Question:

Do allowances also apply to duty and tax paid goods?

Answer:
In practice, yes. Although EU law permits individuals to purchase unlimited quantities of goods that are duty and tax paid in another Member State, and to carry them back to their home country without any further liability for duty or tax, they must both be transported personally and be for their own personal consumption only. In order to combat abuse of this privilege by smugglers taking advantage of the significant differences in tax and duty rates across the EU, Member States are permitted to apply "minimum indicative levels" for exciseable goods. Travellers with excise goods in excess of these levels may be challenged, and possibly prosecuted, if checks reveal that the goods are for a commercial use rather then personal consumption. The standard minimum levels across the EU are as follows: Alcohol: 10 litres of spirits 20 litres of fortified wine 90 litres of wine (including a maximum of 60 litres of sparkling wine) 110 litres of beer Tobacco: 800 cigarettes 400 cigarillos 200 cigars 1 kg tobacco However, in October 2002, the UK introduced a higher indicative level for cigarettes - up to 3,200 instead of 800 and for tobacco - up to 3 kg instead of 1 kg. All other elements of the indicative levels were unchanged. This move was part of the Government's strategy to tackle tobacco smuggling; the raising of the indicative level to 3,200 cigarettes and 3 kg of hand rolled tobacco was to ensure a clear and unequivocal distinction between honest cross-border shoppers and smugglers. In addition, following the enlargement of the EU in May 2004 and January 2007, limits were temporarily introduced for transitional periods on the amount of tobacco goods that could be brought back into the UK from certain new accession countries without payment of duty. The last of these transition arrangements, covering Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, expired on 31 December 2009, such that there are no longer any formal restrictions on the quantity of cigarettes that an individual may carry from one Member State to another, subject only to the application of minimum indicative levels. However, it is stressed that these minimum indicative levels are not limits, merely guidelines. Travellers are more likely to be challenged if they have goods in excess of the indicative levels, but they can equally also be challenged if they have less than these, if it is suspected that the goods are for a commercial purpose. As above, the prime consideration is whether or not the goods are for personal consumption - this is defined quite broadly and also includes gifts and situations such as the purchase of champagne for a son or daughter's wedding reception. On the other hand, any re-sale of the goods - including sales at cost to friends or neighbours - means that they are classified as being for a commercial purpose and therefore liable to duty. The Customs Notice for Travellers may be viewed on the links page of this site.

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