When you arrive in France with purchases made abroad in your luggage, customs and tax exemptions in quantities and values are applicable according to the categories of goods you are carrying.
A distinction is made between the deductibles applied to purchases:
-
facts in a non-EU country:
-
a third country to the European Union,
-
a territory excluded from the Community customs territory (the case of the French Polynesia, St Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Barthélémy and Saint Martin overseas communities or the case of New Caledonia),
-
or a third-party tax territory (for example, in the case of the overseas departments of French Guiana, Réunion, Mayotte, Guadeloupe and Martinique, or in the case of Saint-Martin, the Channel Islands and the Canary Islands).
-
-
facts in another EU country.
You can be checked by customs at borders, but also throughout the national territory and the Community customs territory. These checks are carried out primarily to safeguard your safety and health and to protect the environment.
Customs informs you of your rights and the formalities to be completed, so that you do not unintentionally infringe.
Quantitative franchises
Upon your return to France, customs and tax exemptions in quantities are applicable, depending on the categories of goods you are transporting.
You can benefit from these quantitative exemptions, when you carry with you goods purchased or offered to you, without having to make a declaration or pay duties and taxes.
What quantities are allowed duty-free?
Return from a non-EU country
| Products | Quantities |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 200 (1 cartridge) |
| Cigarillos | 100 units |
| Cigars | 50 units |
| Smoking tobacco | 250 g |
Travelers under the age of 17 are excluded from these exemptions.
- The exemptions listed above are specified in the circular of 28 April 2023 on taxation applicable to manufactured tobacco. These exemptions only apply in the case of an importation of tobacco into mainland France by individuals.
- These quantities cannot be cumulated. However, these goods may be proportionally assorted within the same category of goods.
- The above exemptions do not apply to tobacco products from Andorra for which a specific exemption regime applies. Read the information: pass the customs in Andorra: taxes and franchise.
These exemptions are provided for in the Order of 16 July 2009 laying down the conditions for the application of Regulation No 918/83 of 28 March 1983, as amended, on the establishment of a Community system of reliefs from customs duty in cases where that Regulation leaves the Member States the possibility of adopting specific conditions or limits.
These goods may be subject to a proportional assortment within the same category of goods.
For example, if you buy 100 cigarettes, you only use half of the tobacco deductible. You can then split the remaining half into half the cigarillos threshold (50 pieces) or half the cigar threshold (25 pieces) or half the smoking tobacco threshold (125 g).
| Products | Quantities |
|---|---|
| Still wines (non-sparkling) | 4 liters |
| Beers | 16 liters |
| Drinks measuring more than 22° | 1 liter |
| Drinks measuring 22° or less | 2 liters |
| Or a proportional assortment of these categories of goods | Example: 1 liter of alcohol below 22 degrees + 0.5 liter of alcohol above 22 degrees |
Travelers under the age of 17 are excluded from these exemptions.
Example:
You can bring back 4 liters of wine + 16 liters of beer + 1 liter of whisky.
Or 4 liters of wine + 16 liters of beer + 2 liters of Porto.
Or 4 liters of wine + 16 liters of beer + 0.5 liters of whisky + 1 liter of port.
To know
These are quantities per person and not per vehicle. They apply equally if you are traveling by personal transport (on foot, by bicycle, by car, by boat, etc.) or collective transport (plane, train, boat).
Quantities corresponding to the needs of the traveler.
- Quantities contained in the normal vehicle tank
- + a reserve can with a maximum capacity of 10 liters.
Cross-border workers** and international transport workers**
* For Switzerland, pursuant to Article 1 of the Convention between Switzerland and France on Neighborhood Relations and the Monitoring of Frontier Forests concluded on 31 January 1938, only residents of the departments of Haut-Rhin, Territoire-de-Belfort, Doubs, Jura, Ain and Haute-Savoie who have their residence in an area 10 kilometers deep from the French-Swiss border are considered as frontier residents.
** a frontier worker is any person who, by his usual activity, is called to go on the days of his work across the border.
| Products | Quantities |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 40 units |
| Cigarillos | 20 units |
| Cigars | 10 units |
| Smoking tobacco | 50 g |
Travelers under the age of 18 are excluded from these exemptions.
| Products | Quantities |
|---|---|
| Still wines (non-sparkling) | 0.5 liter |
| Beers | 4 liters |
| Drinks measuring more than 22° | 0.25 liter |
| Drinks measuring 22° or less | 0.5 liter |
Travelers under the age of 18 are excluded from these exemptions.
Quantities corresponding to the needs of the traveler.
- Quantities contained in the normal vehicle tank
- + a reserve can with a maximum capacity of 10 liters.
Return from a European Union country
You have the right to hold quantities transported by yourself and corresponding to your personal consumption, within the indicative thresholds, per traveler:
Article L. 311-19 of the Goods and Services Tax Code (CIBS).
Decree No. 2024-276 of 27 March 2024.
