So, you found a cheap flight to New York, changed your hard-earned cash into dollars, shopped until you dropped and when you landed back at the airport and walked through the Green Channel, Customs and Excise wanted a word. By the time, you paid your fine the only bargain you got was your flight to New York ...
What is the limit for purchases made in European Union countries?
The European Union (EU) is 27 countries strong, composed of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Irish Republic, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
British and Irish visitors to European Union (EU) countries are allowed to bring back, as gifts or for personal use, anything they wish, but there are a few exceptions. Dangerous, indecent or counterfeit items, or goods made from endangered species, are not permitted. Travellers can bring in as much tobacco and alcohol as they can carry so long as it is for personal use and not for re-sale.
Travellers coming back from Estonia are allowed either 200 cigarettes or 250g of smoking tobacco, and a 200-cigarette limit (but no limit on other tobacco products as long as they are for personal use) still applies to those coming from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Popular holiday destinations such as the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and the Canary Islands are all considered outside Europe for tax purposes. Andorra, which nestles between France and Spain, is not in the EU. Although Cyprus is part of the EU, goods from any part of the island are treated as non-EU imports.
And outside the EU?
Bargain hunters can bring back a litre of spirits, two litres of wine and 200 cigarettes (or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco), 60cc of perfume, 250cc of eau de toilette and £145 (about €183) worth of other goods including gifts and souvenirs.
Which customs channel should I use at the airport?
If your journey commenced in an EU country and you have no banned or restricted goods and no tobacco products that are over the limits for imports from that country use the blue channel.
Use the green channel if you are bringing back no more than the customs allowances and no banned or restricted goods.
If you have any more than these allowances you must declare the goods in the red channel or use the red point phone.
The rules on the amount of duty due on excess of the limits are very complicated and finding out your liability in advance is difficult, but reckon on having to pay anything from a quarter to a third of the value.
To avoid a fine at the airport and being held by Customs and Excise, go through the red channel, or use the red point phone. Hold on to your sales receipts, especially if you got a bargain, or Customs and Excise will apply a realistic price when calculating the duty you owe. It may be far higher than the one you paid.
In Ireland, travellers found in the Green channel with goods in excess of their allowances risk having the goods seized and they may be subject to prosecution.
If you are tempted to wing it, beware. Customs and Excise target arrivals from shopping hot spots such as the US, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong at odd times of the day and night and they know all the tricks of the trade. They also have a wide range of powers, and can, for example, run a check on your recent credit-card purchases.
Oonagh Shiel
© Cheapflights Ltd
Updated September 2008
