Duty Free- No comprende!!

terrimolo

Hi,
I feel like a bit of a dunce asking this, but can someone explain how duty free stuff at airports works??
I´m in South America (Venezuela) at the minute, and I´m pretty sure that becasue when I fly back, I´ll be coming from outside the EU, I can buy some stuff cheaply at Caracas airport, am I right? And is the price difference really that noticable, I´m thinking mainly for perfume and for elctrical stuff, like iPods etc. Any help would be appreciated, becasue i think i was away that day at school when they explained how it worked!
Thanks alot

Terri

delorean_2

Hope you are having an amazing time in ol Venz!

Well, I went to Dubai about 3 weeks ago and that is outside the EU although the duty free was a bit weird.

We were only allowed 400 cigarettes on the way in (£6 for a box of 200!!!) but as many as you want on the way out.

I assume the same rule applies to you regarding coming home? I think you can have a maximum of 3200 cigarettes. I forget the alcohol rule, I think it's 3 litres of spirits or something.

I bought home 1000's of cigarettes. You just carry them back at your own risk. At £6 for 200 i think even if I was stopped and asked to pay VAT i'd have just ditched them, it's not exactly a great loss!

Failing the above, check out https://www.fco.gov.uk they may have information for you.

hammy_the_hammer

i think you'll find it's 200 fags and i really wouldn't follow the advice of bringing loads and loads back as it won't just be a request from customs to pay the tax if you're caught

jasonrat

we had thje misfotune of bringing back too many fags from bangkok as it was a first time offence they confiscated them. but if we did it again we'd have to buy the whole duty on the lot. which is hell of alot of money if u bring back 1000's which we dont

Kilty_2

From outside of the EU (Canary Islands anyway, I'm just back from Tenerife ) you are allowed 200 cigarettes and 1L of alcohol > 22% in volume OR 2L of alcohol less than 22%.

We thought that it was 2L of > 22% so were feeling pretty nervous when we approached "Nothing to Declare" in Glasgow Airport

Oh yeah, if you are found to be over the limit they take EVERYTHING that you have brought back.

delorean_2

Odd, i thought it was 3200? When did the outside EU law change?

delorean_2

Ah i got it the wrong way round! Good job I got them through safely then!

The official word is thus:

When travelling from the EU* to the UK you do not have to pay any tax or duty on goods you have bought in another EU country as long as tax was included in the price when you purchased the items, the items are for your own use, and have been transported to the UK by you. This includes gifts, but does not include any item that is intended to be used as payment or to be resold.

If you bring back large quantities of alcohol or tobacco, a Customs Officer is more likely to ask about the purposes for which you hold the goods. This will most likely be the case if you appear at the airport with more than:

3200 cigarettes
400 cigarillos
200 cigars
3 kg of smoking tobacco
110 litres of beer
10 litres of spirits
90 litres of wine
20 litres of fortified wine i.e.: port or sherry

Please note the following exceptions stand for these EU countries:

From Czech Republic - 200 cigarettes or 250g of smoking tobacco or 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos
From Estonia - 200 cigarettes or 250g of smoking tobacco*
From Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia or Slovenia - 200 cigarettes*

*No limit of on other tobacco products as long as they are for your own use.

* The EU countries currently include: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus (Greek part), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (but not the Canary Islands), Sweden and the United Kingdom (but not the Channel Islands).





When travelling from outside the EU to the UK you are allowed to bring in the following, provided you travel with the items and do not intend to sell them.

200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250 gms of tobacco
2 litres of still table wine
1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs
60cc/ml of perfume
250cc/ml of toilet water
£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs

LesD

Hi Terri,

I hope that's cleared it up for you!!!!!!!!!

I thought I understood it 'til this lot got involved!

However, there's 'duty free' and there's duty free. As well as understanding the allowances, you need to check the actual prices. Flying out of the UK, they'll tell you the prices are really low. But that's compared with UK high street prices.

You really need someone who knows Venezuelan duty free to tell you which items are good deals at Caracas.

sandburner

Please, please, please remember that when returning through UK customs from a non EU country it is YOUR responsibility to know what you can or cannot bring into the UK. It is also YOUR responsibility to know how much of things like cigarettes, alcohol, tobacco, other goods you can bring in.

When travelling from a non-EU country (including the Canary Islands, the Channel islands and Gibraltar) you can bring the following into the UK for your own use without paying UK tax or duty:

200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250g of tobacco
60cc of perfume
2 litres of still table wine
250cc of eau de toilette
1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22 per cent volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine*, sparkling wine or other liqueurs *such as port or sherry and
£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.
If you have any more than these allowances you must declare the goods in the red channel or use the red point phone. If you do not, you are breaking the law and we may prosecute you.

If you are under 17 you cannot have the tobacco and alcohol allowances.
You are entitled to these allowances only if you travel with the goods and do not sell them.
If you bring in something worth more than the limit of £145, you must pay charges on the full value, not just the value above £145.
You and anyone you are travelling with cannot pool your individual allowances to bring in an item worth more than the limit. You will have to pay charges on the full value of the item.
If you are bringing back any duty-free or tax-free goods you bought when you left the UK, these count as part of your allowance.
If you also have tobacco or alcohol goods that you bought in an EU country (other than tobacco products over the limit for imports from that country) you will not have to pay any more duty or tax on these so long as:

they are for your own use and
you can show, if we ask you to, that you have paid duty and tax in an EU country, for example by producing the receipt.
If you are bringing your personal belongings or your car into the UK from outside the EU, see Notice 3. Bringing your belongings and private motor vehicle into the UK from outside the EC.

Air transfers. If you arrive by air and are transferring to a flight to another EU country, at the transfer point you need only declare goods in your hand baggage. You do not declare your hold baggage until you collect it at your final destination.

The same usually applies if you are transferring to a UK domestic flight. But in some cases we must clear both your hand luggage and hold baggage at the transfer airport. The airline will tell you when this is necessary.
(info taken from the HMRC website)