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Shopping in the
EU
Which products can I bring with me while travelling within the EU?
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When you travel within the EU, there are no limits about what you are
able to purchase or bring with you for personal use: your purchases can
be controlled only for reasons related to public order. Taxes are
included in the product’s price, so no further payment can be demanded.
Anyway, national governments have the right to collect a levy on tobacco
and alcoholics, even if for personal use. The following quantities are
generally considered as for personal use:
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cigarettes 800 items
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cigarillos (cigars weighing not more than 3 g each) 400 items
·
cigars 200 items
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smoking tobacco 1.0 kg
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spirit drinks 10 litres
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intermediate products 20 litres
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wines (including a maximum of 60 litres of sparkling wines) 90 litres
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beers
110 litres
If you bring with yourself these kind of products in a higher quantity,
you might be required to demonstrate that they are for personal use,
i.e. for some events which justify this high amount, such as a wedding.
For further information about import limits please visit EU website at:
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/travellers/within_eu/index_en.htm |
Are consumer obliged to pay VAT on purchased products within the EU?
The “Duty Free”, which is easy to find both in the Airports and in some shops
placed in the most touristic cities, allows only extra-european citizens to
avoid VAT payment, while European citizen are obliged to pay it, even if they
purchase a good in a Member State different from the one they belong to.
Tourists coming from extra EU Countries are entitled to have reimbursed the VAT
paid on products bought during their stay in the EU, by presenting them to the
duty office before leaving the EU Country, within 3 months from the purchase. In
order to obtain the reimbursement, extra EU citizens have to present, together
with the products bought, also some further necessary documents, which are
normally arranged by the merchant, even if some merchant could not do so,
because it’s a voluntary procedure. Moreover, some EU Countries establish a
minimum sum to be spent in order to offer the reimbursement.
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