---
title: "What Is a Duty-Free Allowance? Limits by Country Explained"
description: "A duty-free allowance is what you may bring into a country without paying duty. Limits for the UK, EU, US, Australia and Canada, plus how to declare."
url: "https://travelshifu.com/guides/duty-free-allowance-explained/"
category: "Glossary"
author: "Priya Nair"
date_published: "2026-07-21"
date_modified: "2026-08-06"
source: "TravelShifu"
---

# What Is a Duty-Free Allowance? Limits by Country Explained

A duty-free allowance is what you may bring into a country without paying duty. Limits for the UK, EU, US, Australia and Canada, plus how to declare.

> Educational customs reference. TravelShifu does not sell duty-free goods and earns no commission on this page.

## What is a duty-free allowance?

A duty-free allowance is the quantity and value of goods you may bring into a country without paying customs duty, excise duty or import VAT. It is set by the country you arrive in, not by the shop you bought from, and it almost always splits into three separate buckets: alcohol, tobacco and everything else.

The phrase does two jobs at once, which is why it confuses people. “Duty-free” describes a **shop**: a retailer on the departure side of a border selling without local excise duty and usually without local sales tax. “Duty-free allowance” describes a **threshold** at the other end of the journey — the point at which the country you land in starts charging. Different laws, different countries, different moments.

Nothing is deducted in advance and no one issues a certificate. It is simply a line: stay under it and you owe nothing, cross it and you must declare the goods and pay the duty, excise and import VAT or GST the arrival country levies — in several systems on the whole category, not only the surplus.

The three buckets are assessed separately and cannot be traded against each other. Being well under the alcohol limit buys you nothing on the value cap for a handbag, and a modest shopping trip creates no room for an extra carton of cigarettes.

| Term | What it actually means | Who sets it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Duty-free allowance | How much you may import without paying duty or tax on arrival | The country you land in |
| Duty-free shop | A retailer selling without the departure country’s excise duty, and usually its VAT | The airport or port’s home country |
| Customs duty | A tariff on imported goods, charged by product category and origin | Arrival country or customs union |
| Excise duty | A separate per-litre or per-1,000 tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuel | Arrival country |
| Import VAT / GST | Consumption tax charged on the value of goods entering the country | Arrival country |

## Does the duty-free shop decide how much you can bring home?

A duty-free shop’s limit is not your import limit — it applies the departure country’s rules and will sell you far more than you may legally bring home. Your allowance is assessed at the border you land at, on everything you are carrying: duty-free purchases, high-street shopping and gifts alike.

The clearest example runs from London. A Heathrow airside shop will sell a passenger flying to Paris three litres of gin, because Great Britain permits duty-free sales on EU routes. France, receiving an arrival from a non-EU country, allows one litre of spirits over 22% ABV. Two of those three litres are an undeclared import the moment you clear the aircraft door, and a receipt saying “duty free” is not a defence — it is evidence.

The reverse catches more people still. Airside shops in Dubai, Istanbul and Bangkok sell cigarettes by the carton to travellers heading for Australia, where the entire tobacco allowance is roughly 25 cigarettes.

Practically: check the arrival country’s customs page before you shop, not after. Our [duty-free alcohol limits guide](/guides/duty-free-alcohol-limits-guide) covers the sealed-bag and connection mechanics that decide whether the bottle even reaches the customs hall.

## How much alcohol can you bring in duty-free?

Arriving in the UK an adult may bring 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of still wine and either 4 litres of spirits or 9 litres of sparkling wine. The EU allows roughly a quarter of that, the United States and Canada about one litre, and Australia 2.25 litres.

Read the table as a structure, not a list of numbers. Beer and still wine sit in their own generous columns; the tight limit is on spirits, and it is normally an either/or against weaker drinks such as Prosecco, Champagne, port and sherry. The UK lets you split that choice pro rata — two litres of gin plus four and a half litres of fizz uses it exactly. The EU works the same way at a quarter of the volume.

The United States, Australia and Canada instead use one pooled figure covering all alcohol regardless of strength. Canada adds a wrinkle: you choose one line only — wine, spirits or beer — and must have been out of the country at least 48 hours to claim anything.

Age rules bite independently of volume. The UK sets 17, the EU and Australia 18, the United States 21, and Canada defers to provincial drinking age. Below that age there is no alcohol allowance, and handing a bottle to a younger traveller does not create one.

