Bulgaria Ski discussion board
Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
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posts : 13 (Beginner)Date : 01-04-10 01:35Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Apparently, (and I have not had this confirmed yet) but I have been told that there is a relaxation of the rule that previously meant you could only bring back 200 cigarettes from Bulgaria. The new rules came into operation 1st Jan 2010. The guideline is now (apparently) 3,200 cigarettes, provided you can prove they are for you own use, (and I don't know how you are able to prove that!) Also taxes on Cigarettes have increased, to make a packet of victory 5 Lev instead of 3.40 as they were ...
Apparently, (and I have not had this confirmed yet) but I have been told that there is a relaxation of the rule that previously meant you could only bring back 200 cigarettes from Bulgaria. The new rules came into operation 1st Jan 2010. The guideline is now (apparently) 3,200 cigarettes, provided you can prove they are for you own use, (and I don't know how you are able to prove that!) Also taxes on Cigarettes have increased, to make a packet of victory 5 Lev instead of 3.40 as they were pre 2010.
The grey area is - although the Bulgarians may allow you to take them out - will the British Customs allow you to bring them in?
I'll try and find out more if I can.
The grey area is - although the Bulgarians may allow you to take them out - will the British Customs allow you to bring them in?
I'll try and find out more if I can.
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Yellow fingers, bad breath and that permanent eau'd tobacco aroma i reckon would be proof enough...
Pimp x
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Obviously a non smoker
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
bought 800 victory at sofia airport this morning. would they been able to sell them if i wasnt allowed them in uk?re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Reformed - good boy now.
i heard rumours that the BG government were considering a public place smoking ban, that wouldn't go down well with the locals, BG restaurants wouldn't be the same without that layer of smoke, i dont mind it but i know lots do..
Pimp x
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Eyepaul - think about it.They couldn't give 2 hoots if you have them confiscated in the UK. As long as you have paid them for them that's all they worry about.
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
What a shame .....Should be a packet of 20 each .... MAX
Cough ......
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
There is no longer a cigarette allowance because the excise rates are now in line with EU law - there was an exemption negotiated that has now expired, hence the price increase. So you now have the same deal as if you went across the channel - you have to show they are for your own use.Smoking ban starts here in June. Huzzah!
re: Cigarette Allowance Relaxed
Tony T is correct
Buying goods in another Member State
There are no limits on what private persons can buy and take with them when they travel between EU countries, as long as the products purchased are for personal use and not for resale, with exception of new means of transport. Taxes (VAT and excise) will be included in the price of the products in the Member State of purchase and no further payment of taxes can be due in any other Member State.
Tobacco and alcohol
However, ...
Buying goods in another Member State
There are no limits on what private persons can buy and take with them when they travel between EU countries, as long as the products purchased are for personal use and not for resale, with exception of new means of transport. Taxes (VAT and excise) will be included in the price of the products in the Member State of purchase and no further payment of taxes can be due in any other Member State.
Tobacco and alcohol
However, ...
Tony T is correct
Buying goods in another Member State
There are no limits on what private persons can buy and take with them when they travel between EU countries, as long as the products purchased are for personal use and not for resale, with exception of new means of transport. Taxes (VAT and excise) will be included in the price of the products in the Member State of purchase and no further payment of taxes can be due in any other Member State.
Tobacco and alcohol
However, special rules apply in the case of goods subject to excise duty, such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. If a private person purchases such products in one Member State and takes them to another Member State, the principle that no excise duty has to be paid in the Member State of destination only applies if the goods are
* for the own use of the traveller or his family and
* transported by himself.
To determine whether these products are for the own use of the traveller, Member States must take account of all the relevant factors. These include:
* The commercial status of the holder of the products and his reasons for holding them;
* The place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the mode of transport used;
* Any document relating to the products;
* The nature of the products;
* The quantity of the products.
As to the last element, Member States may lay down guide levels, solely as a form as evidence, which cannot be lower than the following quantities:
a) Tobacco products
* cigarettes 800 items
* cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3 g each) 400 items
* cigars 200 items
* smoking tobacco 1.0 kg
b) Alcoholic beverages
* spirit drinks 10 litres
* intermediate products 20 litres
* wines (including a maximum of 60 litres of sparkling wines) 90 litres
* beers 110 litres
Tobacco - special rules
a) For travellers returning from one of the Member States that joined the EU on 1 May 2004
The above rules for tobacco products already apply to Malta, Cyprus, the Czech Republic as well as to Slovenia.
But Member States may apply special transitional arrangements for travellers returning from the other new Member States that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 , for as long as these new Member States have not reached the minimum level of taxation for cigarettes or other tobacco products.
The following Member States have introduced such restrictions : Austria, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France and Ireland.
They will apply the following import limits:
To travellers coming from
Limits
(excise duty has to be paid for quantities exceeding these limits)
Applicable until at the latest
Estonia
200 cigarettes
250g Tobacco for rolling cigarettes
End of 2009
End of 2009
Hungary
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
Latvia
200 cigarettes
End of 2009
Lithuania
200 cigarettes
End of 2009
Poland
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
Slovakia
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
b) For travellers returning from one of the Member States that joined the EU on 1 January 2007
Member States were also allowed to apply special transitional arrangements for travellers returning from the new Member States that joined the EU on 1 January 2007 as long as these new Member States have not reached the minimum level of taxation for cigarettes.
The following Member States have notified the Commission that they introduced on 1 January 2007 a restriction of 200 cigarettes for travellers coming from Bulgaria and Romania until 31 December 2009:
Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary.
