If you are entering or returning to Germany from a country outside the European Union (EU), you can import goods (travel souvenirs) up to a certain value duty-free and without customs formalities. Certain excise goods (e.g. coffee, alcohol, tobacco or fuel) are subject to quantity limits and other goods are subject to value limits. The quantity of goods that does not exceed these limits is called the travel allowance.

The general requirements for duty-free import (travel allowance) are:

• They are carrying the goods in question.
• The goods are intended for personal use or consumption.
• The goods are not intended for commercial purposes.
• The goods do not violate prohibitions and restrictions.
• Tobacco products as well as alcohol and alcoholic beverages may not be imported by travelers under 17 years of age.

The quantity and value limits for duty-free importation are:

• in the case of tobacco products

  • 200 cigarettes or
  • 100 cigarillos or
  • 50 cigars or
  • 250 grams of smoking tobacco or
  • a proportionate compilation of these goods.

• in the case of alcohol and alcoholic beverages

  • 1 litre of alcohol and alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of more than 22 % by volume or undenatured ethyl alcohol with an alcohol content of 80 % or more by volume, or
  • 2 litres of alcohol and alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content not exceeding 22 % by volume, or
  • a proportionate compilation of these goods, and
  • 4 litres of non-sparkling wines and
  • 16 litres of beer

• in the case of medicinal products

  • the quantity corresponding to the personal needs of the traveller

• in the case of fuels

  • for each motor vehicle, the quantity in the main tank and up to 10 litres in a portable container

• Other goods

  • up to a total value of EUR 300.00,
  • in the case of air or sea travellers up to a total value of EUR 430.00,
  • for travellers under 15 years of age up to a total value of EUR 175.00.

Exceeding travel allowances

If the goods you are carrying exceed the travel allowances, you must declare these goods to the customs office responsible for crossing the border at the airport or seaport or when crossing the border and pay the corresponding import duties (customs duties, import VAT and possibly excise duties). You must also be able to credibly demonstrate that you are using the goods you have brought with you for private purposes.

You can only claim the travel allowances once during a trip. A trip is only completed with the return to the domestic place of residence or the arrival at the holiday destination in Germany. This means that you cannot claim the travel allowance more than once if you cross the border several times in quick succession.

If you are not sure whether the goods you are importing exceed the travel allowances, please contact customs directly. If your goods exceed the mentioned travel allowances, you will have to pay import duties.

Territories with special customs regulations

The following territories belong to the national territory, but not to the customs and tax territory of the EU. Here, too, the regulations for entries from non-EU member states apply. Goods from these areas are therefore only duty-free if they do not exceed the travel allowances for goods from non-EU countries. If the exemption limits are exceeded, customs duties, import sales tax and possibly excise duties will be levied:

• Heligoland and Büsingen,
• Faroe Islands and Greenland,
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Saint-Barthélemy
• Livigno
• Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten,
• Ceuta and Melilla,
• Gibraltar and
• the northern (Turkish) part of the Republic of Cyprus, in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control.

Territories with special tax regimes

The following territories belong to the customs territory, but not to the tax territory of the EU. The regulations for entries from non-EU member states apply. If the exemption limits are exceeded, import sales tax and possibly excise duties will be levied:

• Canary Islands (excise duty and import VAT),
• British Channel Islands (excise duty and import VAT),
• overseas departments of France (Martinique, Mayotte Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guiana) (excise duty and import VAT),
• Åland Islands (excise duty and import VAT)
• Mount Athos in Greece (import VAT) and
• Campione d'Italia (Italy) as well as the part of Lake Lugano between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresoi belonging to Italy (import sales tax).