Current figures: [gov.uk duty-free goods](https://gov.uk/duty-free-goods), [Your Europe alcohol, tobacco and cash](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/alcohol-tobacco-cash/index_en.htm), [US CBP Know Before You Go](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go), [Australian Border Force duty-free concessions](https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/duty-free) and [CBSA I Declare](https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifcrc-rpcrc-eng.html).

| Arriving in | Beer | Wine | Spirits over 22% ABV | How it is structured |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UK (Great Britain) | 42 litres | 18 litres still wine | 4 litres — or 9 litres of drinks up to 22% ABV | Beer and wine are separate; the last column is an either/or you may split |
| European Union | 16 litres | 4 litres still wine | 1 litre — or 2 litres of drinks up to 22% ABV | Same shape as the UK, roughly a quarter of the volume |
| United States | Counts toward the total | Counts toward the total | 1 litre of alcohol in total | One pooled litre for all alcohol; state law can be stricter than federal |
| Australia | Counts toward the total | Counts toward the total | 2.25 litres of alcohol in total | One pooled figure per adult; cannot be pooled with a child’s allowance |
| Canada | 24 × 355 ml (8.5 litres) | 1.5 litres wine | 1.14 litres spirits | Choose ONE of the three; requires an absence of 48 hours or more |

## How much tobacco can you bring in duty-free?

The usual adult standard is 200 cigarettes, but it is an either/or allowance shared with cigars, cigarillos and loose tobacco. The UK and EU allow 200 cigarettes or 250 g of rolling tobacco, Australia around 25 grams, and Singapore grants no tobacco concession whatsoever.

Tobacco is where the gap between what a shop will sell and what a border accepts is widest, and where the money is worst — excise rates are high, so duty on an excess carton is rarely trivial. In the UK and EU the categories are one allowance expressed several ways: 100 cigarettes plus 125 g of rolling tobacco is a full allowance, not two half ones.

Two outliers are worth memorising. Australia permits roughly 25 grams of tobacco — about one packet — plus one already-open packet, per adult. Singapore grants no tobacco concession at all: every cigarette is dutiable and must be declared, with fines that make a carton an expensive souvenir. Confirm both at the [Australian Border Force](https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/duty-free) and [Singapore Customs](https://www.customs.gov.sg/individuals/going-through-customs/arrival/).

Vapes and heated tobacco are regulated separately and are moving faster than anything else on this page. The UK counts tobacco-for-heating sticks inside the standard allowance; Australia restricts nicotine vape importation to prescription holders; Thailand bans e-cigarettes outright. Never assume a vape travels on the cigarette allowance.

| Arriving in | Cigarettes | Cigars | Loose or rolling tobacco | How it is structured |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UK (Great Britain) | 200 | 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos | 250 g | One allowance, several expressions — mix them pro rata |
| European Union | 200 (lower-band states set 40) | 50 (lower band 10) | 250 g (lower band 50 g) | Each member state picks the higher or lower band — check the arrival country |
| United States | 200 | 100 | Declare it — not separately exempt | Returning residents; Cuban-origin tobacco is restricted |
| Australia | 25 cigarettes (about 25 g), plus one open packet | Counts toward the 25 g | Counts toward the 25 g | Among the tightest limits in the world; excess is dutiable at high rates |
| Canada | 200 | 50 | 200 g, plus 200 tobacco sticks | Cumulative, not either/or; needs a 48-hour absence, and unmarked product attracts a special duty |

## What is the value limit on general goods and gifts?

Most countries set a separate value cap on everything that is not alcohol or tobacco. The UK allows £390, the EU €430 by air or sea, the United States $800 for residents returning after 48 hours, Australia A$900 and Canada C$800. Gifts you are carrying count towards it.

This is the allowance that catches shoppers rather than smugglers: a watch in Geneva, a bag in Milan, a lens in Tokyo, three rounds of perfume for relatives. It covers everything you acquired abroad and are carrying in — purchases, gifts you were given, and items ordered online and collected while you were there.

The arithmetic above the line is what almost everyone gets wrong. In the UK a £700 handbag is not “£310 over”: cross the threshold and duty plus 20% import VAT apply to the full value of that category. Australia works the same way, and the EU takes the same position on a single item worth more than the threshold — relief is lost entirely, not part-applied. The United States is gentler, charging a flat 3% on the next $1,000 before normal tariff rates begin.

