Hi there, we brought the full allowance of ciggies back from Majorca last October, and again last month from Malaga. 3,200 ciggies each is the general guideline, we had no problems at all. Don't know about alcohol as we don't buy it to bring home. You can bet one of our knowledgeable members will soon be along to tell you though. Have a good holiday, Linda.

Hi Linda.

Thanks for your reply. Huge difference from what we were told when going to Turkey. The rep warned us that anything over 200 ciggies could have led to an arrest and huge fine! Needless to say, I found that info quite a deterrent and brought only 200 back...only to be disappointed to find quite a few people brought a lot more back.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but how much was a sleeve of 200 when you bought them? Also, is it better to get from the Spanish airport, or on resort?

Hi

The recommended allowance is 3200 cigarettes, 200 cigars, 400 cigarillos, 3kg tobacco, 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits, 20 litres of fortified wine (such as port or sherry).
You are allowed to bring back more as long as you can prove it is for personal use.

I think the difference with Turkey last year would be that they were not full members of the EC so therefore you would be limited to what you were legaly allowed to bring back with you.

From a purchasing point of view I tend to buy in resort where the prices are usually cheaper and you will also have paid duty so you can bring back as much as you wish.

Graham

Hi again lol. Prices varied on brands, but Regal King size were 31€ a sleeve, L&M red 24€ Lambert & Butler were 27€, there's a site that gives you all the prices, allowances, I can't post a link but if you put in www. eurotaboco.net it should take you to it. Good site too. Another thing, Turkey is different for the allowance, don't know what it is exactly but you can't bring much. It's cheaper to buy in the resort. The prices for ciggies are set by the Spanish Government so they are the same price anywhere. Please only buy from the official Tabac shops, they have a brown and yellow sign outside. Hope this helps, Linda.

Turkey in not in the EU and therefore still has duty free instead of duty paid so 200 was the correct amount allowed back from Turkey.

luci

Lol, we all posted at the same time...........

Lol, so they did. Wait for a reply, and three come at once!

Anyway, thanks for the replies - very imformative indeed. As for what Kiltman Graham said, buying in resort and already paying the duty etc. Does that actually mean that I could bring back say, 8000 ciggies for myself if I buy in resort and customs wouldn't say anything; or am I getting the wrong end of the stick here?

am I getting the wrong end of the stick here?

Well, you started off that way. In the EU there is no duty free, you are allowed to bring back a personal allowance, which for cigs is 3200. Anything above that you must prove to customs (if stopped) that it is for you own personal use. You can take a chance and get the lot confiscated.

From a purchasing point of view I tend to buy in resort where the prices are usually cheaper and you will also have paid duty so you can bring back as much as you wish.

The above comment was what I was referring to. I got the impression that if you bought in resort, you pay duty therefore omitting the personal allowance if buying from the airport...(?)

Or does the personal allowance remain regardless of where you buy?

The personal allowance of 3200 cigarettes is the same wherever you buy them.

luci