Germany - Custom regulations
Duty free limits
The following duty free limits apply to people travelling
into the EU.
Tabacco
Travellers over 17 can carry up to
200 cigarettes or
100 Zigarillos or
50 cigars or
250 grams tobacco or
a compilation of the above
Alcohol
Travellers over 17 can carry up to
1 litre of spirits with an alcoholic content of over 22% or
1 litre of ethylalcohol with an alcoholic content over 80% or
2 litres of spirits or aperitifs or
2 litres of a similar beverage with an alcoholic content of 22% or
less
or
2 litres of sparkling wine or liqueur wine or one of each, and 2 litres of
non-sparkling wine
Coffee
500 grams of roast coffee or 200 grams of instant coffee
Perfume
500 grams of perfume and 25 litres eau de toilette
Drugs
Personal doses of medicine along with the medical prescription (this is important, because some medication may be considered drugs based on the active principle of the medicine and without a medical prescription you may be considered at fault of importing illegal drugs)
in addition 175 euros worth of "other goods"
Warning: If a single, indivisible item goes over the tax-free amount, then tax has to be paid on the whole value of the item. No tax-free amount is given to items used for business reasons.
Pets
You may only bring a maximum of 3 pets into Germany.
You must have a certificate from the official animal department in your home
country stating that your pet has had a rabies vaccine within the last year
(but not within the last 30 days). Animals less than 3 months of age,
travelling with their mother do not need the vaccination certificate, but
the mother does!
In addition to this, you must have an international certificate for your
animal's health.
Money
You are also not allowed to carry over 15,000 euros worth of cash in the form of securities, cheques, bills, precious metal und gemstones. This law is due to attempts to constrain organised crime and money laundering.
Absolute restrictions
Since January 2003 restrictions have tightened on the import of meat, milk and dairy products to the EU. Exceptions are made for infant foods and diabetic foods in unopened packets. Also fish, fish products and products containing milk or cream-like sweets, chocolate or biscuits are not affected by the new rules.
In addition to the above restrictions, you also cannot carry (live) animals, plants or parts thereof, particularly if they are protected species. Souvenirs made of coral and shells must be surrendered to customs. Do not believe what the seller of the product tells you, trust what the German customs officials tell you! A list of the prohibited items is available from:
Bundesamt für Naturschutz
Konstantinstr. 110
Bonn
Germany
53179
Tel: +49 (0) 228 84 910
