or consulate of the country you are travelling to. Consular staff will be able to help you with any queries.
For a complete list of all foreign embassies or consulates located in the U.K, please visit - www.fco.gov.uk/resources.