All EU citizens who either return directly from Bulgaria or Romania to one of the above mentioned Member States or via one of these Member States (for example in land travel via Hungary) need to observe the limit.
Travelling within the EU via Switzerland (or other non-EU countries)
If you travel from one EU Member State to another through Switzerland (or another non-EU country), you may carry goods for personal use without border formalities as long as the thresholds set out for the entry into Switzerland/re-entry into the EU are not exceeded. If you carry quantities exceeding those thresholds, declare them when entering Switzerland and when re-entering the EU. In Switzerland you may be requested to provide a financial guarantee which you get back when you leave the country with the goods. On re-entry into the EU you must declare these goods. No duties apply if you can prove that they come from another EU country and are intended for personal use (see article 323 of Regulation (EC) No 2454/93 on page 111).
Buying excise products over the Internet
Do you intend to purchase excise products (e.g. wine, spirits and tobacco products such as cigarettes, etc) over the internet? See the list of frequently asked questions.
New Means of transport
Where new means of transport are purchased in another Member State, special rules apply, and the purchase is taxable in the Member State of registration of the means of transport, rather than the Member State in which it is purchased.
Other information for travellers
The brochure "Travelling in Europe" provides practical information for tourists travelling within the EU. You will find information on documentation, shopping, driving, healthcare, communications, weather, public holidays, cultural events and help if things go wrong.
Travelling by air: baggage controls in the European Union
You may find background information on baggage controls of passengers entering or leaving the EU in this information document.
Buying goods in another Member State
There are no limits on what private persons can buy and take with them when they travel between EU countries, as long as the products purchased are for personal use and not for resale, with exception of new means of transport. Taxes (VAT and excise) will be included in the price of the products in the Member State of purchase and no further payment of taxes can be due in any other Member State.
Tobacco and alcohol
However, special rules apply in the case of goods subject to excise duty, such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. If a private person purchases such products in one Member State and takes them to another Member State, the principle that no excise duty has to be paid in the Member State of destination only applies if the goods are
* for the own use of the traveller or his family and
* transported by himself.
To determine whether these products are for the own use of the traveller, Member States must take account of all the relevant factors. These include:
* The commercial status of the holder of the products and his reasons for holding them;
* The place where the products are located or, if appropriate, the mode of transport used;
* Any document relating to the products;
* The nature of the products;
* The quantity of the products.
As to the last element, Member States may lay down guide levels, solely as a form as evidence, which cannot be lower than the following quantities:
a) Tobacco products
* cigarettes 800 items
* cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3 g each) 400 items
* cigars 200 items
* smoking tobacco 1.0 kg
b) Alcoholic beverages
* spirit drinks 10 litres
* intermediate products 20 litres
* wines (including a maximum of 60 litres of sparkling wines) 90 litres
* beers 110 litres
Tobacco - special rules
a) For travellers returning from one of the Member States that joined the EU on 1 May 2004
The above rules for tobacco products already apply to Malta, Cyprus, the Czech Republic as well as to Slovenia.
But Member States may apply special transitional arrangements for travellers returning from the other new Member States that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 , for as long as these new Member States have not reached the minimum level of taxation for cigarettes or other tobacco products.
The following Member States have introduced such restrictions : Austria, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France and Ireland.
They will apply the following import limits:
To travellers coming from
Limits
(excise duty has to be paid for quantities exceeding these limits)
Applicable until at the latest
Estonia
200 cigarettes
250g Tobacco for rolling cigarettes
End of 2009
End of 2009
Hungary
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
Latvia
200 cigarettes
End of 2009
Lithuania
200 cigarettes
End of 2009
Poland
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
Slovakia
200 cigarettes
End of 2008
b) For travellers returning from one of the Member States that joined the EU on 1 January 2007
Member States were also allowed to apply special transitional arrangements for travellers returning from the new Member States that joined the EU on 1 January 2007 as long as these new Member States have not reached the minimum level of taxation for cigarettes.
The following Member States have notified the Commission that they introduced on 1 January 2007 a restriction of 200 cigarettes for travellers coming from Bulgaria and Romania until 31 December 2009:
Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and Hungary.
All EU citizens who either return directly from Bulgaria or Romania to one of the above mentioned Member States or via one of these Member States (for example in land travel via Hungary) need to observe the limit.
Travelling within the EU via Switzerland (or other non-EU countries)
If you travel from one EU Member State to another through Switzerland (or another non-EU country), you may carry goods for personal use without border formalities as long as the thresholds set out for the entry into Switzerland/re-entry into the EU are not exceeded. If you carry quantities exceeding those thresholds, declare them when entering Switzerland and when re-entering the EU. In Switzerland you may be requested to provide a financial guarantee which you get back when you leave the country with the goods. On re-entry into the EU you must declare these goods. No duties apply if you can prove that they come from another EU country and are intended for personal use (see article 323 of Regulation (EC) No 2454/93 on page 111).
Buying excise products over the Internet
Do you intend to purchase excise products (e.g. wine, spirits and tobacco products such as cigarettes, etc) over the internet? See the list of frequently asked questions.
New Means of transport
Where new means of transport are purchased in another Member State, special rules apply, and the purchase is taxable in the Member State of registration of the means of transport, rather than the Member State in which it is purchased.
Other information for travellers
The brochure "Travelling in Europe" provides practical information for tourists travelling within the EU. You will find information on documentation, shopping, driving, healthcare, communications, weather, public holidays, cultural events and help if things go wrong.
Travelling by air: baggage controls in the European Union
You may find background information on baggage controls of passengers entering or leaving the EU in this information document.
