German customs rules?!.....

j88kln

hi,

firstly i will apologise if this is is the wrong place, if it is can a mod move the thread please.

but, i am in germany as part of my job and was wondering how many tax free cigarettes i am allowed to bring back to the uk on a flight from germany, as i wanted to get my family some whilst i am over here. also what is the limit of alcohol (spirits)?

thankyou for reading and i hope to be able to get some help as i dont have a clue about the amounts

cheers

Andy

phatbear

There is no limit regarding the quantity of cigs/hrt you can bring back from a full EU member state, the guidline is 3200 cigs and 3kgs of hrt.

As long as the items are:

For your own personal consumption
or
as gifts, which you will receive no money or services back for them

then you can have pretty much have what you want.

Re alcohol our ethos, if you are flying in, is if you can carry it you can have it.

One slight correction the cigs you will be buying in germany are not "tax free" as you claim they are duty paid but they are paid at the local rate.

all the best

the bear

moonrakerz

I used to travel between UK and Germany a lot. You will find that ciggies and baccy are a lot cheaper in the high street than at the airport.

misgrace

phatbear wrote: »

There is no limit regarding the quantity of cigs/hrt you can bring back from a full EU member state, the guidline is 3200 cigs and 3kgs of hrt.

Are you sure?, As far as I am aware, we are only allowed to bring in to the EU, 200 cigs per person, you can bring in as many as you like, but you will pay duty.
If your going out of the EU you can take up to I think 3000, and even if you dont smoke them all, and still have say for example 600 left, and are coming back to the UK, you will have to pay duty on the 400 (if you get caught)

Its worth checking, there are websites which will tell the you facts.

dzug1

misgrace wrote: »

Are you sure?, As far as I am aware, we are only allowed to bring in to the EU, 200 cigs per person, you can bring in as many as you like, but you will pay duty.
If your going out of the EU you can take up to I think 3000, and even if you dont smoke them all, and still have say for example 600 left, and are coming back to the UK, you will have to pay duty on the 400 (if you get caught)

Its worth checking, there are websites which will tell the you facts.

You've got it back to front I'm afraid.

If you are coming to the UK from outside the EU (and from some of the newer EU members) it's 200 duty free cigs.

From within the EU it's actually nil duty free, but 3200 duty paid. Depending on the country that can be cheap or not, depending on local duty

You can take OUT of a country whatever you want - it's the country you are going to that may take objection.

phatbear

misgrace wrote: »

Are you sure?, As far as I am aware, we are only allowed to bring in to the EU, 200 cigs per person, you can bring in as many as you like, but you will pay duty.
If your going out of the EU you can take up to I think 3000, and even if you dont smoke them all, and still have say for example 600 left, and are coming back to the UK, you will have to pay duty on the 400 (if you get caught)

Its worth checking, there are websites which will tell the you facts.

Yup im sure.

You seem to have your facts mixed up, you can only bring 200 duty free cigs backs into the UK from a non EU state, however given that Germany is in the EU this does not apply, and as I have previously stated purchasing cigs from Germany means the duty has been paid at the appropriate level in the EU state you are purchasing them in.

You may be able to say I know a bit about this kind of situation.

all the best

the bear

odowdchr

And at Frankfurt the other day..the EU cigarettes are only available in cartons of 170 at 40 Euro's.
Cartons for outside EU use are 200 for 28 Euro's and are "duty free".

schrojen

If you are just going to Germany you can bring back as many as you want, but you wont be able to buy them on duty free prices. normal price in germany is 40 euros for 170 cigarettes, still way cheaper than here,Im german and go all the time so thats why i know

Voyager2002

Just to confirm, the most of the advice above relates to cigarettes bought in Germany. If you hop over the border to buy them in Poland (where prices are lower), the rules are rather different.