Two mitigations are worth knowing. Simplified flat rates exist for modest excesses — 2.5% in the UK up to £630, a comparable 2.5% commonly offered in the EU up to €700, 3% in the United States — which makes declaring far cheaper than people fear. And values convert at the customs rate on the day of arrival, not the rate your card gave you, so a borderline purchase can drift either side of the line. See [dynamic currency conversion](/guides/what-is-dcc) and the [travel money guide](/guides/travel-money-guide).

| Arriving in | General goods allowance | Under-age travellers | Can families pool it? | What you pay above it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| UK (Great Britain) | £390 (£270 by private plane or pleasure boat) | Same £390; no alcohol or tobacco under 17 | No — allowances cannot be combined | Duty and VAT on the full value of that category; 2.5% flat duty up to £630 |
| European Union | €430 by air and sea, €300 by land or inland waterway | States may reduce to €150 for under-15s | No — strictly per traveller | A single item over the threshold loses relief entirely; 2.5% flat duty commonly offered up to €700 |
| United States | $800 for residents after 48h abroad, once per 30 days; $200 otherwise | Children get the same exemption | Yes — household members returning together may combine | 3% flat duty on the next $1,000, then normal tariff rates |
| Australia | A$900 per adult | A$450 for under-18s | Yes — family members travelling together may pool | Duty and GST on all goods in that category, not only the excess |
| Canada | C$800 after 48h; C$200 after 24h with no alcohol or tobacco | Children have their own exemption, claimed by a parent | No — but each traveller holds their own | Duties plus GST/HST and provincial tax; a reduced rate applies to a first tranche |

## What is the difference between duty-free, tax-free and a VAT refund?

Duty-free means the price excludes excise duty and usually local sales tax, applied at the till before you leave. Tax-free normally means only VAT or GST is excluded. A VAT refund is different again: you pay the tax on the high street, then reclaim it after exporting the goods.

Retail marketing blurs all three deliberately, so use the test of **when the money moves**. Duty-free: the tax is never charged. Tax-free shopping: it is charged, then refunded later, minus an agent’s cut that routinely swallows 10–30% of the headline VAT. Duty-free allowance: nothing is removed at all — it is the point at which the arrival country starts charging.

A VAT refund and a duty-free allowance sit on opposite sides of the same border, and claiming one does not protect you from the other. Reclaim €280 of Italian VAT on a coat at Fiumicino and you have exported a €1,700 garment; walk into Great Britain with it and you are €1,300 over the £390 allowance, holding a customs-validated receipt that proves the value and the date. That is a paper trail you created yourself.

Finally, “duty-free” does not mean cheap. Airside pricing reflects concession rents and captive demand, not tax alone; a thirty-second comparison against a supermarket at home or at destination is usually worth making.

|  | Duty-free shopping | Tax-free shopping (VAT refund) | Duty-free allowance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Where it happens | Airside, on board or at a land border, departure side | High street, refunded at the departure border | At the border of the country you enter |
| What is removed | Excise duty and usually VAT or GST | VAT or GST only | Nothing — it is a threshold, not a discount |
| Who qualifies | Anyone leaving the tax territory | Usually non-resident visitors only | Every arriving traveller |
| Paperwork | None beyond a boarding pass at the till | Refund form, customs validation, refund agent | A declaration if you exceed it |
| Typical cost | Prices are not automatically lower | Agents keep roughly 10–30% of the refund | Duty plus import VAT or GST on what is over |
| Common trap | Assuming the shop’s limit is your import limit | Missing the customs validation before bag drop | Forgetting it applies to duty-free purchases too |

## What changed for UK travellers after Brexit?

Since 1 January 2021 Great Britain treats arrivals from the EU exactly like arrivals from anywhere else — the same £390 goods allowance and the same alcohol and tobacco limits. The generous EU personal-use guide levels no longer apply, and duty-free shopping on GB–EU routes returned.

Three things changed at once and travellers remember only the pleasant one. Duty-free sales returned on Great Britain–EU routes, which is why Dover and Gatwick advertise them again. Simultaneously, arrivals into GB from the EU lost the old personal-use guide levels — the familiar 800 cigarettes, 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine and 10 litres of spirits — and dropped to the standard third-country allowance. A car boot of Calais wine that was lawful in 2019 is now a declarable import.

The quietest change was the third: the VAT Retail Export Scheme, which let overseas visitors reclaim VAT on high-street purchases, was withdrawn in Great Britain on 1 January 2021. Visitors shopping in London, Edinburgh or Cardiff can no longer claim a refund at the airport, and GB airside shops no longer sell most goods VAT-free either — that exemption survives only for alcohol and tobacco.

