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

The channels to use at customs are:

• blue - you arrive from the EU and have nothing to declare
• green - you arrive from outside the EU and have nothing to declare
• red - you have something to declare

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.

Items you owned in the UK

Unless they’re ‘excise goods’, you won’t have to pay Customs Duty or Import VAT if you’re abroad and send back personal belongings you originally owned in the UK.

Excise goods include alcohol and tobacco. You must pay Excise Duty on them if you originally owned them in the UK, whether you send them from a European Union (EU) country or not.

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 you 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.

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.

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 the alcohol and tobacco 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

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.

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

Border Force have produced a leaflet with details of banned and restricted goods.

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