CUSTOMS & EXCISE

At some ports and airports all travellers leave by the same exit, but at others there's a separate exit for travellers from other EU countries. This separate exit usually has a blue sign. Checks are carried out on some EU travellers to look for prohibited or restricted goods. You don't have to pay tax or duty in the UK on goods you've bought in other EU countries for your own use, but, ‘own use’ includes gifts, but you may be breaking the law if you sell goods you've bought. If you're caught selling the goods, they'll be taken off you and you could get up to seven years in prison. Any vehicle you used to transport the goods could also be taken off you.

The law sets out guidelines for the amount of alcohol and tobacco you can bring into the UK. If you bring in more than this, you must be able to satisfy the officer, if you're asked, that the goods are for your own use. If you can’t, the goods may be taken off you. If you let a coach, ferry or aircraft store your goods while travelling back to the UK you must make sure they're clearly marked, so when you land you can collect the exact goods you bought.

There's no limit to the amount you can buy in the EU for your own use, but the GUIDELINES for goods are:

Spirits 10 litres
Cigarettes 800 (later increased to 3,200)
Cigarillos 400
Cigars 200
Smoking tobacco 1 Kg (later increased to 3kg)
Fortified wine (such as port and sherry) 20 litres
Wine (only 60 litres of this can be sparkling wine) 90 litres
(later increased to 120 bottles)
Beer 110 litres

How Customs & Excise determine guidelines click here
How to fight back if you are accused of an offence click here

For travellers arriving from outside the EU (including the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar):

200 cigarettes or
100 cigarillos or
50 cigars or
250gms 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 (People under 17 are not allowed to bring in tobacco and alcohol).
60cc/ml of perfume
250cc/ml of toilet water
£145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.

You're entitled to the allowances shown above only if you travel with the goods and don't plan to sell them. If you bring something in worth more than the limit of £145, you'll have to pay charges on the full value, not just on the value above £145. If you're travelling as a family or group, you cannot pool your individual allowances towards an item worth more than the limit. You'll have to pay charges on the full value of the item.

British shoppers will soon be able to buy cut-price alcohol and cigarettes from the Continent without leaving home, as a result of an extraordinary legal test case that threatens to blow a multi-billion pound hole in the Treasury's coffers. The European Court of Justice is expected to rule that goods can be bought in other EU states and delivered to the door while only the duty levied in the country of origin is paid. This is often a fraction of that charged in Britain.

Shoppers will then be free to use the internet or mail order companies to find the best bargains around Europe and have them shipped home for their own consumption. The potential savings are huge: 200 cigarettes purchased in Latvia cost only £7.20, a saving of about £43, while several European countries charge no duty on wine.

The Treasury earns £15 billion a year from excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes, enough to pay the running costs of the Home Office, the Foreign Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Britain has one of the highest excise rates in Europe and shoppers are expected to rush to take advantage of the ruling, which cannot be appealed against and would take immediate effect. (Source: Daily Telegraph, Nov/06)

European judges rejected a legal bid to allow online shoppers to buy cut-price cigarettes and alcohol anywhere in Europe. The European Court of Justice judges ruled that "only products acquired and transported personally by private individuals are exempt from excise duty in the member state of importation".

This means that Britons who want to take advantage of cheaper alcohol prices on the continent will still have to travel there on so-called booze cruises. The judges made clear that alcohol and cigarettes being brought home for consumption from other EU countries can only be exempt from domestic excise duties if those goods are intended for the personal use of the private individuals who have transported the goods themselves.

Why do we have to involve European Judges? None of the other States of the EEC take any notice so why should Britain. Once again we have to pay higher taxes and do not get the benefits of cheaper prices in the rest of the EU. This makes a mockery of the free movement of goods within the EU. The UK retains it's "Rip-off Britain" title. (Source: Mail on Sunday, Nov/06)