Northern Ireland sits under different arrangements for movements to and from the EU, so GB figures do not read across. Travelling the other way, Great Britain’s shopping limits are irrelevant on landing: fly to Spain and Spanish customs applies the EU allowance of one litre of spirits and €430 of goods. Detail: [bringing goods into the UK for personal use](https://gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use). The UK travel tax people confuse this with is [Air Passenger Duty](/guides/uk-air-passenger-duty-explained), charged on your ticket and unrelated to what is in your bag.

## Is a duty-free allowance per person, per family or per trip?

Allowances are per traveller and in most systems cannot be transferred. The UK states plainly that you cannot combine allowances with other people. The United States and Australia are the notable exceptions, letting households returning together pool the general-goods exemption — but never the alcohol or tobacco limits.

The distinction matters most for a single expensive object. In the UK and EU, two adults each holding a £390 or €430 allowance cannot merge them to import one £780 item duty-free; the item is assessed alone and loses relief. CBP explicitly permits family members living at the same address and returning together to make a joint declaration and combine exemptions, even where one person’s purchase exceeds their share. Australia allows the same pooling of the general goods concession.

Children complicate this predictably: they generally hold the goods allowance, sometimes reduced, and never an alcohol or tobacco one. Distributing bottles around a group so each adult is nominally within limits works only if each adult genuinely owns their share — officers assess an importation as a whole and read obvious sharing-out as one consignment.

- **UK** — per person, cannot be combined even between spouses, and no relief on a single item over £390.
- **EU** — per traveller; relief cannot be split between two people for one object.
- **United States** — household members returning together may file a joint declaration and combine the $800 exemptions.
- **Australia** — families travelling together may pool the general goods concession, but not alcohol or tobacco.
- **Canada** — each traveller holds their own exemption; a parent may claim a child’s.
- **Everywhere** — you cannot borrow an under-age traveller’s non-existent alcohol or tobacco allowance.

## What happens if you go over your duty-free allowance?

You declare it and pay. Most systems charge duty plus import VAT or GST, and several — including the UK and Australia — charge on the whole category once you cross the line rather than only on the surplus. Undeclared goods can be seized, with a penalty on top of the tax still owed.

Declaring is almost always the cheap option, which is why the flat rates exist. A modest UK excess attracts 2.5% customs duty plus 20% import VAT; in the United States, 3% on the next $1,000. Set against seizure, a penalty scaled to the duty evaded and a note on your travel record, that is a good trade.

Keep receipts accessible rather than buried, and keep the duty-free bag sealed with the receipt inside. Valuation is the practical battleground: with no receipt, officers value the goods themselves — normally at local retail price — and the burden of proving a lower figure is yours.

| What you do | What normally happens |
| --- | --- |
| Declare voluntarily and pay | Duty plus import VAT or GST on the excess or the category; you keep the goods |
| Declare but cannot evidence the value | Officers value the goods themselves, usually at local retail price |
| Do not declare and are not stopped | Nothing that day — profiling and behavioural targeting are routine, and records persist |
| Do not declare and are stopped | Goods seized, tax still assessed, penalty added |
| Repeated or commercial-scale non-declaration | Prosecution; in the UK the vehicle used to carry the goods can also be seized |

## How do you declare goods — red channel, green channel or online?

Green means nothing to declare, red means you have something to declare, and blue — where it survives — means an arrival from inside the same customs union. Several countries now prefer a digital declaration filed before you land, and the UK lets you calculate and pay in advance.

Choosing the green channel when you should have chosen red is itself the offence — officers are assessing not only the goods but a declaration you made by walking through a particular door. The same applies to a ticked box on an arrival card.

Mechanics differ by country, the shape does not. The UK offers an online service to declare and pay for goods up to five days before arrival, then walk through without queueing. The United States uses CBP Form 6059B or a kiosk, with joint declarations for families at one address. Australia uses the Incoming Passenger Card, whose questions are legally binding — ticking “no” to the food question with an apple in your bag is an offence regardless of the apple. Canada uses cards, inspection kiosks or an advance declaration in its app.

Cash is declared separately and is not part of your goods allowance: thresholds of £10,000, €10,000, US$10,000, A$10,000 and C$10,000 apply on entering or leaving the respective territories, and the obligation is to report, not to pay. See [how much cash can I travel with](/guides/how-much-cash-can-i-travel-with).

