Importing goods from EU countries into Germany

You can bring goods from any EU country into Germany. However, there are guideline quantities for certain goods.

When you enter or return to Germany from a Member State of the European Union (EU), you can bring goods purchased there tax-free and without customs formalities. However, for certain goods subject to excise duty, such as coffee, alcohol, or tobacco products, there are guideline quantities up to which use for private purposes is generally assumed.

The guide limits for tax-free imports from other EU member states for private purposes are:

• for tobacco products

  • Cigarettes: 800 pieces
  • Cigars: 400 pieces
  • Cigars: 200 pieces
  • Smoking tobacco: 1 kilogram

• for alcoholic beverages

  • Alcohol for consumption (such as brandy, whisky, rum, vodka): 10 liters
  • alcoholic sweet drinks (alcopops): 10 liters
  • Intermediate products (such as sherry, port, and Marsala): 20 liters
  • Sparkling wine: 60 liters
  • Beer: 110 liters

• over coffee

  • Coffee: 10 kilograms
  • coffee-containing goods: 10 kilograms

• in fuels

  • for vehicles, special containers, working machines and equipment, as well as refrigeration and air-conditioning systems: the quantity contained in the main tank and up to 20 liters in reserve containers of a vehicle.

These guide amounts may be used cumulatively. This means that, for example, you may bring in several types of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages at the same time up to the respective specified guide amount for your own consumption.

Exceeding the guideline quantities – commercial transport

If the goods you are carrying exceed the guide amounts, a commercial purpose is legally assumed—regardless of other criteria. You can refute this presumption by proving that you personally are using the goods you brought with you for private purposes. In doing so, you must make it credible that you meet the requirements for a tax exemption.

Otherwise, it constitutes an importation for commercial purposes. This means that you must pay excise duties on the goods you have brought with you. If you cannot disprove that you are importing the goods for commercial purposes, customs will seize the goods you have brought with you. In this case, you must declare the goods you have brought with you immediately and pay the excise duty.

If you are unsure whether the goods you have brought with you exceed the guideline quantities, please contact customs directly.

Areas with special customs or tax regulations

Although the following territories belong to the state territory, they are not part of the customs and tax territory of the EU. For imports from these territories, the regulations for entries from non-EU member states apply. Goods from these territories are therefore only exempt from duties if they do not exceed the duty-free allowances for goods from non-EU countries. If the duty-free allowances are exceeded, customs duties, import turnover tax, and possibly excise duties will be levied:

• Helgoland and Büsingen,
• Faroe Islands and Greenland,
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, 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, where the government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control.

Areas with special tax regulations

Although the following areas belong to the EU customs territory, they do not belong to the EU tax territory. The regulations for entry from non-EU member states apply. If you do not meet the conditions for tax-free transport for private purposes, you must pay import turnover tax and potentially excise duties:

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

If you fall below the standard quantities and meet the other requirements, you can continue your journey as normal.

If you exceed the guideline amounts and cannot disprove commercial use, you must declare the goods you have brought with you immediately after crossing the border:

• You can obtain the form required for registration from the main customs office responsible for your place of residence. Alternatively, you can also download the form from the internet.
• Please send the completed form without delay, at the latest upon arrival at your destination, to the main customs office responsible for your place of residence.
• The main customs office is reviewing your application.
• It may ask you to correct your information.
• At the end of the inspection, the main customs office issues a tax assessment notice with the amount of excise duty that you must transfer.
• Special case: If you are in the tax territory in Germany without a residence, you must declare the goods immediately to the main customs office responsible for the place where you crossed the border. That is also where you will pay the corresponding excise duty.

If you exceed guideline amounts and/or fail to meet the requirements for tax-free border crossing and fail to disclose this during an inspection at the border, you are committing tax evasion. This is also the case if you provide false or incomplete information about your goods during an inspection. This also applies to the information provided in the declaration. In this case, criminal proceedings may ensue.

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