Personal tobacco allowance question

[vit4]

Going on a small holiday to Belgium in a few months and expect to bring back the max. personal allowance regarding tobacco.

Quick question though, as I smoke a combination of roll-ups and cigarettes. Would I be able to bring back 3kg of Tobacco AND 3200 cigarettes, or just one or the other?

Cheers.

[Vespula]

Well, technically you are allowed as much as you want for personal use.....but they don't like it.

Have a look here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[cazzer]

fk what they like. Legally you can bring back as much as you like.
You just have to buy for personal use. So dont bring back 15 different brands

[vit4]

Cheers for the link

Hmm. Don't really want to risk getting the whole lot seized though, especially as I know my car will attract 'attention' anyway (old and a bit tatty ). One thing I couldn't really get clear from the other thread, can they legally seize the tobacco if they can't prove that it's not for personal use?


FTR, it is. Sick of the prices over here so figure may as well use the opportunity to save a few bob.

[Laurel Green]

Don't take this as gospel but, you should be OK bringing back that amount. I have in the past been stopped by customs and, when asked if I had brought anything back, replied that I had ten packs (5kg) and been waved through. I think it's OK to bring back more than they recommend, as long as you are not making frequent trips to do so.

[Wings]

vit4 said:

Going on a small holiday to Belgium in a few months and expect to bring back the max. personal allowance regarding tobacco.

Quick question though, as I smoke a combination of roll-ups and cigarettes. Would I be able to bring back 3kg of Tobacco AND 3200 cigarettes, or just one or the other?Cheers.

Yes you can, and as others have posted, there is no limit on what quantity you can bring back for personal use, personal use including gifts to a partner, family or relatives, and those gifts must be free from any intent of "payment in kind", ie "10kls of tobacco is for my friend Eric who helps me with my accounts".

Any indication of commercial use for the tobacco, and both the goods and any vehicle carrying the goods will be seized. Commerciality, does not have to be for commercial profit, it can be for payment equal to the cost price of the goods, or for a payment in kind.

You should carry open smoking material, cigarettes, tobacco and lighter, with the possibility that with tobacco customs may ask you to roll one or two test cigarettes.

If you are a frequent traveller then customs are legally entitled to make an assumption that what you are now stopped with, you imported on every previous trip, with the guidelines intended indicating an average smokers consumption for 6 months. So if we assume that out of every 50 gram of tobacco one can roll 100 cigarettes, then 3 kls should produce 6000 cigarettes, and because of your stressful life you smoke 40 cigarettes a day, plus your partner smokes 30 = 500 cigarettes a week, which equals 12 weeks stock of tobacco, and 6+ weeks for cigarettes.

You possibly will get the gist, might appear heavy, but i have been witnessed to dealing with appeals over some very expensive cars, for the traveller saying the wrong things to customs.

Edited by Wings on Thursday 10th February 21:26

[vit4]

Here's something a bit worrying.

I have very, very shaky hands which create pretty crap roll ups, despite repeated attempts at refining the art Because of this, I use a rolling machine to roll them. Is that gonna raise eyebrows?

[Laurel Green]

If you have the rolling machine with you and, it looks well used, then can't see a problem.

[Wings]

Laurel Green said:

If you have the rolling machine with you and, it looks well used, then can't see a problem.

Agree, but then the traveller will say he only rolls approx. 70 cigarettes from a 50gram pouch of tobacco. The EU Directive EEC/92/12 states that seizure can't be on one crieria, quantity alone, there must be two or more reasons, hence the trick questions to reduce cheap imports of EU tobacco products.

[Laurel Green]

Wings said:

Agree, but then the traveller will say he only rolls approx. 70 cigarettes from a 50gram pouch of tobacco. The EU Directive EEC/92/12 states that seizure can't be on one criteria, quantity alone, there must be two or more reasons, hence the trick questions to reduce cheap imports of EU tobacco products.

I agree! It's imperative that the traveller is clued up on what one can expect, if stopped. It is best not to volunteer any information other than it is for personal use, or as a gift (not, for example, a bonus or payment for work done, etc).
Oh and, nicotine stained fingers and a decent cough wouldn't go amiss either.

[Wings]

UK Treasury to cut holidaymakers' personal tobacco allowances;

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/27/cla...

[Laurel Green]

I shall still bring back the 3kg. The onus is still with them to prove it's not for personal use.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Laurel Green said:

I shall still bring back the 3kg. The onus is still with them to prove it's not for personal use.

Good luck arguing that one with them.

[Laurel Green]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Good luck arguing that one with them.

But nothing has changed. They are going to question those bringing less cigarettes/tobacco in to the country, with the hope that this will dissuade none smokers, etc, into bringing less back. I am not selling tobacco to make a gain, I am bringing it back for my own use, tax paid.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Laurel Green said:

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Good luck arguing that one with them.

But nothing has changed. They are going to question those bringing less cigarettes/tobacco in to the country, with the hope that this will dissuade none smokers, etc, into bringing less back. I am not selling tobacco to make a gain, I am bringing it back for my own use, tax paid.

I don't disagree with your position but in an argument with customs I suspect you'll lose.

[cazzer]

Never lost it yet

[Wings]

Laurel Green said:

But nothing has changed. They are going to question those bringing less cigarettes/tobacco in to the country, with the hope that this will dissuade none smokers, etc, into bringing less back. I am not selling tobacco to make a gain, I am bringing it back for my own use, tax paid.

+1 agree, NO limit for personal use, personal use including gifts.

[Puggit]

HMRC are welcome to ask everyone about the tobacco they bring back - to ascertain if it's for personal use or not.

If it's all for personal use they have no legal right to take any of it - no matter what the amount is.