Cheese sandwiches to champagne – items affected by new Brexit travel rules

New duty-free allowances have been imposed and there are extra limitations on goods purchased by holidaymakers following the end of the Brexit transition period.

Duty-free shopping used to be classed as a bonus for those holidaying abroad, while the infamous Cross-Channel booze cruise was a favourite for bargain-loving Brits.

But, for the past 20 years, travellers have mostly been allowed to carry what they wanted between EU countries. However, this facility has now been withdrawn and duty-free regulations apply – although the system has been labelled “one of the most generous in the world.”

Although, passengers from the UK will be able to grab cut-price alcohol and tobacco, they will be blocked from taking a cheese or ham sandwich for a snack during the journey.

The UK Government states: “Passengers will be able to buy duty-free alcohol and tobacco products, where available, in British ports, airports, and international train stations, and aboard ships, trains and planes.

“This follows a consultation with industry on our approach to taxing goods carried across borders for personal use from January 2021, as the end of the transition period brings with it powers to set our own rules in this area.

“The amount that passengers can bring back with them from non-EU countries will also be significantly increased, and extended to EU countries, providing one of the most generous allowances anywhere in the world.

This means that passengers coming to Britain will be able to bring back, for example, three crates of beer, two case of still wine and one case of sparkling wine to GB without paying UK duties.

The new GB inbound personal allowances without paying duty are:

Alcohol

42 litres of beer

18 litres of still wine

4 litres of spirits OR 9 litres of sparkling wine, fortified wine or any alcoholic beverage less than 22% AB

Tobacco

200 cigarettes OR

100 cigarillos OR

50 cigars OR

250g tobacco OR

200 sticks of tobacco for heating

or any proportional combination of the above

Any other goods

£390 or £270 if travelling by private plane or boat

There will also be some restrictions on the movement of meat and dairy products.

Cheese and meat products can be brought into the UK but they cannot be carried into EU countries, so that means holidaymakers must be careful about the content of any snacks they take on board a boat or plane.

The European Commission specified that the ban applies equally to sandwiches made at home and to those bought in shops or motorway services on the journey.

A spokesperson said: “Personal goods containing meat, milk or their products brought into the EU continue to present a real threat to animal health throughout the union.”