Within the EU

There are no limits on what you can buy and take with you when you travel between EU countries as long as it is for personal use and not for resale.

Tobacco and alcohol

For guidance, goods are considered to be for your own use if you have no more than:

• 800 cigarettes
• 400 cigarillos
• 200 cigars
• 1 kg of tobacco
• 10 liters of spirits
• 20 liters of fortified wine (such as port or sherry)
• 90 liters of wine (of which, a maximum of 60 liters of sparkling wine)
• 110 liters of beer

These rules already apply to Malta and Cyprus but there are transitional arrangements for travelers returning to one of the 15 old EU countries from one of the other new EU countries.

The 15 old EU countries may maintain restrictions on the number of cigarettes that private individuals bring in from these new EU countries until they introduce the minimum excise duty rate on cigarettes (by the end of 2007 for the Czech Republic and Slovenia, by the end of 2008 for Slovakia, Hungary and Poland and by the end of 2009 for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The same applies to other tobacco products brought in from the Czech Republic until the end of 2006 and to fine-cut tobacco for rolling cigarettes brought in from Estonia until the end of 2009.

VAT

When you shop in another EU-county, VAT and duty are included in the price you pay and, since these vary from country to country, you may want to take advantage of some interesting price differences.

Shops in airports might advertise with “duty-free” or similar terms. This can either be general publicity terms or it might refer to special rules that apply when you travel to a country outside the EU. You might then be allowed to pay lower VAT or duty on a limited number of goods. Similar “duty free” shopping does not exist when you travel between EU-countries, because all of the EU is one single market but in stead you can profit from the freedom to buy whatever you want and take advantage of the diversity in choice, taste, taxes and price levels.

The table below shows the standard and reduced rates of VAT applied in the EU as at October 2003.

Cars

If you buy a new car, defined as one with less than 6.000 km on the clock or within six months of its first registration, you must pay VAT when registering it in your country of residence. Some countries apply a tax on registration in addition to VAT.

The Commission produces an annual report on car prices in the EU where you can compare the prices in different countries of 91 models, representing the best selling cars of 26 manufacturers.

Outside the EU

If you are coming into the EU from a non-EU country, you can bring goods with you free of VAT and excise duties for personal use within the limits set out below. The same applies if you come from the Canary Islands, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar or other territories where VAT and EU excise provisions do not apply.

Tobacco

• 200 cigarettes or
• 100 cigarillos or
• 50 cigars or
• 250 grams of tobacco

Alcohol:

• 1 liter of spirits over 22% volume or
• 2 liters of fortified wine or sparkling wine
• 2 liters of still wine

Perfume: 50 grams
Eau de toilette: 250 ml

Other goods: up to a value of 175 Euro
Within that limit, Finland applies a limit of 16 liters of beer per person. The limit is reduced to 90 Eurofor travelers under 15 years old to all EU countries except Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom.

Meat and milk products

There are no restrictions on carrying any of these products if you are traveling within the EU because of strict common veterinary standards across its territory. Temporary restrictions would only be introduced if there were an outbreak of an infectious animal disease such as foot-and-mouth disease, which would be widely publicized in the media. Travelers arriving from Andorra, Bulgaria, Faeroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Romania, San Marino or Switzerland are also allowed to bring small consignments of meat or milk products into the EU in their personal baggage.

If you are arriving in the EU from other non-EU countries however, you are not allowed to bring with you any meat, meat products, milk or milk products without official veterinary documentation. These rules were introduced to prevent the spread of serious animal diseases. Travelers from non-EU countries can, however, bring in powdered infant milk, infant food and special foods required for medical reasons, provided that the product does not require refrigeration before consumption, it is a packaged proprietary brand product and the packaging is unopened.

Consumer protection

Some basic laws for consumer protection apply throughout the EU including rules on package travel, product safety, unfair contract terms and misleading advertising. If you cannot resolve a problem directly with a seller in an EU country, you can get practical information and help from a European Consumer Centre or you can get advice on settling the dispute out of court through the European extra-judicial network.

The eco-label

Look for the flower, the EU eco-label, on everyday consumer goods to help you find greener products. This eco-label now also being used with environmentally friendly hotels, bed and breakfast or youth hostels. The flower tells you that the accommodation has reduced its energy and water consumption and has a good overall environmental performance. The scheme will soon be extended to campsites.

With permission of © European Communities, 2009