During your trips abroad, you want to bring back to France products purchased at your place of stay

Depending on the case, you may have to pay customs duties and/or taxes.

For distance purchases (especially on the Internet) and shipments between individuals, see the section dedicated to « Distance purchases » (e-commerce/internet).

Buying abroad, preparing my trip with CustomsDeclaration

Travel peacefully with CustomsDeclaration

To pass through customs with complete peace of mind, anticipate your steps with CustomsDeclaration!

What is CustomsDeclares?

It is a digital tool that allows you to know the rules applicable to the products you bring back from abroad and to anticipate your customs formalities.

• https://declare-douane.beta.gouv.fr/

The online service provides you with practical information and advice to prepare your trip:

• Travel documents to be provided.
• Reporting obligations and terms.
• Prohibited goods subject to special regulations.
• A shopping simulator allowing you to estimate the possible duties and taxes to be paid, if you bring with you certain products from abroad
• Access to the customs services directory (in the FAQ) to allow you to finalize your procedures (pay a declaration, for example), if you do not meet a customs officer on your return.
• A new online reporting feature for products you bring home from abroad, when listed in CustomsReport.
• For the moment, the validation of your declaration by a customs officer at the time of crossing the border remains necessary.

How does it work?

The application is in the form of a questionnaire that is simple and quick to complete. It allows you to obtain the desired information, depending on your situation:

• Country of provenance
• Typology of products brought back from abroad
• Amount of cash transported
• Characteristics of the products you bring back

Procurement within the European Union

Except for exceptions, you do not have to pay duties and taxes on your purchases made in other countries of the European Union, if you make purchases reserved for personal use, you will not have to fill out a declaration or pay duties and taxes on your return to France.

Value added tax (VAT) and excise duties are payable directly in the country where you make your purchases and at the rate in force in that country.

For alcoholic beverages and tobacco, indicative Community thresholds have been set, above which the payment of duties and taxes may be required (see You bring back tobacco bought in a country of the European Union).

The purchase of a vehicle is also regulated.

Special cases:

• The overseas departments, if they are part of the customs territory of the European Union, are considered for tax purposes as third territories, including in their relations with the metropolis. Thus, trade between each DOM and the metropolis (or any other member country of the European Union) is considered, depending on the case, as imports or exports (see special cases in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Mayotte, Saint Barthélémy, Guyane and Réunion).
• Overseas communities enjoy fiscal autonomy and are governed by specific rules (see special cases for the island of Saint-Martin and the island of Saint Barthélémy).
• If you arrive from Andorra, the Channel Islands, the Canary Islands, you also have a specific system of import exemptions.

Purchases outside the European Union

Above the exemption threshold, the goods you import into France must bear the applicable taxes, namely VAT and excise duties. However, in certain special cases, you may be exempt from taxes.

In addition to the taxation of imported goods, there are also quantitative exemptions for certain products, such as tobacco or alcohol.

Purchases outside the European Union: exemption thresholds

Goods whose value and/or quantities are below the applicable exemption thresholds shall not be subject to the payment of duties and taxes. Beyond the thresholds of franchises, your purchases are subject to taxation, either flat rate or case by case on the basis of the Common Customs Tariff.

• You bring back tobacco, alcohol or other goods purchased outside the European Union

In order to pay the customs duties, you can opt for the flat-rate taxation at 2.5%

• A flat-rate customs duty of 2,5 % ad valorem (i.e. on the value of the goods) shall be applied to all goods contained in the personal luggage of travelers, provided that they are imports of a non-commercial nature.
• This flat-rate customs duty applies to goods whose value exceeds the applicable exemption thresholds.
• The duty-free value of the goods subject to the flat-rate import duties shall not exceed EUR 700 per consignment or per traveler.
• Beyond the threshold of 700 euros per shipment or per traveler, the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) is applicable. Consult the tariff encyclopedia for an advanced search.
• The flat-rate customs duty does not apply to goods that are exempt and to goods of Chapter 24 of the Tariff (tobacco and tobacco products) that are contained in a consignment or in travelers' personal luggage in quantities exceeding the exemptions granted for consignments from individuals to individuals and the exemptions granted for travelers.
• The traveler can refuse the flat-rate taxation and request that the products be subject to their own customs duties, according to the CCT.

In order to pay customs duties, your purchases are taxed specifically on the basis of the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) if you do not opt for flat-rate taxation

• Apart from the application of the flat rate of 2,5 % (see above), when importing goods originating in countries outside the European Union (third countries), customs duties are calculated Ad Valorem on the CIF value (value including purchase cost, insurance and transport to destination for postal parcels, for example) of those goods, in accordance with the Common Customs Tariff (CCT) to all countries of the European Union.
• This regulation applies even if the imports are of a non-commercial nature.
• In practical terms, the TARIC code (10 digits) defines the rate of customs duties and the Community rules applicable when importing a product originating in a country outside the European Union.

Estimation tables of duties and taxes based on the Common Customs Tariff

Preamble

In view of the diversity of imported goods, the tables below cannot replace the current regulations. However, they give as an indication an overview of the customs duties and other taxes that will be payable to the customs, upon your arrival in France.

Thus, beyond the thresholds of the aforementioned customs exemptions, you must declare the products you are transporting to customs and pay the corresponding duties and taxes. Know that you can be checked by the customs services at the borders with countries not members of the European Union, but also throughout the national territory and the Community customs territory.

The column of customs duties indicates a percentage (or a low and high range) to be applied to the invoiced amount of the goods, to which will be added the French VAT. Please note that, in the case of the purchase of goods all taxes paid (including taxes), French VAT is added to customs duties.

The column of customs duties indicates a percentage (or a low and high range) to be applied to the invoiced amount of the goods, to which French VAT will be added. It should be noted that, in the case of the purchase of goods all taxes paid in a country outside the European Union (TTC), the French VAT is added to the customs duties.

If you do not declare your goods, you may confiscate your goods and pay a customs fine, or even face legal action.

The tables proposed below also apply to distance purchases (postal parcels, shipments between individuals, purchases on the Internet) as well as to goods contained in travelers' luggage. Please note, however: the taxation methods are different for distance purchases (e-commerce / internet).

Whatever goods you wish to import, you can precisely determine the applicable customs duties according to the nature of the product purchased and the country where you purchased it, using the search engine of the RITA tariff encyclopedia. Only the tax rate set out in RITA is authentic.

The customs nomenclature mentioned in the following tables is purely indicative and corresponds to standard models. Under Community rules, only binding tariff information (BTI) binds the administration to the classification established for a given good. Classification under a customs nomenclature depends on the actual characteristics of the goods, irrespective of their trade description.

Recent Products

Electronic equipment: camera, camcorder, computer, games, etc.

Musical instruments: piano, string or wind instruments

Watches & jewelry

Carpets and flooring

Clothing

Online Shopping

How to estimate the amount of customs duties and VAT to be paid? 

You can use the prototype made available by the Directorate General of Customs and Indirect Duties to simulate the calculation of duties and taxes whose purpose is to inform the user of metropolitan France of the amounts that he may have to pay in case of distance purchase (online shop, etc...) of:

• Costume jewelry
• Smartphones
• Perfumes
• Shoes

To better understand the species and origin of the goods

Video Tutorials

• Customs | French Tech - Nomenclature
• Customs | French Tech - Determining the origin of a good