The following goods may be imported by persons over 17 years of age without incurring customs duty if obtained duty- and/or tax-free outside the EU:

• 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco.
• 1l of spirits and distilled beverages (more than 22%) or 2l of other alcoholic beverages with an alcoholic strength not exceeding 22%, including sparkling or fortified wine, plus 2l of table wine.
• 60ml of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette.
• Other dutiable goods to the value of €175, or €90 if under 15 years old.

Abolition of duty-free goods within the EU
On 30 June 1999, the sale of duty-free alcohol and tobacco at airports and at sea was abolished in all of the original 15 EU member states. Of the 10 new member states that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and the two states that joined on 1 January 2007, these rules apply to all new member states, except for Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Romania.

There are transitional rules in place for visitors returning to one of the original 15 EU countries from one of these four new countries. Nine of the original 15 EU member states put in place transitional rules for goods from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These are Austria, Belgium, Germany, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, France and Ireland. Imports into these countries include a restriction of 200 cigarettes. An additional restriction of 250g of tobacco for rolling cigarettes applies to Estonia. Four of the original 15 EU member states put in place transitional rules for goods from Bulgaria and Romania. These are Germany, UK, Denmark and Hungary. The restriction for travellers is 200 cigarettes. 

But for all other EU member states, there are no limits imposed on importing tobacco and alcohol products from one EU country to another.

Travellers should note that they may be required to prove at customs that the goods purchased are for personal use only. Member states may follow the EU's guide levels of: 10l of spirits; 20l of intermediate products; 90l of wine (including a maximum of 60l of sparkling wines); 110l of beer; 800 cigarettes; 400 cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3g each); 200 cigars and 1kg of tobacco.

All of the transitional rules will expire December 2009.

Firearms, ammunition, explosives, offensive weapons, indecent/obscene material, plants or bulbs, live or dead animals, bird or poultry, endangered species, meat and meat products and hay or straw (even if used as packing).