Europe increases duty free allowances for non-EU travel

The European Council yesterday reached a political agreement on a proposal regarding duty-free allowances on goods carried by persons entering the European Union from third countries.
The proposal will revise previous rules on traveller allowances, providing for an increase in the limits on duty-free allowances, in part to cater for the effects of inflation since they were last revised in 1994.
The value limit on duty-free allowances is now increased from EUR175 to EUR430 for air and sea travellers, and from EUR175 to EUR300 for travellers by land. Member states may apply different qualitative limits for duty-free imports of tobacco products (cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, smoking tobacco) depending on whether they enter the EU by air (higher limit) or by land or water crossing (lower limit).
The Council requested the permanent representatives committee to finalise the text and to submit it for adoption without further discussion.