UK Duty Free Allowances announced

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zanuck
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UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby zanuck » Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:12 pm

I thought that if some of you have a quiet moment or ten you might like to read part of an email from HM Government that I received this morning, it's their Brexit Transition Rules bulletin and one of the sections therein is "The Travellers’ Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions (EU Exit) Regulations 2020" https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/202 ... tents/made.

I suggest reading Part 1 Introduction; 1 Citation & Comment; and when you’ve opened 1.1 towards the top of the screen, click on Explanatory Memorandum.

Then to get to the more interesting part for those of you wanting to bring alcohol and/or tobacco products into the UK next year, go to Part 2, Section 7, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/202 ... ion/7/made where it tells you about the maximum quantities travellers can bring in; (Section 7.(1) (d); (e) and (f)); there's a table below it in Section 8 showing the duty and VAT payable if those limits are exceeded.

Although the table specifies "sparkling wine" it's not mentioned explicitly in Section 7, but from memory from the old days, I think we were allowed 1 litre of spirits and 2 litres of sparkling wine, so I think that sparking wine comes under the term "alcoholic beverages".

In short it looks to me as if the new allowances will be:
4lts Spirits
9lts Sparkling Wine
18lts Still Wine

As a non-smoker, I haven't read the sections about tobacco products.

Enjoy!

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Wicksey
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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby Wicksey » Sat Dec 19, 2020 12:29 pm

It won't affect us, but when living in the UK we had regular weekends in France, stocking up at the supermarkets with so much beer and wine our poor car was weighed down by it. We also filled up with fuel, but I think nowadays there's little difference in price between the UK and France. Perhaps those of you that drive back take booze back to the UK?

zanuck
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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby zanuck » Sat Dec 19, 2020 1:00 pm

Indeed Wicksey, we drive to Spain so it is of interest to us, and because we are also close to Dover, we would normally do four or five day trips to France for lunch and wine and grocery restocking - alas not this year, and I have two credit notes with P&O Ferries for day trips next year,

There is still a difference between wine prices in France and UK, but as you write, maybe not as large a differential as in days of yore and the booze runs.

Still, as someone says "Every little helps".

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby olive » Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:00 pm

Two years ago we stripped our lemon tree of lemons and took a bootful back to give away. Doubt we will be able to do that anymore or bring plants back. No doubt it will become clear in the coming weeks.

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby Wicksey » Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:44 pm

I knew someone who filled his car with his avocado harvest and drove back, but by the time he got to the UK they were all over-ripe.

I know if I did split my time between here and England then I would be wanting to take back some favourite wines with me. It was in the 1990s I last did those sort of French shopping weekends away, so I'm sure relative prices have changed since then.

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby zanuck » Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:48 pm

Olive, I haven't read this section, apart from the headings, but this piece was also in today's HMG email.

Don't know if it's relevant to taking lemons to UK or not, but if you've the time, take a read https://www.gov.uk/guidance/importing-a ... tent=daily

I'm not sure how I subscribed to these Brexit related emails, although it was only in the past week or so, I had been receiving emails about "Spain Travel Advice" and "France Travel Advice", so may have clicked on a link in one of those which offered updates on other changes.

This may have been the starting point, if anyone is interested https://www.gov.uk/help/update-email-notifications

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby El Cid » Sat Dec 19, 2020 3:10 pm

I imagine that other foodstuffs like kippers, sausages and pork pies may be banned.

Sid

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby zanuck » Sat Dec 19, 2020 3:20 pm

Sid
I think you are correct, it seems that taking ham and milk in either direction will be verboten, not sure how those products become a health risk (presumably that's the reason) at midnight on 31 Dec, but then I don't live in Downing Street.

Re the rather complicated reading about allowances that I posted earlier, I've now found a simpler (but slightly vaguer in parts) version.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bringing-go ... nuary-2021

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby costakid » Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:19 pm

The joke of brexit gets bigger by the day.

zanuck
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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby zanuck » Sat Dec 19, 2020 7:43 pm

If only it was a joke....

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby Devils Advocate » Sat Dec 19, 2020 11:30 pm

Brexit is a walk in the park compared to Covid. Brexit would never ban you from visiting your Spanish house or seeing your mother.
Property owner in Andalucia since 2002. How time flies.

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby Paddy Pumpkin » Sun Dec 20, 2020 7:09 am

It will if you want to visit your house for more than 90 days in 180. It may also means my wife now needs a visa to visit her mother in the UK. Wife doesn't have EU passport and not sure if Spanish residency gives her the right to enter the UK visa free. The visa process is so painful and time consuming involving interview etc. that she won't be doing it very often.

Come to think of it the Mother In Law will now require a visa to visit us.....may Brexit has a silver lining

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby elusive » Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:14 am

Such foods wont be allowed over the border into spain so i guess morrisons at gib wont be able to stock many foods if theres not a deal. The head of the gib goverment mentioned it a few weeks ago. Also iceland etc etc wont be able to stock milk,meat etc and the rest of the food will go up and be even more expensive then it is now.

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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby El Cid » Sun Dec 20, 2020 11:13 am

Why would anyone buy milk in Iceland? Most of their fresh meat is Spanish and Irish.

Sid

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spanish_lad
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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:20 pm

They stock 'cavendish' fresh milk. Why anyone would spend 3 euro on a bottle of milk that expires in 2 days is beyond me too.

Fyi : the 'english' sliced bread is actually made in a factory in la linea...
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spanish_lad
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Re: UK Duty Free Allowances announced

Postby spanish_lad » Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:21 pm

elusive wrote: Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:14 am Such foods wont be allowed over the border into spain so i guess morrisons at gib wont be able to stock many foods if theres not a deal. The head of the gib goverment mentioned it a few weeks ago. Also iceland etc etc wont be able to stock milk,meat etc and the rest of the food will go up and be even more expensive then it is now.

I suppose it will now be a 'non-european' food stuffs, and be banned from entry to europe?

There will still be bacon, but they will have to get it directly from holland instead of re-labeling it in the uk
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