- Have receipts for anything bought abroad reachable, not at the bottom of a case.
- Keep the duty-free bag sealed with its receipt visible until you have cleared customs.
- File the declaration online in advance where the country offers it — it is faster than the red channel.
- Answer arrival-card questions literally; “I did not think it counted” is not a defence.
- Declare cash at or above the local threshold separately from goods.
- Screenshot the arrival country’s allowance page before you shop, so you can show what you relied on.

## What does a duty-free allowance never cover?

An allowance is a tax concession, not permission to import. Food, plants, animal products, medicines, weapons, protected species, counterfeits and cash above the reporting threshold are governed by separate rules — and being comfortably inside your duty-free allowance is no defence if the item itself is restricted.

Biosecurity is the most common collision. Australia and New Zealand require every food, seed, wood and animal product to be declared, and issue on-the-spot infringement notices for failures with visa consequences for visitors. The EU bans personal imports of meat and dairy from most non-EU countries outright, and Great Britain has tightened imports of meat and dairy from the EU under foot-and-mouth control measures — check the current gov.uk notice before packing that market cheese, and see [can I bring food through airport security](/guides/can-i-bring-food-through-airport-security) for the pre-flight half.

Medicines are the quiet risk. Codeine, pseudoephedrine-based cold remedies and common stimulant prescriptions are controlled or prohibited in Japan, the UAE and Singapore among others, and being under your goods allowance is irrelevant. Carry medication in original packaging with the prescription, and check the destination embassy’s list rather than a pharmacist’s assumption.

Two more categories deserve naming. Protected species material — ivory, some corals and shells, certain skins and timbers — is regulated under CITES and confiscated on sight. Counterfeits are seized and destroyed across the UK and EU, and in France and Italy the buyer, not only the seller, can be fined.

- Meat, dairy, fresh produce, seeds, honey and plant material — biosecurity rules, not tax rules.
- Prescription and over-the-counter medicines that are controlled at the destination.
- Ivory, coral, reptile skins, shahtoosh and CITES-listed timbers.
- Counterfeit branded goods, including obvious market souvenirs.
- Weapons, replica firearms, some knives and pepper spray.
- Cash at or above the local reporting threshold — declarable, though not taxable.

## Do duty-free liquids survive a connecting flight?

Only inside an intact security tamper-evident bag with the receipt visible, and only where the transfer airport recognises the scheme. If your connection makes you clear security again — a self-transfer, a terminal change, a re-check of bags — an opened bag containing a litre bottle is confiscated at the checkpoint.

The sealed bag is the whole mechanism. Do not open it to admire the purchase, do not repack it, and keep the receipt inside where a screener can read the date and airport. Recognition is wide but not universal — acceptance at a US or Australian transfer point should be checked rather than assumed.

Self-transfers on separate tickets are the reliable failure: you leave the sterile area, collect bags, re-enter security, and standard liquid limits apply to your hand luggage. If the itinerary has that shape, buy at the final departure point or at the destination. Background: [the 3-1-1 liquids rule](/guides/what-is-the-3-1-1-liquids-rule), [packing liquids in checked baggage](/guides/can-i-pack-liquids-in-checked-baggage) and the [airport layover survival guide](/guides/airport-layover-survival-guide).

Screening technology is changing this unevenly. Airports with newer CT scanners have relaxed container limits while others re-imposed them at short notice, so a rule that held on the outbound leg may not hold on the return.

## Can you buy duty-free after you land?

Yes, in a number of countries. Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, Brazil, India, Turkey and Kenya operate arrivals duty-free shops. Anything bought there still counts against exactly the same arrival allowance — but it removes the connection risk entirely, since the bottle never passes a security checkpoint.

Arrivals shopping is underused. It removes the sealed-bag problem, spares you carrying glass through two airports, and prices often beat the departure hall because the shop competes with the local high street rather than with boredom.

The arithmetic is unchanged: buy 2.25 litres in the Sydney arrivals hall and your Australian concession is spent, whatever is already in your case. Arrivals shops usually sit before the customs channels precisely so an excess can be declared immediately. Watch the till for a dynamic-currency-conversion prompt — see [what DCC is](/guides/what-is-dcc) — and pay in local currency.

## Does it matter how long you were away, or how you arrive?

Often, decisively. Canada scales the allowance by absence: C$200 after 24 hours, C$800 after 48. The United States gives residents $800 after 48 hours abroad but $200 on shorter trips, once every 30 days. Mode of arrival matters too — the EU allows €430 by air but €300 by land.

