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hi, i'm going to zante in july, does anyone know the maximum amount of cigarettes i can fetch back, i looked on the website and as far as i can gather it is 3200 being in europe, but a friend of mine says it is only 200 so i am a little confused.
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When entering the UK from an EU member state, you're officially allowed to bring back an UNLIMITED quantity of cigarettes as long as they're for your personal use. (There are a few exceptions, such as when travelling from the Canary Islands - which have special tax status, but they're not relevant here). 'Personal use' includes bona fide gifts to other people (for which you'll receive nothing in return) but not cigarettes which others will buy from you (even if you don't make a profit).
HMRC has set a GUIDELINE figure of 3200 cigarettes as the maximum which they'll normally accept as being for personal use. However if they've got other grounds for suspicion (such as bringing back several different brands) they can still ask questions and, if they're not satisfied that the cigarettes are genuinely for personal use, confiscate your imports.
The limit of 200 cigarettes, referred to by your friend, refers to entering the UK from a non-EU member state (or from EU areas where the normal rules don't apply, such as the Canary Islands or Northern Cyprus).
Chris
HMRC has set a GUIDELINE figure of 3200 cigarettes as the maximum which they'll normally accept as being for personal use. However if they've got other grounds for suspicion (such as bringing back several different brands) they can still ask questions and, if they're not satisfied that the cigarettes are genuinely for personal use, confiscate your imports.
The limit of 200 cigarettes, referred to by your friend, refers to entering the UK from a non-EU member state (or from EU areas where the normal rules don't apply, such as the Canary Islands or Northern Cyprus).
Chris
PS: Some clarification over the difference between 'duty free' and 'duty paid' might also be relevant here.
The limit of 200 cigarettes, when coming from a non-EU country, refers to cigarettes upon which no duty has been paid (e.g. bought at an airport 'duty free' shop) or where duty has been paid outside of the EU.
When travelling within the EU, there is NO duty free allowance whatsoever. The guideline figure of 3200 cigarettes refers only to cigarettes upon which the local rate of duty has been paid within the EU. (e.g. in a local shop in Zante). If an airport shop offers genuinely 'duty free' cigarettes, you are NOT allowed to bring them back to the UK (unless you declare them and pay hefty charges). In practice, HMRC will let you bring just 200 such cigarettes back. (Perhaps that's what your friend is referring to?)
The limit of 200 cigarettes, when coming from a non-EU country, refers to cigarettes upon which no duty has been paid (e.g. bought at an airport 'duty free' shop) or where duty has been paid outside of the EU.
When travelling within the EU, there is NO duty free allowance whatsoever. The guideline figure of 3200 cigarettes refers only to cigarettes upon which the local rate of duty has been paid within the EU. (e.g. in a local shop in Zante). If an airport shop offers genuinely 'duty free' cigarettes, you are NOT allowed to bring them back to the UK (unless you declare them and pay hefty charges). In practice, HMRC will let you bring just 200 such cigarettes back. (Perhaps that's what your friend is referring to?)
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