Directive 2020/262.
| Products | Indicative thresholds |
|---|---|
| Cigarettes | 800 pieces (i.e. 4 cartridges) or |
| Cigars | 200 pieces or |
| Cigarillos (cigars up to 3 grams per piece) |
400 pieces or |
| Smoking tobacco | 1.0 kilogram |
These quantities are not cumulative and are per person over 18 years of age. They are appreciated by each passenger in the same vehicle.
All transport from a Member State of the European Union of tobacco products, subject to excise duty, for commercial purposes or for hire or reward, is prohibited from the first piece or gram. Criteria have been established to establish the commercial nature of the movement, while beyond the thresholds set by Directive No 2020/262 (Chapter V, Section 1, Article 32), the transport of tobacco products will be deemed to be for commercial purposes.
These goods may be subject to a proportional assortment within the same category of goods.
For example, if you buy 400 cigarettes, you only use half of the tobacco deductible. You can then break down the remaining half into half the cigarillos threshold (200 pieces) or half the cigar threshold (100 pieces) or half the smoking tobacco threshold (500 g).
| Products | Quantities |
|---|---|
| Wines | 90 liters (including maximum 60 liters of sparkling wine) |
| Beers | 110 liters |
| Drinks measuring more than 22° | 10 liters |
| Drinks measuring 22° or less | 20 liters |
Travelers under the age of 18 are excluded from these exemptions.
To know
These quantities are cumulative. For example, you can bring back 10 liters of whisky + 20 liters of Porto + 90 liters of wine + 110 liters of beer. Or 10 liters of whisky + 20 liters of Porto + 60 liters of sparkling wine (champagne or crémant) + 30 liters of wine + 110 liters of beer.
To know
These are quantities per person and not per vehicle. They apply equally if you are traveling by personal transport (on foot, by bicycle, by car, by boat, etc.) or collective transport (plane, train, boat).
Be careful
You must keep the receipt of your tobacco purchases to present them at customs control.
Quantities corresponding to the needs of the traveler.
- Quantities contained in the normal vehicle tank
- + a reserve can with a maximum capacity of 10 liters.
The amounts indicated cannot be cumulated for the same object.
Example: a group or a family of four cannot benefit from the deductible for a device worth €1,720 (430 x 4 people). Any item whose value is greater than the deductible, will have to be declared, and you will pay VAT on the total value without any discount.
The value of goods subject to quantitative limits shall not be taken into account for the purpose of determining the exemption in value.
- If you arrive from the Channel Islands, the Canary Islands, the Overseas Departments (Martinique, Guyana, Reunion, Guadeloupe), in case of exceeding the quantitative exemptions, customs duties are not due. On the other hand, value added tax (VAT) and excise duties are payable when the quantities listed above are exceeded.
- If you arrive from Andorra, you have a specific system of quantitative exemptions on importation (read the information « Passing customs in Andorra: taxes and exemption »).
Franchises in value
In addition to the quantity exemptions, when you arrive in metropolitan France, customs and tax exemptions in value are to be applied.
Arrival from a third country, a territory excluded from the Community customs territory (example of COMs), a territory for tax purposes
You can benefit from value deductibles when you carry with you goods purchased or offered to you, without having to make any declaration or duties and taxes to pay. You do not have to declare the goods (including gifts) if their total value or quantity does not exceed the authorized deductibles.
The total market value of the goods shall not, however, exceed the following amounts:
| Travelers under 15 years | Travelers 15 years and older |
|---|---|
| Whatever the mode of transport: EUR 150. |
|
Any item with a value above the allowance will have to be declared and you will pay the value added tax (VAT) and customs duties normally due. These duties and taxes apply to the entire price mentioned on the purchase invoice or to the value of the goods estimated over the counter.
When you import more than one item at a time, allowances are granted within the permitted value limits, with surplus goods taxed.
Arrival from a DOM, the Channel Islands or the Canary Islands
Customs duties are not due.
On the other hand, value added tax (VAT) is applicable if the total value of the goods exceeds the following amounts:
| Travelers under 15 years | Travelers 15 years and older |
|---|---|
| Whatever the mode of transport: EUR 150. |
|
If you arrive from Andorra, you have a specific duty-free regime in terms of import value (read the information « Passing customs in Andorra: taxes and duty-free »).
In addition to these value thresholds, you can benefit from quantitative deductibles for certain products (alcohol, tobacco, etc.).
Cross-border commuters, cross-border workers and international transport employees (value deductibles)
Cross-border commuters, cross-border workers and international transport employees (personnel of means of transport used to travel from a third country) you can benefit from reduced deductibles.
| Travelers under 15 years | Travelers 15 years and older |
|---|---|
| 40 euros | €75 |
Prohibited goods or goods subject to special formalities
- Your personal belongings and their supporting documents (residents of the European Union).
Regulatory bases
- BOD 5873 of 28 March 1994 - text DA 94-05 (not available on this site).
- Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 and Article 1(10) of the Order of 18 June 2009, which refer to Directive 2007/74/EC.
- Regulation EC 274/2008 amending Regulation (EEC) 918/83 of 28 March 1983.
- Order of 18 June 2009 on the system of exemption from value added tax relating to certain definitive imports of goods (JORF of 24 June 2009).