Day trips are the trap. A short hop across a land border often carries little or no concession, and it is exactly the trip on which people buy most. Singapore withholds its alcohol concession from travellers away less than 48 hours or arriving from Malaysia; Canada gives nothing on alcohol or tobacco below a 48-hour absence.

Residency and role change the answer too. Many countries publish different allowances for returning residents and for visitors, and airline or ship crew are granted far less than passengers. Private aviation and pleasure craft form their own category — the UK cuts the goods allowance from £390 to £270 for those arrivals.

## Does the allowance apply to things you order online?

No. Goods posted or couriered to you are commercial imports assessed under their own rules, with far lower thresholds than a traveller’s allowance — frequently none at all. Your duty-free allowance covers only goods physically accompanying you on the journey customs is clearing.

The low-value reliefs that once made this painless have largely gone: the EU withdrew its €22 VAT exemption in July 2021, the UK removed its £15 relief in January 2021, and the United States has been withdrawing the $800 de minimis exemption for postal and courier shipments. Price a parcel as if VAT, duty and a handling fee all apply — they usually do.

## Do the clothes and camera you took with you count?

No — items you took out of the country and are bringing back are not imports and do not consume any allowance. Proving that is your responsibility, though, so keep original receipts for conspicuous valuables, or register serial-numbered items with customs before departure where a scheme exists.

US travellers can register cameras, laptops and watches on CBP Form 4457 before leaving; Canada and Australia offer comparable pre-departure options. Absent a scheme, a photograph of the item next to its dated receipt, stored in the cloud, settles most conversations in under a minute.

## Are gifts treated differently from things you bought?

Gifts you are carrying are ordinary goods counting against your own allowance — the recipient’s allowance is irrelevant, and so is the fact that you did not pay for them. A separate and much smaller gift relief exists only for parcels posted between private individuals.

That posted-gift relief is modest and conditional: broadly in the region of £39 in the UK and €45 in the EU, restricted to genuine person-to-person gifts, and normally excluding alcohol, tobacco and perfume. Marking a commercial parcel as a gift to dodge duty is a customs offence, not a loophole.

## Is there duty-free shopping between EU countries?

No. Duty-free sales for travel within the EU ended in 1999, so an airside shop on a Paris–Rome route sells at French tax-inclusive prices. You may still carry substantial quantities of duty-paid alcohol and tobacco between member states for personal use, subject to indicative guide levels.

Those guide levels are not hard limits but the point at which officers may ask whether the goods are genuinely for personal use. The commonly cited figures are 800 cigarettes, 10 litres of spirits, 90 litres of wine (no more than 60 litres sparkling) and 110 litres of beer. Great Britain no longer participates in this regime — since 2021 GB arrivals from the EU use the standard allowance in the tables above.

## What are the penalties for not declaring?

Seizure is the baseline outcome: you lose the goods and still owe the tax. Beyond that, most administrations add a penalty scaled to the duty evaded, Australia and New Zealand issue on-the-spot infringement notices for undeclared biosecurity items, and persistent or commercial-scale evasion is prosecuted.

Second-order consequences are the ones people underestimate. A seizure record can attract repeat secondary inspection for years, an undeclared biosecurity item can void a visitor visa in Australia, and in the UK a vehicle used to carry undeclared excise goods is itself liable to seizure. The tax on a declared excess is usually a rounding error beside any of that.

## Where should you check the current allowance before you fly?

Use the customs authority of the country you are arriving in, never a retailer or a travel article. gov.uk for the UK, the European Commission and the specific member state for the EU, CBP for the United States, the Australian Border Force and the CBSA for Canada. Screenshot it before you shop.

Direct links: [gov.uk duty-free goods](https://gov.uk/duty-free-goods) and [bringing goods into the UK](https://gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use), [Your Europe travel allowances](https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/alcohol-tobacco-cash/index_en.htm), [US CBP for citizens](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/know-before-you-go) and [for visitors](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/kbyg), [Australian Border Force](https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/duty-free) and [CBSA I Declare](https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/ifcrc-rpcrc-eng.html).

The figures on this page were last verified against those sources on 6 August 2026 and are indicative rather than definitive. Where a number carries real money — a watch, a case of wine, a carton of cigarettes — read the official page for your exact arrival country, arrival mode and length of absence, and keep the screenshot. Practical companions: our [duty-free alcohol limits guide](/guides/duty-free-alcohol-limits-guide) and [how much cash can I travel with](/guides/how-much-cash-can-i-travel-with).

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