0Bringing goods into the UK.

When you travel to the UK from abroad, you can bring in goods without having to pay UK duty or tax, as long as they are for your own use.

The amount of goods you can bring in depends on where you’re travelling from:

if you’re coming from a country in the European Union (EU), you can bring in an unlimited amount of most goods for your own use without paying tax or duty
if you’re coming from outside the EU you can only bring in a certain amount without paying - this is your duty-free allowance

Types of tax and duty

If you go over the amount you’re allowed to bring in tax-free, there are 3 types of tax or duty you might have to pay.

Excise Duty

You pay this on goods like alcohol and tobacco, and:

when you buy these in the UK, it’s included in the price
if you’re travelling to the UK from another EU country, you don’t have to pay it
if you’re travelling from outside the EU, you only pay if you go over your duty-free allowance

Customs Duty

You pay this on goods imported from outside the EU and:

you don’t have to pay it if you’re travelling from the EU
if you’re travelling from outside the EU, you only have to pay it if you go over your duty-free allowance

Import VAT

If you’re bringing goods into the UK from the EU there’s no extra VAT to pay. If you’re bringing goods to the UK from a non-EU country you have to pay Import VAT if you go over your allowance.

You can report customs and excise fraud to HMRC

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Arrivals from EU countries

When you’re bringing in goods you must:

transport them yourself
make sure they’re for your own use or a gift
have paid tax and duty in the EU country where you bought them

You can bring in motor fuel in your vehicle’s tank and reserve fuel for that vehicle in an appropriate container without paying duty.

Customs checks

If a customs officer thinks you might be bringing in goods to sell, they might stop you to make checks and ask:

the type and quantity of goods you’ve bought
why you bought them
how you paid for them
how often you travel
how much your normally smoke or drink

Although there are no limits to the alcohol and tobacco you can bring in from EU countries, you’re more likely to be asked questions if you have more than the amounts below.

Type of goods	Amount
Cigarettes	800
Cigars	200
Cigarillos	400
Tobacco	1kg
Beer	110 litres
Wine	90 litres
Spirits	10 litres
Fortified wine (eg sherry, port)	20 litres

Declaring goods to customs

You have to tell customs about any restricted goods and show them the relevant paper work, eg licences, permits, that allow you to bring these into the UK. To do this you use the red channel or the red-point phone. The customs officer will tell you if any tax or duty is owed and how much you have to pay.

If you don’t have the correct paper work or are bringing in banned goods, customs will seize these immediately.

There’s more information about going through customs on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website.

Arrivals from outside the EU

When you travel to the UK from outside the European Union (EU), you can bring in a certain amount of duty and tax free goods for your own use. This is known as an ‘allowance’. If you go over your allowance you may have to pay duty and/or tax.

If you’re under 17 you’re not entitled to tax and duty free allowances.

When you’re bringing in goods you must:

transport them yourself
keep them for your own use or give them as a gift

Alcohol allowances

You can bring in either of the following (but not both):

1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% alcohol)
2 litres of fortified wine (eg port, sherry), sparkling wine or any other alcoholic drink that’s less than 22% alcohol

Or you can combine these allowances - so you could bring in 1 litre of fortified wine and half a litre of spirits (both half of your allowance).

You can also bring in both of the following:

16 litres of beer
4 litres of still wine

Tobacco allowances

You can bring in one from the following:

200 cigarettes
100 cigarillos
50 cigars
250g tobacco

Or you can combine these allowances - so you could bring in 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars (both half of your allowance).

You cannot combine your alcohol and tobacco allowances.

Other goods

You can bring in goods worth up to £390 duty-free. If you arrive by private plane or boat, you can only bring in goods worth up to £270 duty-free.

If you bring in any single item worth more than your allowance you have to pay tax/duty on the full item value, not just the value above the allowance.

You can’t group individual allowances together to bring in an item worth more than the limit.

Declaring goods to customs

You have to speak to customs when entering the UK from non-EU countries if:

you exceed your allowances
the goods are for commercial use
you have 10,000 euros or more (or its equivalent) in cash
you think you may have banned or restricted goods

How much you have to pay

If you exceed your allowances or don’t meet the conditions you might have to pay:

Customs Duty
Excise Duty
Import VAT

Customs Duty rates

Customs Duty is waived if you owe less than £9. Otherwise:

it only applies on goods above the £270 or £390 allowance (whichever is appropriate)
over this allowance and up to £630 the rate is 2.5%
over £630, the rate depends on the type of goods - check by calling the VAT, Customs and Excise Helpline:

VAT, Customs and Excise Helpline

Telephone: 0845 010 9000
Textphone: 0845 000 0200

Excise Duty rates

HMRC has the latest duty rates for alcohol and tobacco products.

Import VAT

This is charged as a percentage of the total value of the goods plus any other duties payable. The VAT rates are the standard UK rates.

Banned and restricted goods

There are some goods that you can’t bring into the UK no matter where you’re travelling from.

These include:

illegal drugs
offensive weapons like flick knives
self defence sprays like pepper spray and CS gas
endangered animal and plant species
rough diamonds
indecent and obscene materials
personal imports of meat and dairy products from most non EU countries

Some goods are restricted - like firearms, explosives and ammunition. You need a special licence.

Some food and plant products are also restricted if they:

aren’t free from pests and diseases
aren’t for your own use
weren’t grown in the EU

Full details of banned and restricted goods are on the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website.

If you bring goods suspected of infringing intellectual property right, for example pirated items, they might be seized and you could be prosecuted.