Duty free post Brexit

scottiescott

Been trying to find out what changes there will be to alcohol and tobacco allowances post Brexit. I have managed to find some stuff about changes to allowances from EU countries but I can't find anything about areas that are currently considered to be out with the EU, e.g. North Cyprus, Canaries and Gibraltar. For example, from EU the government website states;
          42 Litres of beer
          18 Litres of still wine
            4 Litres of Spirits
Are these limits for purchases from Duty Free shops, e.g. at airports, or from ordinary shops? Can you still take as much as you like (for own consumption) if the products are inclusive of taxes applied in the country of purchase?
Also, will allowances change for North Cyprus, Canaries and Gibraltar?
Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance.

unforeseen

I doubt outside EU limits will change. They stay the same as the rest of the world. 
You can take as much as you like to any country, however you then come under their rules for the amounts. Custom limits are for bringing stuff IN. 

maman

I haven't checked  your  amounts but travelling to and from e.g. Turkey which is non EU then you can take in what you like. You'd have needed to buy booze airside in the UK (unless in hold luggage) as you wouldn't be able to take liquids through. 

If you buy any duty free goods at your UK departure airport and use them up while you're away (e.g. drink in your hotel/apartment or gifts to friends overseas) then that's fine you can buy the complete duty free allowance to return. If you have any left (e.g. unsmoked cigarettes you bought at UK airport that you want to bring back) then that counts towards your allowance when you come back into the UK.  You can buy goods anywhere in the country not just at the airport but all count towards you maximum allowance. 

steve1500

Gib is outside of the customs union So is 200 cigs & 1 litre of spirits 

maman

steve1500 said:

Gib is outside of the customs union So is 200 cigs & 1 litre of spirits 

Which is where we will be very soon so it's likely that the 200 cigs and 1l of spirits will apply to everywhere British passport holders travel after 31st December. ☹

I think the figures OP quoted were advisory figures from EU whereas there haven't been restrictions in practice unless they suspected it wasn't for personal consumption. But that's all set to change. I think it haven't been for Covid there would have been many booze cruises to France for wine & champagne in the past few weeks. I know I'll miss that.  😢

scottiescott

maman said:

steve1500 said:

Gib is outside of the customs union So is 200 cigs & 1 litre of spirits 

Which is where we will be very soon so it's likely that the 200 cigs and 1l of spirits will apply to everywhere British passport holders travel after 31st December. ☹

I think the figures OP quoted were advisory figures from EU whereas there haven't been restrictions in practice unless they suspected it wasn't for personal consumption. But that's all set to change. I think it haven't been for Covid there would have been many booze cruises to France for wine & champagne in the past few weeks. I know I'll miss that.  😢

The figures are from the Gov website for allowances from EU countries post 31.12.20. Can't post the link. There seems to be no mention of non-EU countries so perhaps that stays the same at 1 litre and 200 cigs.

maman

Here's the link:
Duty Free extended to the EU from January 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
It seems that  the government has decided to increase how much British passport holders can bring back in terms of alcohol from  non EU countries and include EU countries in that increased amount post 31st December.  So a significant restriction from the EU (based on current limitless for personal consumption) but with the sweetener that it could have been worse if they hadn't upped the 'rest of the world' allowances. 

Cigarettes/Tobacco quantities will stay the same  (or reduce hugely from EU) .

It does help if you travel to the EU countries by car, for example to a second home or on a booze cruise,  but not a great deal of use at all if you're flying.  I'd be hard pushed to carry 4 litres of spirits!🤣 It'll be interesting to find out how much the  VAT free prices on leaving the country compare with prices charged in other countries. Some airports do have websites but it's often better to wait for word of mouth. 

Thanks for staring the thread OP. 😊

scottiescott

Smokers won't be happy and I guess that's an attempt by the government to reduce or eliminate the huge number of cigs that come into the country for re-sale.
I'll be more than happy with 4 litres from either EU or non-EU. 

Sandtree

scottiescott said:

maman said:

steve1500 said:

Gib is outside of the customs union So is 200 cigs & 1 litre of spirits 

Which is where we will be very soon so it's likely that the 200 cigs and 1l of spirits will apply to everywhere British passport holders travel after 31st December. ☹

I think the figures OP quoted were advisory figures from EU whereas there haven't been restrictions in practice unless they suspected it wasn't for personal consumption. But that's all set to change. I think it haven't been for Covid there would have been many booze cruises to France for wine & champagne in the past few weeks. I know I'll miss that.  😢

The figures are from the Gov website for allowances from EU countries post 31.12.20. Can't post the link. There seems to be no mention of non-EU countries so perhaps that stays the same at 1 litre and 200 cigs.

Exactly, its not changing due to brexit so brexit pages wont mention it; EU are just moving to be inline with non-eu countries.

scottiescott said:

Are these limits for purchases from Duty Free shops, e.g. at airports, or from ordinary shops? Can you still take as much as you like (for own consumption) if the products are inclusive of taxes applied in the country of purchase?

EU website is irrelevant for the UK as it is not in the EU. 

The UK limits are what you can bring into the UK without having to pay UK Duty or VAT, it makes no difference (post 31 Dec) if you payed any non-UK duty or tax when you purchased them or not. In some countries its possible to reclaim local taxes if you leave the country with the goods unopened/used as a tourist/non-resident.

NoodleDoodleMan

"I'll be more than happy with 4 litres from either EU or non-EU"

Are you thinking about travel back by car or from a cruise ship ?

As mentioned above you can't get anything above 100ml  size through airport security.

Doshwaster

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"I'll be more than happy with 4 litres from either EU or non-EU"

Are you thinking about travel back by car or from a cruise ship ?

As mentioned above you can't get anything above 100ml  size through airport security.

Presumably the 4 litres will apply to what is bought at the airport post-security.
Of course not much help if you have a connecting flight