Duty free limits

While we are members of the EU, it continues to be the case that there are no limits to the alcohol and cigarettes you can bring back to the UK. However, if customs officials believe you are bringing back goods to sell them in the UK they will take an interest. According to HMRC you will be more likely to be questioned if you bring back more than:

If you are travelling back from outside the EU, the allowances are:

Alcohol allowance:

How much you can bring depends on the type of drink. You can bring in:

• beer – 16 litres
• wine (not sparkling) – 4 litres

You can also bring in either:

• spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol – 1 litre
• fortified wine (e.g. port, sherry), sparkling wine and alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol – 2 litres

You can split this last allowance, e.g. you could bring 1 litre of fortified wine and half a litre of spirits (both half of your allowance).

You may have to pay Excise Duty on alcohol you declare.

Tobacco allowance

You can bring in one from the following:

• 200 cigarettes
• 100 cigarillos
• 50 cigars
• 250g tobacco

You can split this allowance – so you could bring in 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars (both half of your allowance).

You may have to pay Excise Duty on tobacco you declare.

Alcohol and tobacco allowances if you’re under 17

There are no duty-free allowances for tobacco or alcohol if you’re under 17. You can bring alcohol and tobacco to the UK for your own use but you’ll have to pay duty or tax on them when you get to customs.

Allowance for other goods

You can bring in other goods worth up to £390 (or up to £270 if you arrive by private plane or boat).

If a single item’s worth more than your allowance you pay any duty or tax on its full value, not just the value above the allowance.